Co. C, 1/121st Infantry put to test with 'Comanche Challenge'

Courtesy the Gainesville Times

Members of Company C, 1st Battalion, 121st Infatnry, hit the water with their equipment as they swim with improvised flotation devices from an island on Lake Lanier. The drill was part of "Comanche Challenge" that also included a hike and marksmanship testing. (Photo by Tom Reed courtersy Gainesville Times)

ASHLEY COX
The Times

June 11, 2007 - They paddled inflatable rafts to an island on Lake Lanier. After making a flotation device out of their rucksacks, they swam back to shore. And that was just the beginning.

On Sunday, members of Charlie Company conducted the "Comanche Challenge," a daylong training exercise that tested several different skills.  "It was quite challenging," said 1st Lt. Frank Barroqueiro.  The event began about 8 a.m. at Bolling Mill Park.

 In groups of seven to 11 soldiers, seven squads paddled Zodiac boats out to an island and then swam back, hauling about 40 to 55 pounds of gear with them to shore.

 After riding a bus across Gainesville to one of the fields at the Allen Creek Soccer Complex, the men had to evaluate and treat a 175-pound rescue dummy, then carry it 1.1 miles to the Hall County Sheriff's Office firing range. "Every single person (in Charlie Company) has to be able to evaluate and treat somebody that's hurt," said Capt. Justin Ririe, company commander.

Once there, the men started shooting targets at 25 meters. "They engaged targets while physically exhausted," Barroqueiro said. "They were graded on how quickly and how accurately they engaged their targets."

Ririe said it's important to practice such drills because the men must be prepared to leave on a mission at any time. "We have to be able to react to any state mission within four hours," Ririe said. "We've got to be physically fit."

Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) was deployed to Iraq in May 2005 as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle force with the Georgia Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team.

All of its 132 soldiers returned safely from Iraq in April 2006, receiving a hero's welcome in Gainesville.

The company has since transformed into a light infantry, no longer using tanks and heavy equipment. "Everything in the rucksack is what we've got," Ririe said.

He said training exercises, as well as testing a person's physical strength, is important because soldiers don't have ideal conditions in combat.

Take Sunday, for example. "It was hot out there," he said. "Conditions were tough."

He said in training, as well as in combat, men are constantly running, sweating and having their eyes fog up, all while having to maneuver with a weapon.

After returning to an air-conditioned building, the officers held a short ceremony, awarding Army Achievement Medals to the winning squad.

Ririe said he was proud of all the men. "We had a great showing," he said.