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Members of Red Team take down two “drug suspects” during Woodland Training 2008. The face of one of the suspects has been blurred to keep his identity secret. (Photo manipulation by Staff Sgt. Roy Henry, Georgia National Guard)
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help civilian officers
‘do it better’
Editor’s Note: Because of the specialized work they do, only the radio call signs of the personnel interviewed for this story have been used. Only the operations officer for the Georgia Counter Drug Task Force is identified by name.
Public Affairs Office
LAGRANGE – For the tenth consecutive year, Army Guardsmen along with the Georgia Counter Drug Task Force (GaCDTF) are helping their civilian counterparts improve their ability to sneak up on the bad guys.
Exercise Woodland Training 2008 took place, just as it does every year, on the grounds of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association’s 2,700-acre
Their five day exercise culminated in a night-time scenario in which they took down several “big-time drug dealers” and their “body guards,” and seized a large amount of “illegal narcotics,” weapons and vehicles using what they’d learned from their instructors.Georgia’s RAID helicopter equipped with a Night Sun spotlight was also utilized during the "final exam.".
Although it’s not the first time the RAID chopper has been used for night missions, it is the first time air assets have been brought in and used for day operations.
There have been other changes to the training beside the way RAID has been used, said 1st Lt. Shilo Crane, counter drug’s operations officer. One the most significant changes is the way the planning and execution of missions, he explained.
“This year we’ve put more emphasis on the ‘Military Decision Making Process,’” Crane said. “Based on past experience, we’ve found that most agencies don’t involve things like risk assessment, identifying those factors that help a team decide whether an operation can be successful based on the risk involved.”
Another change is that students take more responsibility for mission planning, he said.
During the first couple of training scenarios, instructors go through the planning process, from beginning to end, showing their respective teams the military method of putting together an operation. In this way, they make sure each team member knows their job and everyone else’s and then how to make the mission happen.
“All-in-all, these guys have done a great job,” said Instructor No. 1 for Red Team. “They’ve soaked up what we’ve taught them, and then put it into practice with a great deal of success. There have been minor mistakes, but like anything else it’s a learning process that’s improved upon each time it’s done,” he added.
Red 1, team leader for the Red Team agreed. "Getting it right the first time, every time would be a great thing," he said, "but that’s not the reality. “What is real, is that we’re going to make mistakes, and this is the place where we want to make them,” Red 1 continued. “Because, out there, mistakes made during an actual attempt to bring down a drug dealer or terrorist will get someone hurt or killed.
And that’s hopefully not going to happen as long as training opportunities like Counter Drug’s Woodland Training is available, he said.
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