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Down on the farm: 188th Fighter Wing deploys key members with Guard's Agri Development Team

  • Published
  • By By Lt. Col. Keith Moore
  • Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. --  Members of the first Agriculture Development Team (ADT) from the Arkansas National Guard continued to practice their combat skills even amidst the harsh winter weather of central Indiana.

The 60 Soldiers and Airmen of the ADT have been conducting a variety of combat skills training to include weapons firing, convoy operations, disabled vehicle recovery, communications and GPS navigation systems training, security operations and medical evacuation procedures - despite winter temperatures in the teens and low 20s. Nearly daily snowfalls also made operating with vehicles and armed foot patrols more complex.

"The snow makes us focus more on our safety review and procedures for the simple fact that everything is slippery and the snow hides hazards like rocks and ditches," said 1st Lt. Richard Hurst, security platoon leader. "Winter weather makes things more challenging, but the team is adapting quickly and getting acclimatized."

Each day's training requires a comprehensive look at the planned tasks, the safety concerns and preventative measures for Soldiers and a detailed risk management review. This review process is designed to lessen avoidable risks for Soldiers in field training operations.

In addition to combat skills, the agriculture specialists of the team have also been augmenting their professional skills and knowledge with classes provided by Purdue University. The team has focused on training in soil sampling and analysis, irrigation and water resource management and primitive grain storage methods.

The Purdue training is especially helpful because there are three graduate students in the agronomy department that are faculty members of Kabul University in Afghanistan. The Afghans are able to provide the ADT Team with localized information regarding soil conditions, water quality and current irrigation methods while they are studying at Purdue.

"The Afghan nationals are a great resource for us in answering questions regarding tillage methods, equipment used, soil quality, erosion control and irrigation practices currently used in our provincial area of operations," said Lt.Col. David Sheely, team leader for the agriculture specialists.

Sheely is the 188th Fighter Wing Maintenance Squadron commander. He is joined on the ADT by Master Sgt. Paul Fair, who is the assistant chief of the 188th Civil Engineering Squadron's Fire Department. Tech Sgt. Justin Mankins, a firefighter with the 188th Fire Department, is also a member of the ADT.

The ADT Team has additional training here at Camp Atterbury in preparation for their year-long mission to assist farmers in Afghanistan with agricultural redevelopment. The team is projected to deploy to its forward operating base in Afghanistan by mid-March.

Down on the farm: 188th Fighter Wing deploys key members with Guard's Agri Development Team

  • Published
  • By By Lt. Col. Keith Moore
  • Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. --  Members of the first Agriculture Development Team (ADT) from the Arkansas National Guard continued to practice their combat skills even amidst the harsh winter weather of central Indiana.

The 60 Soldiers and Airmen of the ADT have been conducting a variety of combat skills training to include weapons firing, convoy operations, disabled vehicle recovery, communications and GPS navigation systems training, security operations and medical evacuation procedures - despite winter temperatures in the teens and low 20s. Nearly daily snowfalls also made operating with vehicles and armed foot patrols more complex.

"The snow makes us focus more on our safety review and procedures for the simple fact that everything is slippery and the snow hides hazards like rocks and ditches," said 1st Lt. Richard Hurst, security platoon leader. "Winter weather makes things more challenging, but the team is adapting quickly and getting acclimatized."

Each day's training requires a comprehensive look at the planned tasks, the safety concerns and preventative measures for Soldiers and a detailed risk management review. This review process is designed to lessen avoidable risks for Soldiers in field training operations.

In addition to combat skills, the agriculture specialists of the team have also been augmenting their professional skills and knowledge with classes provided by Purdue University. The team has focused on training in soil sampling and analysis, irrigation and water resource management and primitive grain storage methods.

The Purdue training is especially helpful because there are three graduate students in the agronomy department that are faculty members of Kabul University in Afghanistan. The Afghans are able to provide the ADT Team with localized information regarding soil conditions, water quality and current irrigation methods while they are studying at Purdue.

"The Afghan nationals are a great resource for us in answering questions regarding tillage methods, equipment used, soil quality, erosion control and irrigation practices currently used in our provincial area of operations," said Lt.Col. David Sheely, team leader for the agriculture specialists.

Sheely is the 188th Fighter Wing Maintenance Squadron commander. He is joined on the ADT by Master Sgt. Paul Fair, who is the assistant chief of the 188th Civil Engineering Squadron's Fire Department. Tech Sgt. Justin Mankins, a firefighter with the 188th Fire Department, is also a member of the ADT.

The ADT Team has additional training here at Camp Atterbury in preparation for their year-long mission to assist farmers in Afghanistan with agricultural redevelopment. The team is projected to deploy to its forward operating base in Afghanistan by mid-March.