Page 6 - The Dispatch August 2019

TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT

WARFIGHTER

Story By: 36th Infantry Division
Public Affairs Office

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pennsylvania— The Texas Army National
Guard’s 36th Infantry Division completed a large-scale command train-
ing exercise on June 12, 2019.

The division’s command staff, Headquarters and Headquarters Battal-
ion, as well as units from five other states, Army Reserve and active U.S.
Army completed Warfighter 19-5, a scenario-based exercise designed to
test battlefield decision-making and communication.

“Warfighter is a computer simulation,” said Col. Edward Dextraze, the
division’s senior liaison officer. “It’s a training exercise used to assess
a division’s ability to execute their wartime mission in a full-spectrum
operation.”

According to Dextraze, Warfighter exercises provide awareness about
how ready a unit is to handle the complexity of large-scale combat oper-
ations. Warfighter reflects an actual deployment, including the challeng-
es that arise when various sections synthesize their efforts.

“If you don’t take advantage of that compressed stress situation, when
you have to do it for real for a mobilization, you’ve kind of cheated your-
self,” Dextraze said.

The virtual battleground for Warfighter 19-5 was a full-scale combat ex-
ercise, a change from previous scenarios. In this scenario, United States
allies requested support after being attacked by rockets, chemical agents
and an invading ground force. The 36th Infantry Division deployed its
forces, taking the fight to the enemy. Utilizing the Military Decision Mak-
ing Process, leaders made tactical choices to cross rivers and overcome
geological and other modern obstacles.

Col. Oliver Mintz, the 36th Infantry Division’s chief of staff, explained
that Warfighter is an unparalleled opportunity for a unit to sharpen its
skills and test its fighting readiness.

“You will unequivocally come out of Warfighter better than when you
went in,” Mintz said. “There’s quite simply no better training event for
Army staff than Warfighter. I’ve done a number of them in my career and
A National Guard member performing mainte- every single time, you learn a lot.”
nance on an antenna during Warfighter 19-05 at
Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, June 8, 2019.
The 36th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Staff Sgt. Neethu Cherian, a protection staff noncommissioned officer
Headquarters Company traveled to Fort Indian- with the 36th Infantry Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battal-
town Gap in May 2019, to participate in Warfighter ion, said Warfighter 19-5 was an opportunity to build on previous skills
19-05, a simulation designed to test command staff obtained while attending the Battle Staff Noncommissioned Officer
in decision-making and communication. (U.S. Army Course.
photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Giles)