Stryker Brigade News

Scouts from the recon platoon then demonstrated some of the weapons they will be using in country, including the Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System, an assortment of Stryker reconnaissance vehicles and the M24 Sniper Rifle.

The LRAS3 was particularly interesting to the intelligence officers because it is the recon platoon’s primary means of conducting surveillance and detecting the enemy. The main feature of the LRAS3 is its ability to see targets at long range and to obtain the grid coordinates of any object it spots.

The recon platoon also demonstrated its procedures for recording observations, and for sending information to the intelligence section for dissemination to the battalion.

After lunch the intelligence section gave a formal class on PIR to the platoon. This was followed up with a practical exercise where the scouts acted as the intelligence section of a battalion whose mission was to generate a collection plan for the task force.

The groups then briefed each other on their plans for the task force reconnaissance assets and discussed their placements of sniper teams and recon teams.

After the role-playing exercise was finished, the two sections loaded into three of the recon platoon’s vehicles and drove to the top of Approach Hill to implement their collection plan.

The scouts assisted the intelligence operatives in mounting LRAS3s to the RV Strykers. They then instructed the intelligence Soldiers in the operational capabilities of the LRAS3.

By the end of the day, Soldiers from both both sections felt that they had learned a lot.

“I learned that intelligence [Soldiers] do a lot more than fix our security clearances; they have a lot to do with the information that is given to the companies,” said Spc. Matthew Keogh of the recon platoon.

He said he was motivated to teach them more about the the equipment, specifically the LRAS3.

“If they understand the capabilities of what we can do, they can get a better grasp of the intelligence we can gather,” Keogh added.

Staff Sgt. Woody Woodward, who works in the battalion intelligence office, said he “appreciated the fact that the scouts were so willing to learn more about what they did in a field environment.”