Rob sent us the following article and photo album from The Philadelphia Inquirer featuring the 56th SBCT as it prepares for deployment.
FORT POLK, La. - Simulated bombs were going off noisily. Smoke grenades were exploding. Blank rifle shots were popping all around.
This was just a training exercise amid the pines of Louisiana, but it felt very real. And for a platoon of Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers headed to Iraq, it was about to teach a lesson.
Sgt. First Class William King jumped from the rear of an armored Stryker vehicle and started to lead his men into the woods to pick up a wounded soldier. Abruptly, an instructor shouted out, "Hey! Hey! Come back here!"
56th SBCT Training
Rob sent us the following article and photo album from The Philadelphia Inquirer featuring the 56th SBCT as it prepares for deployment.
FORT POLK, La. - Simulated bombs were going off noisily. Smoke grenades were exploding. Blank rifle shots were popping all around.
This was just a training exercise amid the pines of Louisiana, but it felt very real. And for a platoon of Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers headed to Iraq, it was about to teach a lesson.
Sgt. First Class William King jumped from the rear of an armored Stryker vehicle and started to lead his men into the woods to pick up a wounded soldier. Abruptly, an instructor shouted out, "Hey! Hey! Come back here!"