Arkansas artillery soldiers take training to California

story info submitted by Capt. Chris Heathscott, public affairs officer, Arkansas National Guard

FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Soldiers with the Arkansas National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery Regiment are heightening their ability to quickly and accurately put steel on target here in preparation for a potential deployment in 2012.

The battalion, part of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, has approximately 300 of its Soldiers participating in a three-week rotation at Fort Irwin’s National Training Center.

While the majority of the 3,500 Soldiers currently training with the brigade are focused on infantry as their primary skill, the 206th is charged with protecting those Soldiers on the battlefield with their primary weapons system: the105mm towed howitzers.

"All of our guys give 100% at all times," said Sgt. Jess George, a member of the 206th from Dardanelle, Ark. "We work hard, but I wouldn’t want to be in any other unit than I am now.

While George’s attitude is common among the artillerymen, the training at Fort Irwin tests those attitudes to a greater extent by adding a greater level of stress through realistic battlefield scenarios.

"They’ve been tough and they’ve stayed motivated," said Lt. Col. Mike Spraggins, the battalion’s commander. "Overall we know we have a good solid unit, but we’re going to come away from this training with some good points on where to improve. The environment and operational tempo has really given us the opportunity to assess our strengths and weaknesses."

The battalion — which has units in Russellville, Perryville, Dardanelle, Paris, Morrilton and Little Rock — usually conducts their artillery training at Fort Chaffee, Ark. The training at Fort Irwin allows the 206th’s units to train collectively with the brigade’s other 41 Arkansas units, but it also helps them improve by bringing them out of their element.

"This has allowed us to train on our artillery skills on a different kind of terrain," said Spraggins, who also serves as a high school principal in Hope, Ark. "It’s caused our guys to get out of their comfort zone and use different maps."

The training also pulls the units away from their families and the comforts of home.

"I miss my wife and kids for sure," said George, a Junior at Arkansas Tech University who is preparing for his second deployment. "I missed the first five months of my oldest daughter’s life because of deployments.”

George arrived at Fort Irwin a week after the majority of the brigade due to his enrollment in college and pending finals. A potential deployment would pull him away from both school and family for approximately a year, a sacrifice few Americans are willing to make in service to their country. Even less are willing to do what he just did: re-enlist in the Arkansas National Guard despite the knowledge of a potential deployment on the horizon.

"My wife is a big supporter of the military," said George. "We talked about it. We’ve been through it once and we figure we can do it again."

As Spraggins works to train his Soldiers in preparation for the day a "potential" deployment turns real, he acknowledges the importance of having that kind of support from the families.

"I really appreciate family support," said Spraggins. "They take care of things at home so our Soldiers can concentrate on training. There’s nothing more critical to our success than family support."

The Soldiers are slated to complete this most recent round of training just prior to Memorial Day. The unit, which has already served on two deployments to Iraq, is currently anticipated to mobilize in the fall of 2012.