Fort Hood's only airborne qualified Company took to the skies for a simulated combat mission. The mission: a mock invasion of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, but the goal is to not get caught.
In a matter of 24 hours, 25 soldiers found themselves in this C-130 headed to Fort Bragg. It's a training mission this troop has never done before but before they take off, they've had to do months of training. However, they didn't know exactly what for.
"We kind of had an idea going into it but came in, got alerted and then went into a planning process and prepping for the mission that we're going to be doing," said SGT Daniel Cisnero of Charlie Company 2-38 Cav.
It's called a Joint Operations Access Exercise and Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise. This troop is preparing to parachute into Fort Bragg, a.k.a the enemy. But they can't get caught by the so-called opposing forces.
"We are the first ones in. We're kilometers and kilometers out in front of any friendly troops and we're out there all alone," CPT Russell Mitscherling, Commander, Charlie Company, 2-38 Cav.
They're the eyes and ears for the Commander of the Squadron.
"This will answer all the questions he had about the enemy, about the terrain," said CPT Mitscherling.
But they can't do it without the Air Force's help.
"We're kind of that force that helps makes the operation easier, sometimes even makes it happen," said CPT Jeff Gilmore, 15th Contingency Operations Support Group.
Together and in moment's notice they prep the plane, load equipment, and most importantly pack their parachutes.
"It's challenging," said SGT Cisnero. "It's gonna be challenging and it's a little bit nerve wrecking because I'm not used to this type of mission so it's going to be a huge learning experience for me."
These soldiers will leave for Fort Hood and in about 5 hours they'll jump off and land in Fort Bragg.
They'll return from their mission March 1st.
