EDINBURGH, Ind. – Soldiers from the 38th Infantry Divisions, including from the Indiana National Guard, synchronized their assessments, decisions and actions to defeat the enemy during simulated, battlefield scenarios in Warfighter Exercise 24-4 at Camp Atterbury.
Approximately 600 National Guardsmen with the division’s headquarters battalion refined their tactics, techniques and procedures during the nine-day exercise in June that tested their proficiencies as they responded, communicated and developed plans and actions to thwart the enemy.
“This exercise prepares you like nothing else can,” said Maj. Gen. Dan Degelow, the division’s commanding general. “This is a learning laboratory. Don’t stop learning, and make your organization better.”
For the division’s soldiers, this year’s warfighter exercise represents the next step, a waypoint, as they gear up for their scheduled deployment later this year in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
“It’s been a long journey, but it’s far from over. We have a mission ahead of us,” said Degelow, during the unit’s after-action review. “And I’m proud of you and your willingness to volunteer your time to the needs of the nation.”
That mission, supporting Spartan Shield, returns many of the unit’s soldiers, who deployed for the same mission in 2019, to the Middle East.
In January, an enemy drone attack struck the U.S. base known as Tower 22. Also in December 2023, Houthi rebels stepped up their attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea.
Soldiers of the 38th ID, also known as the Cyclone Division, headquartered in Indianapolis, saw parallels to the exercise and their upcoming mission.
“It is my job to shape, synchronize, and coordinate all the division’s fighting force and bring it decisively against the enemy,” said Lt. Col. Adam Barlow, the division’s chief of operations. “However, it would be impossible to do without the incredible team of officers and enlisted soldiers that enables that fight. Their motivation and willingness to learn and achieve success has been an absolute pleasure to watch over the course of this exercise. We have the best people ready to bring the nation’s premier war fighting force to bear on the modern battlefield.”
More than 2,000 troops from Indiana and surrounding states contributed in some way to the division’s exercise and helping its soldiers learn. Those tasks included acting as response cells in the game as higher, adjacent or subordinate units or in the real-world helping sustain the troops with fuel, water and food.
All Cyclone soldiers seemed to grasp the importance of the learning experience.
“For it to be a training exercise, there was a lot of action going on,” said Staff Sgt. Rachel Hoke, a 38th Infantry Division paralegal. “A lot of people communicating really, really well. A lot of learning, a lot of integration and even for myself, being able to see the inside of the exercise, I was able to learn a lot about battle-staff duties.”
The learning process also extended to soldiers who experienced a warfighter exercise for the first time.
“I would say at first when we first got started was a little bumpy due to inexperience,” said Capt. Zachary Beeson, a 38th ID personnel officer. “So a lot of people didn’t know what they’re doing their first time. By the end, we were smooth sailing, once people understood their reasoning of what they were doing. I will say most of us are better today than when we first started.”
Warfighter exercises train the command and staff teams in six areas: command and control, movement and maneuver, intelligence, targeting processes, sustainment and protection.
The 38th Infantry Division soldiers remain postured to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity, which will be invaluable in support of Operation Spartan Shield where they can facilitate theater security cooperation activities in key-leader engagements, conferences, and joint and combined exercises.
