Arkansas Army National Guardsmen from Camden conducted combat training at Fort Chaffee on Friday.
“Part of our mission is to get in and out without being seen,” said Lt. Ted Sharp.
About 35 guardsmen participated in a training exercise designed to resemble a real war zone.
“It’s realistic training. It’s exactly what they signed up to do and it’s what we want them to be able to do in the future,” said Lt. Col. Sean Gavan.
The soldiers are expected to go into some of the most dangerous places. “We’ll go out behind enemy lines so to speak and observe enemy and report on their size and activity,” said Sharp.
The guardsmen said their unit also has a sniper section and boats.
“We’re looking forward to this. We always look forward to training like this. It’s not every day we get to be running up and down out of helicopters,” said specialist Jacob Temple.
The unit had a briefing Friday morning with pilots and crew chiefs. “We’re just happy for the opportunity to use our resources both with the aviation and here at Fort Chaffee, and be able to get the realistic training that we signed up to do,” said Gavan.