3rd Battalion 116th Infantry Regiment 1st Brigade "Stonewall" 29th Infantry Division (Light) Virginia Army National Guard

Training Year 1997 Highlights

Battalion

Headquarters Company

A Company

B Company

C Company

Headquarters Company

Introduction. The company had many other significant accomplishments during the past year. This narrative provides general information relating to the highlights of the training year for headquarters company (HHC) 3-166th Infantry Battalion, 29th Infantry Division (Light). The training year began on 01 October 1996 and ended on 30 September 1997.

Recruiting and Retention. Right now HHC is in very good shape. We are just over 100% strength (100.7%) and have the highest retention rate of any Infantry company in the Brigade, 78.3% (87% prior to the addition of Cco personnel not deploying to Bosnia). This is much higher than the state average of 70%. Our retention rate is in the top ten of any 29th division unit in the State. We re-enlisted 18 of the 23 soldiers whose enlistment contract had expired. HHC met the Adjutant General’s loss rate guidance of 18%. The loss rate was 12.6%, much lower than allowable standard. Lowest loss rate in the Battalion. Second lowest loss rate of any infantry company-sized element in the Brigade. The battalion won the 5-state Mason-Dixon recruiting challenge and HHC was a big part of that success. The unit has an active enlistment referral program. Numerous recruiting events were conducted and supported during the training year. We meet and talk to the unit recruiter and recruiting NCOIC on a regular basis. The development of the unit explorer boy scout program has continued. The unit pays close attention to new soldier sponsorship. The AWOL soldiers in HHC have been few and far between.

Combat Platoons. The Mortar, Scout, and AntiTank platoons are in good tactical shape as result of last year’s lanes training focus and leader validation training program. We were able to conduct collective training in a field environment almost every drill from January through June. During the "mini-at" external evaluations conducted by the Regional Training Brigade (RTB) active duty evaluators, the HHC combat platoon average METL percentage tasks trained was higher than any other company in the battalion. The Scouts were 100%, AntiTank 78%, Mortars 33%, with a total HHC average of 70% METL trained. The average line company was 56% and the highest was 60% METL trained. The Scout and AntiTank platoons were the number one and two in percentage METL trained platoons in the battalion. Also during the external evaluation, the 3 HHC combat platoons had more ‘T’s (trained to standard) than the rest of the line company platoons evaluated in the Bn combined, 12 for HHC versus 5 in the rest of the battalion. HHC only received 4 ‘U’s (untrained) as compared to the rest of the battalion with 24. One of the biggest problems with the Mortar platoon was strength and we have been addressing that. Now we need to train to sustain and build-on strengths.

Leader Validation Training. We developed an in-depth leader validation training program in preparation for lanes training to be held during AT. The program included hand-outs, tests, and reference materials. The execution was monthly spanning four months. Our RG Lee evaluator recognized the quality of the program in reports to his OIC. By conducting our own training program each month, the platoon leadership passed all RG Lee administered pre-tests. The program greatly helped to develop the tactical leadership skills of the combat platoon NCO and officer leadership. The program was a model used by Cco in their preparation for deployment.

Bosnia Deployment. The unit supported the requirements of Cco as a result of their call to active duty. Our staff personnel spent many weekends at the Leesburg armory, assisting in the pre-deployment phase. HHC personnel ran many ranges and conducted training for the soldiers of Cco. We conducted a drivers training program that qualified almost every soldier in Cco to drive military vehicles. HHC provided vehicles for several parades and public functions.

Maintenance. This was a focus also this year as we integrated maintenance into all training. We passed the COMET with excellent results in all five evaluated areas: maintenance management, maintenance sustainment, class IX, weapons and equipment (pwe), and material general. During the COMET, HHC had the highest percentage in the battalion of primary weapons and equipment being fully mission capable, 96.8% with 94 pieces being checked and only 3 found non mission capable. The company was presented a Army Maintenance Excellence Award certificate of recognition from the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and the Chief of Ordnance.

Community Support. We always strive to keep close ties with the public. This year was no exception and we supported many school and town activities with troops and equipment. We received many letters of thanks for this assistance. The unit participated in fund raising events including the Winchester Chain-of-Checks booth at the Apple Blossom Mall. We had marching units and vehicles in several parades and recruiting booths at two county fairs.

Food Service. HHC's Food Service team won the Connelly Food Service competition at the State level last year and were selected as runner-up at the regional level competition. This year we competed at the national level, being selected earlier this year as the defacto regional winner. The competition went very well and we are awaiting results of the evaluation.

Annual Training. The original lanes training AT was switched to one of support for the Cco deployment and readiness. We were flexible and still able to meet some collective training objectives while providing support for Cco and continuous CSS operations for the battalion. HHC ran the M16 zero, M16 qualification, M9 pistol, Dragon, and hand grenade ranges. We ran the M16 zero range four days in a row and the hand grenade range three days. One of the HHC run ranges was recognized in the AAR by the RG Lee advisor OIC as the most professionally run range the advisor had ever seen on active duty or otherwise. Live fire ranges were conducted by the AntiTank and Mortar platoons. We are holding onto the Battalion Commander’s Cup this year again as a result of our successful AT and training year.

Web Site. The battalion established a world wide web site on the Internet. We designed and established a web site for the battalion in order to provide information to the unit and the public. We have actually received good results from this web site and some recruiting prospects as well. The site was approved by the State PAO.

Combat Service Support. HHC provides critical combat service support to the entire battalion. This includes areas such as medical support, ammunition distribution, transportation, food service, communications, logistics, and supply. This past year HHC provided combat service support in some form for all drills for each company within the battalion. The attitude of the soldiers in HHC performing these duties is excellent and the efforts are coordinated in team oriented mission accomplishment. Their contributions to the battalion’s overall achievements do not go unnoticed and are instrumental in our success.

Individual Training. Again this year, as in all years, we conducted training to maintain individual soldiers skills. HHC has 84% soldiers qualified in their military occupation specialty. We conducted individual weapons and crew served weapons qualification during the training year. Common task training was integrated into the platoon’s training each month. Specific platoon individual skills were identified and trained in order to support collective training.

Safety. Finally, HHC had no significant accidents or safety incidents. This included no incidents for any unit convoy or road movement.

Battalion Highlights

Battalion Awards Received during TY 97:

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Training Highlights: