Earlier this month, Black Hawk Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, completed the 12-day Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama, according to the Army. It was the first time in decades that the unit attended the course as a complete unit.
The course emphasized collective training. "Training together as an organic unit — it's beneficial to units because it gives leaders the chance to see their subordinate leaders and soldiers within their unit work in real time," said Army 1st Sgt. Geoffrey Tate, the company's senior enlisted advisor.
The jungle environment presented challenges beyond heavy vegetation and difficult terrain. "The biggest difference that I've noticed, with training out in the jungle versus training at my home station, is that technology is not reliable in this environment," Tate said. "Communications aren't reliable in this environment."
The unfamiliar conditions required adaptation. According to Army Sgt. 1st Class Ero Wainio, the jungle course's senior survival instructor, the experience helps soldiers "develop courses of action and standard operating procedures, which will enable them on their mission."
Unlike combat training centers such as the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the jungle course provides training in an environment not found in the United States, according to the Army. The course allows leaders to observe how their troops perform in unfamiliar conditions and identify areas for improvement.