RHODE ISLAND
Airborne Training Exercise Lands Success on Camp Ripley
Story by Anthony Housey Little Falls, Mn, United States | JUL.31.2022
J uly 01, 2022 (CAMP RIPLEY, Minnesota) – An Airborne Infantry Soldier of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion - 143rd Infantry, stands at the door of a Minnesota National Guard C- 130 from the 133rd Airlift Wing. He is one of a few dozen paratroopers on an easy flight from Miller Army Airfield during the last few hours of July 31, 2022. Loaded with weapons and equipment, the dull roar of the plane echoing in their ears, they come within sight of Camp Ripley’s Arno Drop Zone. ‘First one out of the plane,’ he conducts his safety checks with the nearby jump master and waits for the subtle signal to leap into the empty air in front of him. Within seconds he is out the troop door of the aircraft, heart racing, his parachute filling in the darkness of the Minnesota summer sky. The Rhode Island National Guard troopers made themselves at home on Camp Ripley since mid-July, conducting their annual training to include weapons familiarization and qualification, air- borne operations, and tactical movements. On July 30, they began preparing for an evening jump which would culminate their session on Camp Ripley before returning home. “Camp Ripley exists to train people from across the globe and we welcome all types of training,” said Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse, Senior Commander of the Camp Ripley Training Center, and Assistant Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard. “We welcome our new partner.”
Volunteer Guard outfit, the 143rd’s mission soon turned to the Mex- ican border, where they joined Gen Jack Pershing against Poncho Villa. The unit earned distinction during both world wars and is an airborne infantry unit and aligns under the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team as part of the Associated Unit Program, aligning active and reserve units with one another for training and deployment. “Hosting this airborne unit at Camp Ripley is a new and exciting part- nership,” added Kruse. “This partnership and training will showcase our ability to work together and provide superior training facilities and resources.” The multi-functional pieces of this training event required the coop- eration of several organizations revolving around Camp Ripley. Two C-130 Hercules of St. Paul-based 133rd Airlift Wing arrived at Miller Army Airfield to transport the paratroopers to the drop zone at the far end of Camp Ripley’s training area. Along with ground units, safe- ty personnel, and Ripley’s Crash, Fire & Rescue team stood ready to support if needed. During training, partnerships like these will prove invaluable as America’s Military continues along the modernization process toward a more joint-operational, multi-domain posture. The partnership at the unit level allows the commanders and their personnel to understand the processes of another organization, learn the best courses of action and find the commonality in working together. This will better prepare them to respond to their next real-world mission.
The history of the 143rd Infantry dates to the late 1800 and the oc- cupation of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Initially, a Texas
90
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator