2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment
Public Affairs Office
Vilseck, Germany
PHONE: DSN: 476-5017 COMMERCIAL (49) 09662-83-5017
E-mail: 2scrwebmaster@eur.army.mil Website: www.2SCR.army.mil
No. 09032001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VILSECK, Germany – Soldiers from 2nd and 4th Squadrons of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment were working on the railroad all to live long day Thursday July 9 preparing for their upcoming deployment in support of Joint Task Force –East. Troops spent the day learning the proper procedures for loading vehicles and equipment onto rail cars for transport. Instructor Johann Witt walked the crew through the proper procedures to insure all equipment and vehicles were loaded safely.
“We went through it step by step,” Witt explained. “We start with the safety brief and when that is done the rail team will begin prepping the cars.”
From there Witt went on to explain the proper procedure for driving vehicles on and off the rail cars. According to Witt this lesson covered two very important areas.
“Ground guiding is one of the important things I always raise up to them,” Witt said. “if you don’t practice proper ground guiding you will always have problems.”
The second issue is safety and how to drive onto the car. Following that the crews were taught the various options for blocking and bracing the wheels.
“Basically we are preparing for our closer meter targets which are Romania and Bulgaria for JTF-East,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Simon, Unit Movement Officer for 4/2 SCR, “but we are also working with Soldiers with longevity to prepare for future deployments as well.”
Simon was quite pleased with his Pale horse Troops performance throughout the training.
“We came out with a set crew with specific roles and responsibilities for the Romania movement,” Simon said. “Because we had predesignated ground guides and such, so we were able to focus in on uploading and walk away from today feeling comfortable with the hands on practice.”
Simon said that the day’s training was invaluable to his Soldiers.
“There are so many things that we do in the Army that is by reviewing the book,” he said, “but we always seem to close out training with some type of hands on experience.”
“This really helps solidify what is involved with rail ops,” he said. “Ultimately important to make sure the guys do it safely and then everything gets to its destination in one piece.”
