BY MELANIE BUCK –
A National Guard military training exercise was held Saturday at the old Mena Middle School building on Mena Street, complete with explosions and machine guns. The training was an exercise in urban-style warfare and included capturing a prime target suspect, caring for the injured, and counting the casualties.
The morning started out with snow covered streets and lawns as the Company C 1st Battalion 153rd Infantry / 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Mena’s local National Guard unit, stormed up main street, some on foot, others in Humvees, with guns blazing, albeit they were filled with blanks. Citizens around town got a loud wakeup call when explosions and gunfire rang through the streets of Mena beginning around 9:30 a.m.
As off-duty officers from Mena Police Department set up inside the building as insurgents trying to protect the target, the National Guard troops surrounded the two-story building and began their attack.
Rushing through the doors, the soldiers began a tactical weaving in-and-out of old classrooms that once rang out with the sound of school bells and pre-teens’ laughter was suddenly filled with the sounds of piercing rounds of ammunition being fired in all directions. As orders were being yelled out by commanders the troops stationed themselves and waited for the next stage while taking care of the injured.
Ducking in and out of rooms themselves, Mena Police Department Officers were smiling as they played a real-life game of cat and mouse. As the troops gained ground and eventually made it up the stairs, they were able to take the ‘insurgents’ out in a ‘kill or capture’ style and captured the live target.
Never dropping the seriousness of their roles, the troops made their way out of the building in the same weaving fashion while soldiers armed with high-powered rifles laid atop Humvees watching the perimeter to assure their safe departure.
Mena Police Chief Brandon Martin said he and his guys enjoyed the drill and had a lot of fun, “It was an honor for us to help them out in any way we can. Our guys enjoyed it and took a lot out of it. I’m sure our guys learned as much as they did. I really appreciate the opportunity to help the National Guard. Hopefully it’s the start of something we can help them out with more in the future. We really appreciate what they do for us as the military. We can’t thank them enough for their service.”
About Author
Jeri Pearson
Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.
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