YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER, Wash. – Over 1,500 Soldiers from the Washington National Guard’s 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team gathered at Yakima Training Center this month for an intensive field training exercise named Raven Focus.
Held from July 14 to July 24, Raven Focus utilized the two weeks of annual training that National Guard units typically receive to deliver a more comprehensive training experience than regular drill weekends.
This exercise marked a significant milestone as it was the first occasion since July 2018 that the entire 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team had trained collectively. The event encouraged Soldiers and leaders to collaborate with various units and staff members they don’t usually engage with, thereby fostering a stronger sense of teamwork.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Baur, an ammunition logistics non-commissioned officer with the 81st SBCT, expressed optimism about the outcomes of the training. “We’ve been able to see all the things we’ve done really well…we’ve found a few things we need to work on as a team,” he noted. “We’ve been able to work that process from start to finish out here in the field, where we would’ve never been able to do that on a regular drill weekend.”
The 81st SBCT is headquartered at Camp Murray in Tacoma, Washington, and it comprises nearly half of the Washington Army National Guard. The unit not only includes local regiments but also extends to operational assets and personnel from neighboring states like Oregon and California, encompassing artillery, infantry, engineering, and support and logistics units.
According to Baur, many Soldiers have never experienced an operation of this magnitude before. “They usually work at a company level, and now this is a brigade level. So they’ve been able to see the relationship between the brigade and the battalion,” he stated.
Specialist Mariia Pecherytsia, who serves as a combat medic with C Company, 181st Brigade Support Battalion, remarked on the impressive scale of training at Raven Focus, asserting it was her first annual training experience. “We’ve done cross-training with other companies [to see] what capabilities they have,” she explained. “But I don’t think we usually get to do a lot of that interaction with the other companies, so now this is giving us the bigger picture.”
In addition to the Washington National Guard Soldiers, the exercise was supported by military personnel from partner nations, including the Royal Thai Army, Canadian Army, and Bulgarian Land Forces. These international military engagements are facilitated by the U.S. Army Subject Matter Expert Exchange program and the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.
Raven Focus was specifically designed to provide advanced training that outperforms typical standards, according to senior leaders at the 81st SBCT. As Colonel Craig Broyles, commander of the 81st SBCT, communicated, “If we train and fight like everyone else, we’ll be just like everyone else. We want to be better.”
The brigade-level training fosters unity of purpose across various warfighting functions, thereby enhancing the overall strength and effectiveness of the organization. Baur concluded, “This is probably one of the things that sometimes gets forgotten by the military, and that’s the support behind the mission. And these guys are here doing that.”
image source from：army
