Training lets locals see soldiers’ tools, training

This Oct. 7, 2011, will mark the 10-year anniversary since the war began in Afghanistan.

Men and women who deployed for the first time not old enough to drink are now in their 30s. They have married, divorced, had families and buried too many friends in the decade since they began fighting in Afghanistan and two years later in Iraq.

Some of the cost of these wars can be measured in dollars, more than $3.7 trillion so far. But much of the cost is beyond tally — lives lost, families devastated by loss and the wounds of war soldiers carry in their souls that sometimes never heal.

While Alaska is honored to be the state in the nation with the most veterans per capita, 77,000 and growing, we are mostly spared the finer points of war.

Beyond the initial attack of Sept. 11, 2001, that sparked military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, the fighting and dying has happened far away. We see the soldiers off when they deploy and welcome them home with fanfare upon their return, but that type of arms-length exposure is what is most familiar to the rest of us.

People in Hatcher Pass Saturday, though, had a chance to see soldiers and military equipment up close when a group of more than 20 Alaska National Guard reconnaissance and surveillance troop members spent the day training there.

They practiced reconnaissance and surveillance using Humvees and the LRAS3 long-range surveillance system. With a range of up to 30,000 meters, the LRAS3 is a vital technology for a reconnaissance unit, said Sgt. Rufus King.

These are the guys who go in to a battle zone first, they are the very point of the spear, he said.

And even though the National Guard is made up of part-time soldiers, Capt. Douglas Smith, who commands the troop, said they must still be as well trained and familiar with this high-tech equipment as their full-time counterparts.

“They’re always training, always going to schools, they’re always trying to get better at it,” Smith said. “They have full-time jobs, they have families, they have all sorts of things going on. But they also spend the time, effort and energy to learn how to use the things that we’re using right now.”

And there were more than a few local folks who got to climb in the Humvees and peer through the LRAS3. That’s about as close to getting any sort of real idea about the tools and training soldiers are using now as most of us civilians are likely to see.

We are grateful for the service of the Alaska National Guard and grateful to Capt. Smith, who worked for weeks to coordinate this training and even took the extra step of inviting the Frontiersman’s staff to come along and share in the experience.

Thank you, sir, for your service and for your invitation. Stay safe, and we hope you’ll invite us along again next time you train in our backyard.