I must admit I was somewhat surprised the event would even be held there, but, after speaking with organizers, it all came together.

As a matter of fact, the North American qualifier between the U.S. and Canada will be held in Cary in April.

But was even more surprising was the speed of play. These men and women really can hammer a table tennis ball at remarkable speeds.

Hopefully these will give you some idea on just how you can do that very thing – improve your photography.

(EDITOR’s NOTE: This website is NOT endorsed by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army or Dept. of Defense. Additionally no compensation is paid to the author by camera manufacturers, software development companies, book authors and/or book publishers. All comments by the author are solely his own.)

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My packet now moves on to the Army-wide journalism competition for judging in March. Wish me luck!

Click the page to see all the entries in the packet.

Story and Photos by Timothy L. Hale
Army Reserve Command Public Affairs

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Simulated casualties, suffering from various wounds, lay scattered across the floor as a squad of Soldiers quickly moved in.

As the squad set out to evaluate and treat each casualty, a Soldier wandered into the middle of the room and collapsed, screaming and writhing in pain with massive amounts of blood spurting from his right forearm.

It took a brief moment, but two non-commissioned officers rushed to his aid to control the bleeding.

Then the lights went out in the room. Through the darkness, flashing blue strobes, patient screams, and Soldiers barking orders permeated the room. Ten minutes later, it was over.

The scenario was just a taste of what NCOs from the U.S. Army Reserve Command headquarters here received as part of NCO developmental training Jan. 27, thanks to the assistance of trainers at Fort Bragg.

“I thought it was exciting and it kind of throws you off with all the noise, instructors yelling at you and all the commotion going on,” said Master Sgt. Albert Dasalla. “It forces you to think under pressure and this type of training brings us back to being a Soldier. Everybody has to know the basics.”

The day started with a two-hour block of instruction on basic combatives skills taught by 82nd Airborne Division trainers.

In the afternoon, they received three hours of basic combat lifesaver skills training at the Medical Simulation Training Center, a high-tech facility managed by the 18th Airborne Corp surgeon’s office, where casualties bleed, breathe and can even die if not treated properly and in a timely manner.

“If we can integrate into some of their training (here) that’s great,” said 1st Sgt. Jason Miller, the command’s headquarters and headquarters company top non-commissioned officer. “If we can lock-in with some of these post agencies, we can train the Soldiers so they are ready to fight when they go back out to the field.”

The combatives instruction, led by Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Boucher and her team, went through basic Level 1 warm-up exercises and moved on to techniques – passing the guard, dominate body positions and choking moves.

Training included demonstrating an actual rear naked choke technique with a volunteer from the Army Reserve NCO ranks.

As the crowd of nearly 80 non-commissioned officers gathered around Master Sgt. Keith Crabtree, combatives instructor, Staff Sgt. Chad Pehowic, moved into position.

“You do not want to hold this for more than two to three seconds,” Pehowic cautioned.

And just like that, Crabtree’s body went limp. He woke up just as quickly, eventually managing a smile as he regained consciousness, greeted by applause and sighs of relief from his fellow Soldiers.

“As soon as he locked in, I immediately felt everything going dark,” Crabtree said. “I never realized that I was out. That was different.”

Boucher, the 82nd Airborne Division senior combatives instructor, said not only is combatives a requirement for every Soldier in the Army, the training also builds confidence, leadership and leads to train-the-trainer programs.

“Because we’re all Soldiers, there are 40 core tasks that we are supposed to be proficient in and this is definitely one of those tasks,” she said. “It’s an important core function that we all need to be aware of. It adds another level to Soldier training.”

For Army Reserve Master Sgt. Dwayne Riden, a 50-year-old mobilization NCO with the USARC chaplain’s office, the training was extremely important.

“No matter what MOS we’re in, we’re all still called to be Soldiers,” Riden said. “When you look down on your uniform you’ll see your name on one side and U.S. Army on the other. We can be called on to go to the fight and we need to be prepared regardless of our rank or our age.”

Riden, who served as a chaplain assistant during combat tours in Grenada, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, pointed out that joining with the active component for training benefits the entire Army.

“We can be assigned to any element within the active duty,” he said. “So when we find ourselves downrange, when you look at the uniform it doesn’t say anything about active duty or reserve, we’re all there in the fight together.”

Sgt. Maj. Vincent Bond, 18th Airborne Corps chief medical NCO, said the difference between pre-9/11 and post-9/11 Army Reserve skill sets is like night and day.

“As a U.S. Forces-Iraq surgeon sergeant major downrange, some of our best units were reserve and National Guard,” Bond said. “You’re a Soldier – it doesn’t matter if you’re reserve or National Guard. When you’re on active duty, you’re a Soldier. That’s the way it is and we have to rely on each other.”

Hopefully these will give you some idea on just how you can do that very thing – improve your photography.

(EDITOR’s NOTE: This website is NOT endorsed by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army or Dept. of Defense. Additionally no compensation is paid to the author by camera manufacturers, software development companies, book authors and/or book publishers. All comments by the author are solely his own.)

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While the Navy Midshipmen won their 10th straight game against the Army Black Knights, the final score of 27-21 was one of the closest in recent memory.

Hopefully these books will give you years of photography ideas to enhance what you already know.

(EDITOR’s NOTE: This website is NOT endorsed by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army or Dept. of Defense. Additionally no compensation is paid to the author by camera manufacturers, software development companies, book authors and/or book publishers. All comments by the author are solely his own.)

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(EDITOR’s NOTE: This website is NOT endorsed by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army or Dept. of Defense. Additionally no compensation is paid to the author by camera manufacturers, software development companies, book authors and/or book publishers. All comments by the author are solely his own.)

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Rest in peace Dan.

(EDITOR’s NOTE: This website is NOT endorsed by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army or Dept. of Defense. Additionally no compensation is paid to the author by camera manufacturers, software development companies, book authors and/or book publishers. All comments by the author are solely his own.)

CLICK IMAGE BELOW FOR FULL SIZE PDF