New York Army National Guard Sgt. Tony Shelton, Brownville resident, participates in training exercise

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CAMP SHELBY, MS-- New York Army National Guard Sgt. Tony Shelton (right), of Brownville, NY, speaks with a role player in a mock village during a field training exercise here March 9.

CAMP SHELBY, MISSISSIPPI (03/15/2012)(readMedia)--  New York Army National Guard Sgt. Tony Shelton, from Brownville, NY , ) in photo at right) speaking h a role player in a mock village during a field training exercise here March 9 was one of 800 New York Soldiers training to deploy to Afghanistan during field exercises held here March 7-10.

Shelton,belongs to Company D of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the Soldiers are here preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Soldiers like Shelton learned how to gather information by making friendly conversation with civilians, and the exercise tested the battalion's ability to perform its Afghanistan mission.

The goal of the exercise, in which Soldiers interacted with role-players portraying Afghan villagers, was to give the Guardsmen a chance to exercise the skills they have trained in.

Complete with role players like the corrupt police chief, the exercise was designed to replicate conditions in Afghanistan and test the battalion's ability to carry out its mission there: to mentor, advise and assist Afghan government agencies like the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and Afghan Traffic Police, said Command Sgt. Major David Oliver, the battalion command sergeant major.

Many soldiers in the battalion are Afghanistan veterans, Oliver said, and this is a unique, different type of mission for them. They'll need to learn to let the Afghan security forces take the lead, while helping those forces solve systematic problems, overcome operational differences and work together.

"We have to get out of the mindset of doing things ourselves, and get the Afghans to do them," Oliver, a Rochester resident, said.

Nonetheless, the exercise tested the Soldiers' combat skills. Along with manning a quick reaction force, the battalion lived in tents in walled bases near the villages they were assigned to patrol, and underwent mock indirect fire attacks and several simulated mass-casualty events.

Despite these challenges, the battalion established an Operation Coordination Center -- one of its goals for the exercise. The coordination center is the key element for mentoring, advising and assisting the Afghan government agencies, Oliver said.

"It brings the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and Afghan Traffic Police together so they can coordinate their efforts," he said. "Hence the name, 'Operation Coordination Center.'" During the exercise, battalion command staff also identified strengths and weaknesses so battalion procedures can be streamlined and improved, he added.

Key leader engagements were integral to establishing the coordination center, Oliver said. Battalion elements took on these engagements, patrolling into the villages and meeting with leaders such as the police chief.

Soldiers excelled in the combat portions such as the mass-casualty exercises, said 2nd Lt. Nathan Holt, the executive officer of the battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Noting the Soldiers' experience, observer-controllers had trouble coming up with ways to challenge them,he added.

"At the end, I heard we did extremely well, as did the medics," Holt, from Richmond, Vt., said.

The battalion's time at the National Training Center set them up well for the exercise here, said battalion liaison officer 1st Lt. Jason Uhlig, of Syracuse, said. He's looking forward to the challenges in Afghanistan, partnering with the Afghans and helping empower them. Exercises like this and key-leader engagements are part of that, he added.

"You can't ever downplay the significance of building good relationships with your foreign counterparts," he stressed.

Photo and Story by Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Drumsta, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team