Nevada Army National Guardsmen refine skills at Warfare Center

For five days Nevada Army National Guardsmen from throughout Nevada recently refined their soldier skills at the U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center in the Sierra 17 miles west of Bridgeport.

The center at Pickel Meadows was founded in the early 1950s to help Marines train in rugged terrain similar to that of the Korean peninsula.

The main focus of this year's annual training centered on basic soldier skills such as land navigation, map reading, setting up a defensive perimeter and patrolling. Additionally, instructors reviewed survival techniques in the wilderness and worked with guardsmen in showing them how to mountain climb and rappel back to level ground.

Maj. Michael Hanifan, commandant of Headquarters State Area Command, said the training improved during the five days the Guardsmen spent at Pickel Meadows.

"We started off a little rusty but the soldiers got back into the training very quickly," he said.

Hanifan, a Churchill County High School and West Point graduate now residing in Douglas County, said the soldiers learned much from their lessons.

First Sgt. Robert Chandler of Carson City said the training was very successful.

"We set a goal and had a plan, and everything in the plan was met," Chandler said.

Both Hanifan and Chandler said the soldiers enjoyed the host camp's instruction for succeeding at a high mountain training center. HM2 Andrew Kelly, a U.S. Navy corpsman assigned to the center, reviewed potential problems that can occur when soldiers try to acclimate to a 7,000 elevation.

He told guardsmen that they need to know that physical fitness, nutrition, water intake and adaptability are greatly affected by physical condition and acclimatization.

"We always learn something new with each annual training exercise," she added.

Carson City soldiers who participated in the annual training included Sgt. James Ahnefelt, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Richard J. Frederickson, Master Sgt. Robert Veader, Staff Sgt. Joseph Gallegos, Master Sgt. Dale Guy, Sgt. First Class Jeffrey Putt, Sgt. First Class Darryl Stoke, Sgt. Michael Cartwright and PFC Leta Garcia.