Army beefs up training in wake of deadly ambush

EL PASO, Texas — They were a support unit trained to change tires, repair vehicles and keep the Army moving forward, but on March 23, 2003, Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company was pushed into combat with Iraqi soldiers — something the unit was not prepared to handle.

Nine soldiers were killed, five wounded and seven were captured when their convoy took a wrong turn in the Southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa was one of the captured but died later and is listed as one of the nine killed.

According to the Army's investigative report of the firefight, "human error, fatigue and the fast pace" of Operation Iraqi Freedom were contributing factors to the deaths, injuries and captures.

Since then, the Army has dealt with many other firefights, some similar to the 507th ambush, and each has taught a clear lesson: Every soldier must be a warrior first.

"We have made changes based on Operation Iraqi Freedom — lessons learned — and have increased the amount of warrior-focused training," said Col. John C. Hamilton, commander of the 6th Air Defense Artillery Training Brigade.

"Bottom line is everyone must be trained and ready to be a soldier first."

Operation Iraqi Freedom has caused the Army, including Fort Bliss, to make changes in the way the soldiers are trained. The changes, although not entirely new, are currently being incorporated into the physical training routines of every soldier.

"This is not new," Hamilton said. "We have been doing this, but Operation Iraqi Freedom just reinforced the importance."

Some of the changes require that soldiers be proficient in basic warrior tasks that "allow them to survive on the battlefield and destroy the enemy."

This includes additional time with their weapons, land navigation and map-reading skills, first-aid training and nuclear, biological and chemical training.

Like all Fort Bliss soldiers, members of the 507th Maintenance Company had received similar training in addition to training within each of their jobs or specialties.

Cpl. Joseph Hudson, former prisoner of war from the 507th, said he heard about the different training exercises Fort Bliss was organizing on post in recent months for the reserve units who were preparing to deploy and wanted to see them for himself.