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Soldier playing part in training
Published November 24, 2009
Special to The Facts
HOHENFELS, Germany — As American soldiers enter a village here, they are approached by bearded men with turbans and women with burqas covering their faces. The soldiers do not know who is friend or who is foe.
The son of an Angleton couple is serving here where fictitious Arab villages have been built with actors roaming, giving it the look and feel of being in a war zone. The actors are supporting a mission to train American, NATO and allied soldiers on how to deal with situations they are sure to face when they go to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Army Sgt. Gilbert G. LaMont, son of Glenn and Leslie LaMont of Angleton, is a member of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment located here at the Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center. He functions as an enemy insurgent, known within the Army as an opposing force, or OPFOR.
“We conduct realistic training for forces deploying to hostile environments,” said LaMont, a 2005 graduate of Angleton High School. “My duties consist of ensuring that all companies in the battalion meet physical security standards. I assist with the planning for how the OPFOR will replicate the enemy. I also write the information operations plan for OPFOR.”
The OPFOR insurgents challenge soldiers who treat this war-gaming situation as a real-life evaluation. Both sides have rifles equipped with laser systems and everyone wears a laser receptor system that gives off a loud shrill if they are shot. The goal is for soldiers to learn from potential combat pitfalls here, rather than making the mistakes on the battlefield.
“It is important for military forces to receive realistic training, so they are prepared for the harsh reality of war,” LaMont said.
Some of the actors are hired civilians who dress and play the part of Arabs living in a village, while others, such as LaMont, are American soldiers who are trained in tactics used by insurgents.
For LaMont, serving here in support of this teaching facility is one of many experiences found within the military so far.
“I have been in the military for four years, and have deployed to Afghanistan with this unit. Although this unit is known for its OPFOR, we also are constantly deployed to Afghanistan in support of the International Security Assistance Force,” LaMont said.
Although a soldier serving in the U.S. Army, LaMont understands the importance of some soldiers here wearing a uniform that appears much like what is worn by an enemy in Afghanistan or Iraq — and by doing so is helping his comrades in arms learn the difference between friend and foe.
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