POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii -- POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA - It gets cold at PTA.
In fact, it gets very cold. Ask the soldiers from Bravo Co., 1st Royal Australian Regiment.
They came to PTA with no idea it could get cold and rain in the Rainbow State.
The soldiers from Bravo Co., 1st RAR, endured the bitter weather at PTA and were able to conduct several tough training missions to include a live-fire exercise June 13 with their ever-present Austeyr F-88 semi-automatic service rifles.
They were also given a chance to become familiar with a training environment the majority have never been exposed to.
With the assistance of Marines from Headquarters Co., 2nd Bn., 3rd Marine Regiment, providing a command operations center, the mission was bound to be a success.
The training was not an easy task for the hard-charging soldiers from Bravo Co., but they accomplished the mission, and the warriors found it amusing to be exposed to the gruesome winds and harsh temperature fluctuations at PTA.
"The terrain here is totally different from what we are accustomed to in Australia," said 1st Sgt. Michael Lally, 1st sergeant for Bravo Co. "There is not a trench system in Australia, and this is the first time many of the soldiers have been able to fight in the trenches."
When the motivated infantryman from Bravo Co. took to the harsh terrain of PTA to fire live rounds down range, they utilized their war-fighting skills to ambush mock enemy positions during platoon-sized attacks.
"These are the basic infantry skills the soldiers must master in order to carry out offensive operations," said Lally. "These skills are what they will use when they come face-to-face with the enemy on the battle field."
It was a great site for Lally to see his soldiers adapt quickly and aggressively to the new environment. It pleased him even more to see his troops work together under the conditions and demonstrate their uncanny ability to destroy enemy positions with some excellent teamwork.
"PTA provided a realistic training environment and a chance for the soldiers to demonstrate their skills in a new environment," said Lally.