Best/Worst things seen at NTC?

2015-10-26T09:47:17-04:00

I had a rotation through NTC this spring, and I seen things that made me cringe. Looking for other stories that had similar and worse experiences.

During rotation they lost the contract to clean the porta johns 2 days in. Yup 4000 soldiers on Sante Fe and only the hardstand toilets 1/2 mile away..... And they I don't think they renewed the contract until just before we came out of the box.

Any other exceptional displays of incompetence?

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Oct 26 at 2015 9:49 AM

2015-10-26T09:49:48-04:00

To be honest when I was in NTC it was nothing but good things, I was the Battalion Reenlistment NCO, so I didn't have to go in the box, had a nice trailer with electricity and internet I was good to go!

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 11:00 AM

2015-10-26T11:00:43-04:00

During my three years stationed at Irwin, I never had a situation like that. But then, this was way before the villages came to be. The worst thing(s) I ever saw/experienced was:

1) Someone tried to steal some NVG's while we were in the field. It was discovered on Friday that they were not in the vault. It wasn't until Monday when it came to the attention of the commander. We were locked in the MP for 3 days for investigations and searches. Hands across the desert (damn near literally) was not fun. They were finally found in the mop closet of the barracks after the perps that stole them tried to pawn them in Barstow and couldn't so they threw them into the barracks mop closet. To this day, I have no idea who it was.

2) One of the Soldiers in Recon squad had to take a leak, so his vehicle driver stopped so he could. He got out, propped his rifle on the wheel, did his business and got back in........without the rifle. So, once again locked in the MP for a few days while we did hands across the desert. Turns out, about 5 mikes after they drove off and left the rifle, an OC/T came by and secured it and tracked it down to my unit. Our lock down was done as a learning tool.

3) Not as bad as the first two but still bad. Had field chow delivered and served during a sandstorm. Eggs were crunchy.

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Oct 26 at 2015 11:03 AM

2015-10-26T11:03:18-04:00

I was at NTC 30 years ago this summer and my youngest son was there this summer. Other than the training being totally different from when I was there, my son it was just as hot and crappy as when I was there. But as bad as NTC was we went to 29 Palms the next summer and that place was worse.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 2:19 PM

2015-10-26T14:19:45-04:00

When I was last there in 2012, they kept running out of water. If you didn't grab water before 0900, good luck. Just come in from a mission? Stay thirsty, my friends. They never did fix it.
You would think that as many times as Soldiers have gone to the field in Irwin or elsewhere, water consumption and resupply would be well established.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 4:25 PM

2015-10-26T16:25:26-04:00

SSG Mauch,
The contract at Santa Fe, where the CSSB and EAB units stay, is a rotational unit responsibility usually established by the BCT 4 or SPO. All unit leadership receives this information 60-180 days out from their rotation during PDSS.

I have observed much worse than a unit having to resort to utilizing wag bags during a rotation.

V/R
LTC (R) Michael Martin
Goldminer 07

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2015 3:11 PM

2015-11-05T15:11:00-05:00

I spent two years at the NTC. Probably the worst things were the two rotary accidents that occurred during 87 and 88. We lost five soldiers between the two accidents. Hard to believe but we just continued training after both of these accidents.

Response by SFC Ronald Manners made Dec 20 at 2015 5:22 PM

2015-12-20T17:22:50-05:00

Rollovers

Response by SFC Pete Kain made Dec 26 at 2016 5:25 PM

2016-12-26T17:25:42-05:00

The time some idiot took a dump in a water buffalo hoping to end the rotation early.
When a chopper came in, and the pilot thought he was on the ground and cut power, to bad he was still up. Dust was really bad.
That was 1977, Think a C-130 ate it around the same time.

Response by SGT Barry Third made Jan 7 at 2017 6:57 PM

2017-01-07T18:57:43-05:00

Our unit Maintenance troop 3rd ACR in 91 had a bunker collapse on the 1st Sergent and Commander, during an attack from Op Four, i dont think i have ever made a dash to get them out any faster , After spending 9 Months with Capt , Roger Reid , AKA Co. i did not wanna see those guys goes go out like that . all went well for them ,, thank god

Response by SSG Brian Kresge made Jan 8 at 2017 9:26 AM

2017-01-08T09:26:31-05:00

This experience could have happened anywhere, but since it happened at Irwin...after one of our live fire events during our rotation in 1997, they took us back to tent city in a few deuce and halves. The driver of ours had created a portable pooper out of an ammo crate, and forgot about it when we loaded into the back. It smelled bad enough, but in cramming all of us in there, it leaked and spilled out. I don't know what he had been eating, but it ran all along the floor, where we were sitting asses and elbows. We were already cranky from being right on top of one another, but add crap to the mix.

Sidenote: isn't it amazing how most of our worst experiences tend to revolve around defecation?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2017 11:13 PM

2017-01-08T23:13:47-05:00

Only went once myself (hallelujah), but my personal worst was finding the most amazing spot for my system (signal intel), a spot the OCs said they'd never seen anyone use before. Then my BC leading the OPFOR right to us because she wanted to check it out. Still pissed about that one (but got the Hero of the Rotation for it from the OCs)...

Oh, and we had a wicked cool earthquake. I grew up near the San Andreas Fault and pegged the magnitude (we were stationed at Hood - most had never felt an earthquake before). Got some mad respect from my friends for getting it right.

Best was teaming with my company commander in spades during the occasional down time. Won every game. Man, I miss spades....

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Feb 17 at 2017 10:39 PM

2017-02-17T22:39:46-05:00

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member I was OPFOR at NTC for two years and after 18 months or so, I finally saw the desert tortoise that was rumored to be out in the sandbox. We didn't think it existed because no one ever saw one on ground any where. Worst thing, I would say accidents and knowing someone didn't make it or was critically injured during training.

Response by SSG Dr. John Bell, PhD. made Aug 3 at 2017 2:53 PM

2017-08-03T14:53:31-04:00

The worst thing I saw was fatal accidents caused by tanks. One rotation from the east coast had two fatalities in the 1983-1985 time frame. I was at the meddac; we would volunteer to go out and relieve our Opfor members so they could come back for hot chow, cold shower and a little down time. We would be relieved at 4:am and then go back to Hospital. Got to ride on meddevac bird several times while transporting injured to Loma Linda Medical Center. Also transported injured to LAX airport to send them home.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2018 6:05 PM

2018-09-17T18:05:45-04:00

I’m a MEDEVAC pilot here at NTC. I can attest to the falls. We get calls for snake bites, heat casualties, rolled over tanks, soldiers crushed between Strykers, burns, smoke inhalation, someone was ran over by an M113, and various other non-MEDEVAC B.S. calls at 3 A.M. We still take them to Loma Linda, as it is the primary trauma center, but we also go to Vegas for trauma as well. The other hospitals are for other things like burns, or cardiac issues. We also transport cases the hospital can’t handle (even though they just built a brand new, $20 mil hospital) such as strokes, pre-term labor, and such. I’ve seen many a crazy thing from the front seat of a UH-60 at NTC.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 5 at 2019 10:53 AM

2019-07-05T10:53:16-04:00

FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- Four paratroopers died and more than 100 were injured, 20 seriously,in a massive training exercise Tuesday in the Southern California desert, the biggest military airdrop since World War II.

The operation, 'Gallant Eagle 82,' involved nearly 3,000 paratroopers of the famed 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., and 90 Air Force cargo planes.

I had fun when I went to NTC in 98 as an assistant S-4. We had a couple motivated young soldiers who insisted on making a shower facility for us. They were really cool soldiers.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jul 6 at 2019 10:21 AM

2019-07-06T10:21:36-04:00

Listen, realizing this is a stinky situation, it was no more than a training opportunity, do you think you get a lotta Porta Johns when you make initial entry into a combat zone if at all. I would also say, until you have designed and managed contracts, they are much more complex than you think. Having said all this, how about vehicles not making it to the rotation on time to execute much of the operations with large components of your element, that puts a damper on training execution and battle prep. Thank you for your service.