During the Bayonet Focus (BF) 17-03 exercise, Shadow UAS operators and maintainers of 7th Infantry Division worked on their skillset at the Yakima Training Center in Washington, at a recently built UAS airfield.

Imagery support for units conducting the BF 17-03 exercise was provided by the soldiers, which gave UAS personnel and service members in the field more realistic training.

“This is different than training back at Joint Base Lewis-McChord because we are in a more tactical setting and we move a lot faster,” says Spc. Brysen Borja, a UAS operator with 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, via DVIDSHub.net.

“The biggest difference is that we are always receiving a mission from a unit somewhere to get eyes on targets or help them find something.”

According to Borja, the imagery saves lives, as it allows units under attack to redirect and engage the enemy “in the best way possible.”

1st Lt. Kimberly Covey, UAS platoon leader with 1-2 SBCT, explains this by saying, “as far as the Soldiers on the ground are concerned, the Shadow [UAS] helps them visualize the battlefield as well as help them conduct reconnaissance.”

“They know where the enemy is located; this enables them to plan better and conduct their operations.”

Through this training, the platoons also got an opportunity to see what it’s like to operate with two platoons on one site, which is something that they don’t get to do very often. Covey says that that aspect of the training was extremely helpful as well.

“It has been beneficial seeing how two platoons working side by side can get multiple aircraft in the air, especially when we are sharing a limited amount of space,” Covey says.

Overall, this training was extremely invaluable for everyone involved.

“We have come a long way in the past couple days,” says Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Page, Brigade Aviation Element UAS Representative for 2-2 SBCT. “A lot of gaps have been filled.”