#25id

Redefining line of sight.

Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, train with the M110 SASS, and the M107 .50-Caliber Long Range Sniper Rifle from an aerial platform in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over Malemute drop zone on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. 

Ready or not, here I am.

The M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System is set up and ready as soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, prepare to conduct qualifications during part of the U.S. Army Mobile Sniper School training at Grezelka Range, JBER, Alaska.

SOLDIER STORIES: Paratrooper excels in India.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Laura Condyles with the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, stands in front of the Taj Mahal while displaying her battalion’s unit shirt in Agra, India. Condyles visited the site during her 52-day training event in heavy drop rigging operations at India’s Army Airborne Training School in Agra. (Courtesy photo by Indian Army Capt. Ashish Jha, 11 AUG 2013.)

An Indian Army Medal of Excellence medallion earned by U.S. Army 1st Lt. Laura Condyles, with the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, along with a certification folder, and a class photo from India’s Army Airborne Training School Heavy Drop Course is displayed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Condyles, pictured in the photo sitting 5th from the left in the front row, earned the award for achieving the coveted “i” indicator on her qualification certificate, meaning she did well enough that she is qualified to be an instructor for the course. (Photo by Staff Sergeant Jefferey Smith, 25 OCT 2013.)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Laura Condyles (left) with the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division and Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer Saab Ajit Singh, an instructor for the Heavy Drop Course at India’s Army Airborne Training School, greet each other in the morning by bowing and saying "Namaste" in Agra, India. (Courtesy photo by Indian Army Capt. Ashish Jha, 29 AUG 2013.)

(Article by US Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, 29 OCT 2013.)

JOINT BASE ELEMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Army 1st Lt. Laura Condyles, a parachute rigger-qualified officer with the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, recently returned from graduating second place at the Indian army’s Heavy Drop Course in Agra, India.

Condyles, a 25-year-old quartermaster officer from Mechanicsville, Va., was chosen from a distinct group of officers in her unit to attend the course at the Army Airborne Training School. The 52-day event began in early August in one of the hottest areas in India with average daily temperatures hovering around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

“When I first got there, we found out that the class wasn’t in English. The whole class was in Hindi the entire time!” Condyles said. “They had an old dictionary they used to translate the tests for me.”

Fortunately, the Indian army assigned student-sponsor Capt. Ashish Jha to help Condyles as they both worked through the course. Condyles had to pass three, three-hour written examinations.

“Of course, the questions were originally in Hindi and were translated to English, so I just kind of had to take my best guess at what they were saying,” Condyles said.

The Indian army’s AATS installation is similar to Fort Benning, Georgia, Condyles said. Most of their airborne training takes place there, including airborne school, the heavy drop riggers course, high altitude low opening school, and the pathfinder school.

The Indian forces have two main aircraft used for heavy drops, the Russian-made AN-32 and the IL-76, which are comparable in size to the American C-130 and C-17, respectively.

India’s air force packs all of their personnel parachutes, and their army focuses on heavy drop rigging.

The Russian-engineered rigging equipment uses three different platforms.  “With each platform, there were three different parachutes that we learned, so I learned how to pack nine different parachutes,” Condyles said.

Condyles excelled in the heavy drop course and earned the Indian army’s Medal of Excellence for achieving the coveted “i” indicator meaning she performed at such a high level that she is qualified to be an instructor.

“I’m the first foreign officer that’s ever gotten the “i” grade before, so that was pretty neat.” she said “The cool thing was I’m the first American that went to the course.”

Condyles said she was fortunate that Capt. Jha was there to translate. In addition, she was able to learn a great deal about the Indian army and India’s culture during her time there.

“They drop live animals,” she said. “They put chickens and goats on a platform and drop them in for food.”

One of the benefits of partnership training is learning about different military organizations, she said.

The Indian army’s structure “is pretty different. Officers, soldiers, and NCOs are very, very separated. It’s not like our Army where we work together a lot more closely,” Condyles said. “When you are an officer on post, they cook your meal for you, or they deliver it to your room. They clean your bathroom for you every day. They mop your floors in your room every day. They even make your bed for you every day, and they do your laundry every single day.”

Even with the conveniences, Condyles’ said her training in India was complicated by the high temperatures, and power outages.  “I had electricity about 40 to 50 percent of the time.”

Condyles purchased Indian clothes to wear for her cultural and historical experiences, including two trips to the Taj Mahal, a visit to the historic Agra Fort, a village wedding celebration experience, and sadly, a mourning ceremony for an instructor’s 22-year-old son who was struck and killed by a train.

Condyles thought the training was very worthwhile, and she hopes for more U.S.-Indian military cross-training events to further improve interoperability between the two countries.

ISAF remembers Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- June 30 marks four years that U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe W. Bergdahl has been held captive. Sgt. Bergdahl, from Hailey, Idaho, was discovered missing during a unit roll-call in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. "Four years later, we are still waiting for Sgt. Bergdahl's safe return, and it is my sincere hope that the wait will soon come to an end. To Sgt. Bergdahl's family, I want to say that we know you have not given up hope, and neither have we," said Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Commander of ISAF.  "I understand the people of Hailey, Idaho continue to remember Sgt. Bergdahl this year by planting a tree and hosting a 500-bike motorcycle ride. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and would like nothing more than to see him returned to his loved ones,” Dunford said. Sgt. Bergdahl was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) on July 1, 2009, and his status was changed to "Missing-Captured" on July 3, 2009. Sgt. Bergdahl is listed as a member of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Richardson, Alaska.

[Check out the Facebook page set up by Bowe's family and friends to increase visibility to his POW status and lobby for his return. Bergdahl was taken captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network on 30 JUN 2009. Since then, the Taliban has released five videos showing him in captivity. The Taliban originally demanded $1 million and the release of 21 Afghan prisoners and Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for Bergdahl's release. They threatened to execute Bergdahl if Siddiqui was not released. Most of the Afghan prisoners are being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Taliban later reduced its demand to five Taliban prisoners in exchange for Bergdahl's release.