The Fayetteville Observer
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Light forced its way into the dusty classroom with a bang.
With debris swirling in the air, paratroopers took turns stepping through a fresh hole in the cinder block wall, exiting through a cabinet that may have once held school supplies.
The soldiers, from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, were learning how to make their own paths through walls and doors.
A vacant schoolhouse on Fort Bragg served as their classroom.
Local firefighters were their teachers, showing the soldiers hands-on techniques for how best to breach brick and wooden walls, all while maneuvering safely away from threats.
Lt. Col. Mark Ivezaj, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, said the training was part of a week-long master breacher course that involved infantrymen learning techniques from expert engineers and firefighters.
“They’re the resident experts,” Ivezaj said. “A lot of the soldiers have never been exposed to this type of work.”
The hands-on training pitted team and squad leaders against the walls of the former Pope Elementary School on Armistead Street. The school is no longer used by Fort Bragg educators. However, its rooms are still filled with furniture, and teaching supplies dot some of the walls.
Ivezaj said officials plan to demolish the school, making it the perfect spot for such destructive training.
“We don’t often get an opportunity to break things without paying the man for it,” he said. “It’s an awesome opportunity.”
The soldiers worked in teams, winding their way through the school while following the directions of volunteers from the Fort Bragg and Fayetteville fire departments.
They worked in the dark and dust, carrying a mock patient with them, breaking through a wall here, kicking down a door there and climbing down from a window at the end of the makeshift course.
Assistant fire chief for Fort Bragg, Gerald Auch, said firefighters have been helping train soldiers where they can for roughly a decade.
“It’s our way of giving back,” he said. “We’re teaching things we’ve been doing for many years. It’s just a good fit.”
Auch said firefighters can help soldiers be more efficient in breaching techniques, and show them equipment they may not have seen before, like pneumatic tools and lightweight hydraulics.
In the end, the two forces would have similar goals in a situation that would call for breaching.
“For us, it’s fire or collapse,” Auch said. “For them, it could be collapse or fire or enemy forces. We’re both trying to save our lives and the lives of the guys next to out.”
Ivezaj said the skills could prove invaluable for soldiers, who could put them to the test while searching out targets or while moving their team to safety.
Capt. Mike Thomas, whose B Company paratroopers took part in the training, said the event was the start of more partnerships between the unit and community partners.
“It’s a lot of teamwork,” Thomas said. “The expertise the fire department brings to a unit like this is phenomenal.”
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