You Too Can Be A "Jungle Expert"

JOTC Trainees

As the war in the Middle East is winding down the Army is transitioning to regionally-aligned units rather than having all units trained for combat in the mountains of Afghanistan. One of the issues surrounding the transition is that the new alignment forces units to break from their years of NTC training and focus more on the types of environments and situations within their zone of control. For the 25^th Infantry Division, this means going back to its roots. Since the majority of Southeast Asia contains dense jungle the division is restarting the Army’s Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC). The Army deactivated its old training course in Fort Sherman in 1999 as Jungle-style warfare fell out of vogue. Maj. Andrew Lyman, commander of the Lightning Academy (to which JOTC is subordinate) remarks that “Our focus on the [Central Command area of operations] during the last decade and the closure of the jungle school in Panama created kind of a vacuum of experience, and this is an attempt to relearn a lot of the lessons.” In a new era where Pacific deployments are a reality for the 25^th ID and other PACOM units these skills are invaluable to their overall successes.

                The new JOTC will be a 21 day long course in Oahu covering topics like survival, waterborne operations, land navigation, and jungle combat training. All of these skills will be tested in the six day long field training exercise at the end of the course. The course is designed to teach PACOM soldiers that in the jungle they have two enemies to fight: the OPFOR and Mother Nature herself. SFC Dominick Johnson says that “You’re not only fighting the enemy, but you’re fighting the terrain; you’re fighting the weather. They say the jungle is neutral. It doesn’t fight for you, it doesn’t fight against you, but it’s tough.” When

adjusting from relatively easier terrain to conduct command and control due to enhanced line of sight to dense foliage the situation for commanders and soldiers alike becomes much more difficult.

JOTC "Jungle Expert" Tab to be worn by members of the 25th ID

                Due to the rigor of the new school, the 25^th Infantry Division is approved to wear the “Jungle Expert” tab on their uniforms, while other soldiers outside of the 25^th will leave with the tab as a souvenir. At this point in time 800 soldiers have completed the JOTC with 550 successfully achieving the “Jungle Expert” tab. This tab harkens back to the patch that was given to soldiers who successfully completed the Jungle Warfare School at Fort Sherman.

                Currently the school is only open to those soldiers assigned to PACOM and is tasked with generating soldiers who are masters in surviving in their new region. There is a possibility of the school opening up to the general Army public but as of now only the first few iterations of trainees from the 25^th ID are going through in an effort to solidify the curriculum.

For more information check out this article by Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140505/NEWS/305050061/