Danger Gauntlet IV Tests Soldiers' Skills in Poland

DRAWSKO COMBAT TRAINING CENTER, Poland — For Sgt. Augustus Bauman, tracking what a brigade does is only part of the job. The harder question is whether that work gives the units it supports what they need. “How does an organization know if it’s doing the right thing, especially when it’s cut off physically from the subordinate echelons that it needs to be able to support?” Bauman said. That question was central to how Bauman viewed Demon Gauntlet IV, held Oct. 18-26, 2026. Soldiers assigned to the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, practiced planning missions, coordinating support and working through problems while operating apart from the units they supported. Bauman, who works in fires in the brigade’s operations section, said a unit must be able to examine its own work. At the company and battalion levels, Soldiers receive feedback from several levels of command. At brigade headquarters, he said, finding that outside perspective can be more difficult. The exercise allowed the brigade to practice how it would operate in combat and examine how its staff supported subordinate units. The brigade began by building a training scenario for the brigade to fight through. Cpt. Elise Hervey, the lead planner for the exercise control team, known as the white cell, said the staff developed a tactical scenario that included friendly and enemy forces. The team then produced a brigade-level warning order and operation order, followed by 11 fragmentary orders that updated instructions as the exercise developed. Those orders and their supporting documents allowed brigade and task force staffs to plan at the same time, Hervey said in a written response. The work drew on experience from across the staff. Hervey said intelligence and fires personnel, along with others familiar with similar training, helped guide the planning. “This definitely was not a singular effort,” Hervey said. Once missions were underway, Soldiers at the brigade’s smaller command post, known as the main minus, worked to keep information and support moving. Cpt. Zachary Bohrer, who served as chief of operations for the exercise, said the headquarters helped battalions obtain support beyond their own resources. Staff members coordinated with higher headquarters and other organizations to help units carry out their missions. Doing that with a small team meant that Soldiers couldn’t rely only on just knowing their own jobs. When someone stepped away to refuel a generator or complete another task, another Soldier needed to cover the position. Bohrer said personnel working in one position could also help cover fires duties or another position. “That ability to cross train each other on each other’s jobs enabled this small package to facilitate the battalion’s missions,” Bohrer said. The white cell also introduced changes that required aviation planners to adjust their air assault plans. Cpt. Jeremy Bone, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, served as the ground force commander for those missions. He said planners worked through aircraft and vehicle configurations, the number of trips needed and the timelines set by the ground force. Bone said the problems challenged both Gunfighter and brigade headquarters personnel to respond to unfamiliar demands. “It was amazing to see how everybody was able to take these complications and take these injects and turn them and meet success throughout the operation,” Bone said. For Bauman, examining that work was an important part of the training. Completing tasks was one measure. Understanding whether those tasks helped the units depending on the brigade was another. Across the exercise, that support depended on Soldiers sharing experience, covering positions and adjusting plans as requirements changed. “I would say lean on your staff heavily,” Hervey said.

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