JULY 28, 2025 — “We are here in support of Raven Focus which is a brigade annual training exercise for the 81st Stryker Brigade, based in Seattle, Washington,” said Lt. Col. Nathan Davis, commander, 1-357th Brigade Support Battalion, Joint Base Lewis-McChord. “For the National Guard and the Army Reserve, their biggest challenge is access to equipment and the time to train. You cannot replicate the size and scope of the training they can do at the Yakima Training Center during a weekend battle assembly.”
The center of attention for exercise Raven Focus is transitioning a Stryker brigade to a mobile brigade combat team, according to Davis.
“I think this is good training in preparation for near peer fighting. I think it’s been great having the night vision, thermal imaging and artillery units train against the counter battery,” said Staff Sgt. Dalton Pullum, mortarman with 1-161st Stryker Brigade, based in Spokane. “Watching the way the war in Ukraine has been going is very important. It’s important not to stay in one place. We are adapting our tactics right now. The training here has increased our confidence of working in a near peer scenario.”
The Army is continuously adapting and transforming to deliver trained, cohesive and lethal combat teams to meet future warfighting challenges and operate in complex operational environments overseas.
“There are more than 2,200 Soldiers from the 81st Stryker Brigade out here training. They are here conducting battle drills,” said Capt. Paul Martin, an observer coach trainer with the 189th Combined Arms Training Brigade, Army Reserve Element at JBLM. “The 85th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command’s OC/Ts are watching the training. They provide units with feedback to improve as they go through their missions. All the 85th USARSC’s OC/Ts are embedded with the 189th CATB. We have four training support battalions. Each one is partnered with an active-duty battalion as they conduct their missions.”
According to Davis, OC/Ts from 189th CATB provided value to the training, for the training audience and with the 85th USARSC OC/Ts.
“That’s added value because we give an objective look at their training,” said Davis.
During Raven Focus, Soldiers from Army COMPOs 1, 2 and 3 — active duty, National Guard and reserve, respectively — participated in a variety of training scenarios, including a mass casualty exercise at Badger Gap, which provided medical Soldiers the opportunity to treat simulated injured Soldiers in a combat-like environment.
As the simulated injured Soldiers were brought into the triage area of the role 2 medical treatment facility, Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Trejo, combat medic with the 189th CATB, helped categorize the Soldiers laying on stretchers according to their injuries.
“They sort mass causalities in order of precedence. Who must go in first for care and who has the best chance of survival. We have seen a lot of multi-system injuries,” said Trejo. “Lots of bleeding and amputations due to an explosion. These casualties would be evacuated to the next level of care.”
Providing direct patient care in the medical treatment facility is Lt. Col. Sean Guevara, a field surgeon with the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
“I’m a pediatrician in civilian life in the tri-city area. I’m also trained in advanced trauma lifesaving. Our mission here in role 2 medical care is to stabilize the patients’ injuries, return them to duty, or evacuate them to a higher level of care,” said Guevara, who previously served on deployments to Iraq and Poland.
Field ambulances and other vehicles, operating in a tough training environment, can break down and need to be recovered and repaired. There’s no time to wait during hot, dry weather. Vehicle recovery is a 24-hour operation split into two 12-hour shifts.
“It’s important we get there quickly because of the size of the training area. If you break down 15 or 20 miles out, a Soldier could be in the heat for a long time,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Shaffer, maintenance motor sergeant with the 1-356th Logistics Support Battalion at JBLM. “If somebody gets stuck, it’s much safer for us to go out and recover them. It preserves the people and the equipment.”
Shaffer, an experienced Soldier who grew up in Seattle, served three combat deployments with the 25th Infantry Division, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He has served 20 years on active duty and in the U.S. Army Reserve and continues his service in the U.S. Army Reserve.
“I feel like I have experience that can help the next generation of Soldiers succeed,” said Shaffer.
By Staff Sgt. David Lietz