Friend or Foe? Dillon teaches the difference

HOHENFELS, Germany - As American soldiers enter a village here, they are approached by bearded men with turbans and women with burqas covering their faces. The soldiers do not know who is friend or who is foe.
The son of a Triangle couple is serving here where fictitious Arab villages have been built with actors roaming about, giving it the look and feel of being in a war zone. The actors are supporting a mission to train American, NATO and allied soldiers on how to deal with unknown situations that are sure to face those who go to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Army Sgt. Jared N. Dillon, son of Dennis and Jana Dillon of Tri-angle, is a member of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment located here at the Army's Joint Multinational Readiness Center. He functions as an enemy insurgent, or known within the Army as an opposing force, or OP-FOR.
"We train American and NATO forces in full-spectrum warfare us-ing military and insurgent tactics," said Dillon.
With the rat-tat-tat of AK-47 assault rifles echoing through the village here, the OPFOR insurgents challenge soldiers who treat this war-gaming situation as a real-life evaluation. Allied soldiers and insurgents alike have rifles equipped with laser systems that allow for the exchange of gunfire. Everyone wears a laser receptor system that will give off a loud shrill if they are shot. The goal is for soldiers heading to the war zone to learn from potential combat pitfalls here rather than making the mistakes on the battlefield.
"It's important for them to learn to work together in their teams, squads, platoons, and companies. We help them learn so that everyone comes home alive," said Dillon.
Some of the actors here are hired civilians who dress and play the part of Arabs living in a village, while others, such as Dillon, are American soldiers who are trained in tactics used by insurgents. Combined with villages that could typify a real town in Iraq or Af-ghanistan, a look and feel of being in the war zone is achieved.
"The training environment here is diverse from the woods to the dirt roads. And it's physically demanding, with a lot of big hills," said Dillon.
For Dillon, serving here in support of this teaching facility is one of many experiences found within the military so far.
"I have been in the Army for five years. I have deployed to Afghanistan twice - in 2006 and 2008 to the Zabul Province," said Dillon.
Although a soldier serving in the U.S. Army, Dillon understands the importance of some soldiers here wearing a uniform that appears much like what is worn by an enemy in Afghanistan or Iraq. And by doing so is helping his comrades in arms learn the difference between friend and foe.