Three Battle Buddies - San Antonio, TX
It all started with a Reunion…
It was a chilly, yet typical mid-December day in Buffalo, New York when two of my closest battle buddies and their significant others flew into town. The low-40s temperatures were about 20-30 degrees cooler than where they flew in from, but that was just fine with them. The three of us were stationed together in Fairbanks, Alaska and low temperatures this time of year was the standard. Plus, they came into town to watch their NFL team play against our local team, and December weather in Buffalo is perfect for Sunday afternoon football.
We all had a great time, supplementing the Bills/Cowboys game with all that western New York had to offer, including great wings and BBQ, touring one of the most famous homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, The Darwin Martin house, and—of course—checking out Niagara Falls.
During the reunion weekend, my wife and I hosted our military family for a chance to unwind over a home-cooked meal. The natural progression of our conversation led to our time in Alaska together and the bonds that we forged as US Servicemembers so many years ago.
Our bonds took form along the dirt roads and backcountry at Sand Hill, which was Fort Benning’s (now Fort Moore’s) basic training home to the Army’s Infantry. These bonds were joined like the shelter halves we carried and employed throughout our field training exercises to keep warm and dry amongst the loblolly tree forests of west central Georgia.
While in the arctic tundra of Alaska, the long road marches, morning physical training in all types of weather conditions and the field deployments provided us all with a unique experience wrought with various challenges that we faced as a team, which galvanized our familial bonds.
We tried to relate to our significant others how these experiences were the foundation of our strong relationships and how the trust between us was made so great. I thought using the military foxhole as a metaphor to describe how Veteran bonds are forged might help.
The Military Foxhole: a defensive fighting position
A military foxhole is a defensive fighting position that is created by the same Servicemembers that ultimately occupy and defend them. It offers protection while firing upon and being firing on by an advancing enemy. The level of security a foxhole provides is directly proportionate to the level of effort and attention its military occupants place in its construction.
There are many ways to build this type of fighting position, including various dug out shapes, side protection and overhead cover options. I’ll focus on the way we were taught to build them in the mid-1990s.
The fighting position was dug using an entrenching tool to approximate dimensions of six feet long and two feet wide to the armpit depth of the soldiers that would stand in them. For example, if the distance from the ground to your armpit was 50 inches when standing straight, then the distance from ground level to the foxhole floor should be 50 inches. Two hand grenade sumps were dug below the foxhole floor along its furthest margins that extend for the full two foot width of the foxhole. While the sump length was dug to two feet, they were also six inches wide and approximately 18 inches deep. The standing area of the foxhole was angled slightly away from the middle to allow for any enemy-thrown grenades to roll or be kicked into the hand grenade sump and explode while the soldiers move to the far end of the position, thus keeping them safe from the blast.
The earthen material was excavated and placed into sandbags, which were tied off and became above-ground building material. These sandbags were then systematically placed around the fighting position in staggered and interlocking fashion, as if you were
laying brick.
Large branches or logs were scavenged and laid across the middle of the foxhole from front to back to create overhead cover. The structure was also fortified with interlocking sandbags to a height of approximately 18 inches. This helped the inhabiting Servicemembers survive indirect impacts of mortar fire.
We built these fighting positions for two soldiers to defend with a range of shooting angles, or sectors of fire that branch off to the left and the right of the foxhole. This was done so that our small arms fire would overlap and interlock with the small arms fire coming from our platoons flanking foxhole positions. This angular arrangement was key and allowed for the engagement of would-be assailants indirectly while the aggressors engaged the foxholes straight on. It severely decreased the opposing forces odds of fire while proportionately increasing our fire effectiveness.
A Platoon of 26 to 30 soldiers can make a complete circle of foxholes that provide interlocking fields of fire facing outward that would intimidate any ground force.
Foxhole Construction - Fort Irwin, CA
What it took to make and defend a Foxhole
Building a foxhole according to this design was demanding in many ways. It required physical strength and endurance, as well as resolve and attention to detail in order to construct it to the specifications needed to maximize its protective capabilities. The effort demanded a strong commitment to teamwork from both military inhabitants to ensure that construction went according to plan and according to the typically short timelines required to reduce the risk of enemy contact before they’re operational.
Once constructed, the defense of a foxhole required unparalleled dedication. A high and tandem dose of intestinal fortitude was imperative for those who occupied a foxhole. Defending it from the enemy, for yourself, your battle buddy in the foxhole with you and for your platoonmates in the adjacent foxholes until you were either told to move or until the enemy was incapacitated were the only acceptable options. You also had to rely on your battle buddy in the defensive position with you and those in the foxholes on your flanks to engage the enemy and keep you safe.
The Servicemembers that lived the foxhole life were prepared to fight to the bitter end and made an implicit pact with each other to keep each other alive and the expensive of the common enemy.
…so why Foxhole Alliance?
What my military brothers and I described to our respective significant others on that cold December evening in western New York was that defending a foxhole correctly is at the forefront of what it means to be a US Servicemember. Doing so is one of the highest forms of service one can provide to your battle buddy, to your platoon and to your Nation. It is the hallmark of what it means to wear the military uniform. The three of us Veterans remain very close and would proudly defend each other in any foxhole, be it literal or figurative, at any time.
Our organization celebrates this foxhole-based alliance and fully understands appreciates that you don’t have to have built or occupied a foxhole to make this type of pact with your fellow Servicemembers.
It only requires the intestinal fortitude to help your fellow Servicemembers through the hard times, be it a difficult field exercise, challenging administrative decisions, a long road march or full-fledged combat operations.
This pact is simple, yet poignant, in that it is a fundamental agreement to do everything you can to keep your team alive while effectively engaging and defeating your enemy. To be there for your battle buddy in the foxhole with you and to provide first aid and/or carry them out should it become necessary. Foxhole Alliance reaffirms that pact and we proudly take up the role of battle buddy in the foxhole with our Nation’s Veterans.
We know what it is like to sign an agreement with your country to defend this great Nation with all that one has to offer and to do the same for your fellow Servicemembers. We also know what it is like to leave the service and face the challenges that many Veterans face, including dealing with chronic pain and creating meaningful connections post-military service.
Foxhole Alliance is dedicated to our Nation’s military Veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. Our mission is twofold: (1) to facilitate the meaningful reconnection between Veterans who served together and (2) to provide opportunities for local Veteran’s to connect with other former Servicemembers in their region. These activities are facilitated through and rally around low-impact activities, so that we can provide our programming to a greater number of our Nation’s Veterans.
Three Battle Buddies - Niagara Falls, NY
