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GEORGIA GARRISON TRAINING CENTER, Fort Stewart, Ga. — The Georgia National Guard 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team set high marks for the eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program to provide soldiers with an experience similar to combat missions overseas. XCTC is a battalion field-training instrument designed to certify company proficiency in coordination with First Army. 2,300 Georgia Guardsmen, including soldiers from Canada and the United Kingdom, have converged on the regional training center at Fort Stewart, minimizing cost and time otherwise spent traveling to one of the Army’s Combat Training Centers in Fort Irwin, Calif. or Fort Polk, La.
“This exercise has really exceeded my expectations,” said Lt. Gen. William Ingram, Jr., Army National Guard director. “The soldiers in the 48th have really been on the money with putting people where they need to be in order to get the most out of this exercise. I’m impressed.”
As director, Lt. Gen. Ingram guides the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the more than 350,000 citizen soldiers of the Army National Guard.
The 48th IBCT is approaching the ready-year of the Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) model for fiscal year 2014. The Army National Guard has aligned itself with the active Army to a more flexible brigade-centric force creating units that are more independent to enhance unified land operations. The model consists of three distinct stages, reset, train-ready and available.
The Department of the Army developed the training cycle model in 2006 to maintain readiness, proper equipment needs and meet the growing demand for war-fighting capabilities. Before, the Guard required long mobilization timelines in order to build the readiness necessary to respond to any national security threat. The 48th IBCT maintains one of the highest levels of readiness in the nation for Guard units.
Senior active duty Army and National Guard Bureau officials toured ranges and met with soldiers of the 48th IBCT and their international brethren the 51st Highlands, 7th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (7 SCOTS) and the 32nd Canadian Brigade Group (32 CBG). The 7 SCOTS and 32 CBG are on location to cross train with the 48th IBCT in the XCTC exercises. Senior leaders visibly recognized the hard efforts and level of proficiency reached by guardsmen.
“I think it’s great when your senior leadership is willing to get out in the heat and muck with you and see the troops in action,” said Staff Sgt. Stefan Berry, a squad leader of Charlie Company, 1-121st Infantry Regiment. “Since I’ve come into the National Guard we have been taught our doctrine. It really sparks the brain to work with and learn from other countries.”
In a time of fiscal constraint, the reserve component’s inclusion in the Army’s operational force, the active Army, National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve truly reflect the total Army concept.
“Going forward what you are going to see is a lot more training with partners in the active component and in the Army reserves,” said Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. “We are going to go after a much more integrated approach to training and readiness and we want you [Guardsmen] to have, routinely, access to all components of our force as we train and fight.”
The Georgia National Guard continues to provide interoperability to global operations through continued combat rotations to Afghanistan in support of ongoing contingencies, stability operations and Defense Support of Civil Authorities at home.
The SRI International team demonstrated some of its simulation capabilities with a scenario involving actors and high-tech props. The National Guard Bureau operates the XCTC program in conjunction with SRI International giving Soldiers true to life simulations to enhance their training. Utilizing personnel location and 3D interfaces to conduct after action reviews, the mission of XCTC is to gain better perspective into the actions of platoons in the field environment.
“With the XCTC technology, not only does the Soldier get better simulations, but it gives the Soldier better insight into their platoon’s actions,” said James Patterson, tactical analysis center lead for SRI International. “This is the kind of stuff I wished we had when I was in the Army.”
The 188th Infantry Brigade of First Army Division East provide Observer-Controller-Trainer teams to evaluate soldiers throughout XCTC and review in-depth, play-by-play video captured during the training event. At the after action review tent, soldiers see the critical areas that may have been either a decisive point for success or failure.
“It’s really not like grading,” said 48th IBCT Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Lewis. “We grade ourselves. They are just brining their experiences to our training and it always helps to hear different ways to get after a problem.”
As ARFORGEN continues, explained Gen. Allyn, it’s going to adapt to preserve the current timelines for active duty two-year cycles and five-year cycles for a reserve component with Guard and reserve units performing an estimated 50 percent of our regionally aligned force missions. The highest demand capability for forces is enabler capabilities such as combat support and combat service support.
“Some of the future force structure decisions that are out there, if we have to get smaller than 490,000, which we will if sequestration stays in effect through this year, would involve some kind of multi-component units,” said Gen. Allyn. “So you would have Guard brigades as part of active divisions potentially or Guard battalions as part of active brigades.”
Soldiers with the 48th IBCT completed the XCTC rotation at the end of September and will continue to receive the best training available to enhance the Georgia Guard’s ability to react in missions both domestic and global environments.
“There is a significantly bright future for the Guard and the XCTC program,” said Lt. Gen. Ingram, “Soldiers in the 48th will be well trained at the end of this exercise.”
The 48th IBCT is projected in 2014 to support operations under the newly organized regionally aligned forces mission in support of U.S. Southern Command. Additional elements of the 48th IBCT, including the brigade headquarters, will deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2013 19:22 |
| Story ID: | 114035 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | MACON, GA, US |
| Hometown: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | WINDER, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 338 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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