Photo By Sgt. Bob Timney | Lt. Col. Roy Brown, senior ARNG advisor for NTC Reserve Component Operations, Plans...... read more read more
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FORT IRWIN, Calif. – “This is not the National Evaluation Center. It is the National Training Center,” said Lt. Col. Roy Brown, director of the NTC Reserve Component Operations, Plans and Training here.
Gone are the days of the NTC report card. What used to be looked at as bad marks or a poor grade are now seen as targets for improvement during NTC training.
“Whatever level of readiness soldiers come here with, our job is to ensure they leave here at the highest level of readiness possible,” Brown said. “That means our training is aggressively flexible and designed to stress every unit regardless of their capability or experience upon arrival.”
Most soldiers eventually learn on their own what they need to know to survive in a combat zone. But Brown said there’s an initial critical transition time period of about 45 days where soldiers are susceptible to unnecessary danger. The preparation and training available at NTC can safely bridge the gap of inexperience to avoid an early, preventable casualty during this timeframe, he added.
But as the popular Nickelback song “Rockstar” asks, “So how you gonna do it?” It all starts with RC-OPT’s involvement prior to a unit’s scheduling of NTC because RC-OPT is to NTC what NTC is to the actual war zones.
“Units are able get much more out of NTC because we are able to raise their level of training readiness prior to getting here,” said Brown. “We have had units scheduled to come here that were short on Combat Lifesaver certified personnel and we were able to help them schedule a class to come up to speed prior to getting here.” He also has what he calls his ‘bag of tricks’ to supplement necessary equipment to ensure units can properly train while they are here. Items available include combat lifesaver bags, special first aid kits and ballistic vests.
“I don’t want units to have any shortfalls while they are here so they can focus fully on getting the training at hand,” said Brown. “I want them to bring their ‘A game’ and be extremely competitive or just stay home.”
Reasons to bring your ‘A game’ to NTC are plenty, but the most compelling are seasoned soldiers who have deployed before and are now attending NTC training for future deployment. Some share the sentiment of Sgt. Dorian Gantenbein, intelligence sergeant for the 369th Early Entry Element Sustainment Brigade out of Harlem, N.Y.
“I wish I had this training before I went to theater the first time,” said Gantenbein. “It would have made things so much easier.”
Gantenbein works in the 319th Combat Sustainment Support Brigade Tactical Operations Center, which has several different sections that work together to manage communication and coordination between field units and higher command from intelligence to logistical support.
Smooth interaction and execution both ways is critical to every mission because information isn’t just passed down from senior leadership to units to tell them what to do, intelligence information learned from soldiers themselves is passed back up.
“We need to know anything that helps you find, know and never lose the enemy,” said Gantenbein.
Enter the combat trainers whose primary responsibilities are teaching and coaching. Once the units begin NTC training, these trainers take the lead on ‘how they do it.’ Gantenbein stressed that combat trainers whom he worked with in the operations cell “have been extremely crucial in coaching and mentoring the section personnel and leaders on the systems, TOC interaction and operations in general.”
The scope of their teaching was full spectrum and after a simulated attack, Maj. C.J. King, a combat trainer, addressed everyone in the tactical operations center, not just the top brass.
“While I was pleased with our overall performance, [the combat trainers] identified opportunities to improve our drills and leadership skills to be better able to function under battle conditions,” said Lt. Col. Mike Caraballo, commander of the 319th CSSB. “We then put that information to work for the next drill.”
Another way they ‘do it’ is with natural and fabricated environments.
Located in the Mohave Desert, the terrain and climate is nearly a duplicate of several current deployment areas. The living conditions are naturally just as harsh.
Reserve component engineers have helped build roads, encampments, and even replicated village and town areas for soldiers to interact with foreign cultures they may face overseas.
Spc. Jason Heavilin, gunner with the 758th Maintenance Company, of Columbus, Ohio, said, “It’s pretty realistic. The [training] you do in Kuwait, you do here.”
To make the encounters even more realistic, Brown said, civilians in a special program called Civilians on the Battlefield are utilized to play roles in the towns. Some of these civilians are contracted natives of foreign countries playing the role of people soldiers will likely face when deployed. They speak the language and react according to their culture, allowing soldiers to make decisions to experience the rewards or consequences of their actions, without losing lives on either side.
“I guess it almost speaks for itself because when you get out there… you can’t envision it. And NTC, out in the box, is probably the closest thing you’re going to get to it, short of actually being in theater. And if we’re going to make mistakes, if we’re going to learn lessons, we want to make them and learn them here,” said Lt. Col. Burk Voigt, assistant contracting officer’s representative for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, who currently works with NTC to provide linguists and role players for training.
Completing the realism of the experience is the quality of simulated attacks. Hollywood caliber sets and actual ex-Hollywood personnel have been contracted to produce safe, yet highly realistic explosions and a battlefield environment. Brown said this means fewer casualties and more successful missions.
“All the expense and effort we put into realism is to accomplish one goal and that is to allow the soldiers to experience as close as possible the stress and realism of the battlefield without the potential loss of life associated with mistakes,” said Brown.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2010 17:28 |
| Story ID: | 54622 |
| Location: | FORT IRWIN, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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