1st Army, XCTC helps Texas guardsmen prepare for combat

Photo By Thomas Wheeler | FORT HOOD, Texas--Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company 1-156th Brigade Engineer Battalion Headquarters, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Texas Army National Guard, practice recovering route clearance procedures and recovering damaged vehicles and wounded personnel under combat conditions during exportable Combat Training Capability exercise 16-05 at Fort Hood. The Army National Guard’s XCTC program is an instrumented Brigade field training exercise designed to certify Platoon proficiency in coordination with First Army. XCTC provides an experience similar to a Combat Training Center to Guard Soldiers at home station or at a regional training center, minimizing cost and time away from home and jobs.The program brings full training resource packages to National Guard and active duty bases around the country, allowing units to train on their schedule, close to home.  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

08.23.2016

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Wheeler 

First Army Division West

XCTC is an Army National Guard brigade field training exercise designed to certify combat proficiency at the platoon level with support from First Army.

“The purpose of an XCTC is to train a National Guard BCT’s platoons to proficiency,” said Col. Jim Isenhower, commander, 189th Combined Arms Training Brigade, First Army Division West.

“Each of their platoons have very different missions and our job is to help them train to proficiency during their ready-year 3,” he added.

With support from nearly 300 189th CATB observer, coach/trainers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the Guardsman tackled multiple training lanes ranging from vehicle recovery and platoon defensive operations to mass casualty and route clearance procedures. Each lane conducted multiple iterations following a crawl-walk-run strategy and was followed by an after action review that ensured each participating platoon identified their deficiencies and applied those lessons learned to future repetitions.

“It’s been the best training I’ve seen in years,” said Col. David Webb, commander, 56th IBCT, Texas Army National Guard.

“It’s shown me where our weaknesses are and what we need to work on in training-year 17,” he added.

“The reality of the training far exceeded anything we could do on a drill weekend and with the OPFOR, and XCTC effects, there’s no hiding, your readiness is right there in black and white. Because of it we are phenomenally better then when we started on day one,” Webb added.

Capt. Joanna Van Engel, commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 949th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th IBCT, agreed with Webb about the training value and importance and stressed its role in increasing her unit’s readiness.

“It increased our readiness because when my Soldiers get realistic, real-world training they learn how to react as a team and that cohesiveness translates to a combat environment,” Van Engel said. “It also gives us the validation that we need that our troops can perform in a combat situation and it gives them confidence in themselves and each other.”

Van Engel and Webb both went on to attribute much of their unit’s success during the exercise to the 189th CATB OC/T support.

“I really appreciate what the OC/Ts did to create realistic training,” Van Engel said. “They gave us some very valuable guidance and were able to observe my troops from aspects that I can’t always get to. They really served as my eyes and ears.”

“Their method was to come out here, support us, and make us better and they helped us to be successful,” Webb added.

“We are indebted to them for all of their help and mentorship and honest evaluation. The 189 just basically never said no. They facilitated anything that I asked them to. It’s been the best OC/T experience I’ve had, and I’ve had several.”

Since its first rotation held in 2005 at the Kentucky-based Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center, the XCTC has been designed to provide tough, realistic training for participating brigades as well as methods for achieving company level and battalion battle staff proficiency for ARNG units during pre-mobilization training.

The exercise also satisfies requirements for possible participation in future Combat Training Center rotations at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, or the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

• Date Taken: 08.23.2016
• Date Posted: 09.01.2016 23:51
• Story ID: 208764
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US