Army Reserve Movement Control Team trains for the fight

Photo By Sgt. Thomas Crough | Army Reserve Soldiers from the 949th Transportation Detachment (Movement Control Team) out of Boise, Idaho, listen to a mission brief during Combat Support Training Exercise 91-17-03 at Camp Roberts, Calif., on July 20, 2017. Nearly 5,400 service members from the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army, Army National Guard, U.S. Navy, and Canadian Armed Forces are training at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., as part of the 84th Training Command’s CSTX 91-17-03 and ARMEDCOM’s Global Medic; this is a unique training opportunity that allows U.S. Army Reserve units to train alongside their multi-component and joint partners as part of the America’s Army Reserve evolution into the most lethal Federal Reserve force in the history of the nation. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Thomas Crough, 301st Public Affairs Detachment)  

CAMP ROBERTS, CA, UNITED STATES

07.20.2017

Story by Sgt. Thomas Crough 

Exercise News Day

CAMP ROBERTS, Calif -- U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from the 949th Transportation Company (Movement Control Team) participated in Combat Support Training Exercise 91-17-03 here, July 20, 2017.
The 949th, hailing from Boise, Idaho, is slated for an overseas deployment next year, making this training all the more important.
“Large training exercises, such as CSTX, are the only places a movement control team can train to be fully operational. Notional training is good but having actual customers is what it is like when we are deployed,” said 1st Lt. James Lilly, Company Commander of the 949th “Having to issue trip tickets and check convoy requests while coordinating the actual movement of vehicles and personnel is not something we can do during battle assembly.”
Soldiers prepare for deployments and benefit from field exercises such as CSTX for many reasons.
“It gets you ready for the heat,” laughs Pfc. Gradey Hosier, a Soldier with the 949th. “You learn who works well together, it gets you ready for going on convoys and being in an austere environment.”
“It allows us to coordinate with all the other units that are here training as well, all of your elements including your combat units…to become cohesive with those units and train with them and be able to identify their needs and the problems that we may have before we go into a actual combat environment,” said Sgt. Cody Robinett, a transportation management coordinator with the 949th.
Preparing for the challenges and dynamic environment presented during an overseas deployment is no easy feat, but exercises such as CSTX aim to bridge that gap.
“We also spent an entire day in the RVTT (Reconfigurable Vehicle Tactics Trainer) which allows Soldiers to experience a virtual battlespace and that’s something we would not normally have access to,” said Lilly. “Our OCTs (Observer/Coach-Trainer) have been great as well, they have created valuable training even when resources such as OPFOR (Opposition Force) are not available.”
Nearly 5,400 service members from the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army, Army National Guard, U.S. Navy, and Canadian Armed Forces are training at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., as part of the 84th Training Command’s CSTX 91-17-03 and ARMEDCOM’s Global Medic. This is a unique training opportunity that allows U.S. Army Reserve units to train alongside their multi-component and joint partners as part of the America’s Army Reserve evolution into the most lethal Federal Reserve force in the history of the nation.

• Date Taken: 07.20.2017
• Date Posted: 07.24.2017 16:41
• Story ID: 242396
• Location: CAMP ROBERTS, CA, US
• Hometown: BOISE, ID, US