Photo By Master Sgt. Brad Staggs | A convoy of military vehicles from the Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry...... read more read more
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By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry
38th Infantry Division Public Affairs
FORT POLK, La. -- Indiana's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, visited Hoosier National Guardsmen with the 38th Infantry Division's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at the Joint Readiness Training Center here on Tuesday.
The 76th soldiers are conducting decisive-action training to develop adaptive leaders, confident units and overall improve Army readiness at the central-Louisiana post about 45 miles west of Alexandria.
“The main mission for our Army forces is realistic training,” said Carr. “The JRTC training leading up to the culminating event provides the most realistic, combat training environment in the Army.”
Soldiers with the brigade started planning for this training more than two years ago. This culminating
event for the 76th soldiers includes reconnoitering, occupying, attacking and defending tactics in the box — a term used for where the battles are taking place at Fort Polk.
The 76th Brigade last trained here in 2000. Carr was then a civil affairs officer for the brigade.
“The training environment really hasn’t changed,” said Carr. “What’s changed is that our mission-command systems and weapon systems are more sophisticated now. We rely on a digital environment and cyber weapons systems. For a brigade in the box, it’s an extremely challenging, training environment.”
While the 76th is here, the brigade’s higher headquarters, the 38th ID is here too. Soldiers with the 38th are also gaining experience in mission command, which is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander.
“This kind of training, while we are not part of the rotation, gets us ready in collective training,” said Maj. Gen. David C. Wood, the 38th Infantry Division’s commander. “With limited training days and with limited training dollars, we need this collective training on the battle systems. ”
Those systems include many different computerized networks that can track ground forces and air forces, and many communication networks that can give those forces a common operating picture of the battles that are taking place in the box.
And those battles, which pit the 76th against an opposing force, are taking place in the box that includes 14 villages, with a role-playing local populace, spread across approximately 90,000 acres.
More than 6,000 troops are on ground participating in this exercise responding as a cohesive team for the 76th, which is what its leader, Col. Robert D. Burke, wanted to accomplish and expected.
“I think, really, it’s to build that team,” said Burke in an interview before the training battles started. “To build those relationships, bring together all of those components of putting together an effective, reliable combat team that can accomplish whatever mission we’re given in support of combat operations.”
On Tuesday, the adjutant general, and former commander of the 76th, saw that firsthand.
“What the enemy brings to bear, challenges the brigade to near failure and pushes the soldiers to their limits,” said Carr. “The positives are that the brigade soldiers have the right attitude, they have a high morale and they’re learning every day. I’m extremely proud of the soldiers of the brigade. It’s a great brigade.”
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| Date Taken: | 08.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2017 16:24 |
| Story ID: | 243466 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Hometown: | GREENWOOD, IN, US |
| Hometown: | LAWRENCE, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 252 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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