MSARNG prepare to return equipment home

Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Tomlinson | Sgt. Jefferson Prince with the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard, tightens a locking mechanism to hold vehicles on a rail car at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Yermo Annex, California, June 20, 2021. The Mississippi National Guard Maneuver Area Training Equipment Sites rail team are scheduled to load nearly 1,000 vehicles at Yermo for transportation back to their home states following a National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, California.(Mississippi National Guard photo by Spc. Benjamin Tomlinson)  

BARSTOW, CA, UNITED STATES

06.20.2021

Story by Spc. Benjamin Tomlinson 

102d Public Affairs Detachment

FORT IRWIN, California - Soldiers with the Mississippi National Guard Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site (MATES) and 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team loaded rail cars with wheeled and tracked vehicles at Marine Corps Logistics Base Yermo Annex, California, June 20, 2021.

The 155th ABCT and supporting elements recently came out of the field after spending over two weeks conducting a large scale combat training exercise at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. The rail operations at MCLB have the capabilities to transport the equipment used during the exercise.
There are nearly 1000 wheeled and tracked tactical vehicles, which is 380 train cars worth of equipment, to move and secure in place for the transport from California back home from the training.
The brigade has roughly 250 soldiers dedicated to the rail yard to assist with moving the tactical vehicles onto the train cars, said Lt. Col. Scott Lindley, superintendent of the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center MATES facility.
After coming out of the field, ready to get out of the heat and return home Soldiers move forward swiftly yet thoroughly to finish their NTC rotation. The Soldiers working the rail yard kept a positive attitude and worked quickly to accomplish the mission, said Antonio Flores, Jr., Rail Operations lead instructor.
“The go-get-it attitude has always been there, which is a great thing,” Flores said. “I always use Mississippi as my example to all units, they come in here with positive attitudes. Let’s get it done sooner than later.”
NTC rotations replicate the tough, realistic operational environment that America's war fighters face in combat; the training is relevant and quickly adaptable to emerging threats and technologies in the current operational environments and for tomorrow's challenges.
The Soldiers will be returning from California this week.
(Mississippi National Guard Story and Photo by Spc. Benjamin Tomlinson)

• Date Taken: 06.20.2021
• Date Posted: 06.22.2021 13:13
• Story ID: 399381
• Location: BARSTOW, CA, US