157th CATB completes home station mobilization

IN, UNITED STATES

09.30.2022

Story by Sgt. James Hobbs 

157th Infantry Brigade, First Army Division East

 157th CATB completes home station mobilization 

CAMP ATTERBURY, In. – Observer Coach Trainers from 157th Combined Arms Training Brigade (CATB), First Army Division East, participated in a home station mobilization for Task Force Nighthawk, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Indiana National Guard, here Sept. 6-26, 2022.  

The proof-of-concept mobilization at Camp Atterbury provided several benefits to the Soldiers of TF Nighthawk: the unit trained on familiar terrain in their own state, the location helped reduce post-mobilization training days, and Soldiers were able to see their families again prior to their departure to Germany. 

“The purpose of home station mobilization is to allow National Guard units to have greater influence and buy in for post-mobilization training in both personnel and equipment readiness closer to their home station, their headquarters,” said Maj. Dan Poutier, chief of Training in Mobilization for 157th CATB. “Rather than having to go to a traditional Mobilization Force Generating Installation such as Fort Bliss or Fort Hood.” 

Home station mobilizations not only save deploying units from additional post-mobilization days while leveraging existing MFGIs capabilities, they also better prepare OC/T organizations like the 157th CATB for rapidly expanding large-scale mobilization capabilities on their installations. 

“The 157th has gained repetitions in validation, training, and administrative tasks associated with large-scale mobilization,” Poutier said. “If Camp Atterbury had to assume it’s strategic role as a mobilization installation, the 157th is better prepared to execute those tasks.” 

157th CATB OC/Ts work closely with National Guard partner units to enhance personnel and equipment readiness during pre- and post-mobilization periods. OC/Ts provided oversight of scenario based training exercises, validating the unit’s standard operating procedures, proficiencies and overall mission readiness. 

“The 157th has not performed a Home Station Mobilization prior to the 76th IBCT,” said Col. Troy Mills, commander for the 157th CATB. “However, the last unit to deploy from Camp Atterbury was during [a] large-scale mobilization exercise in 2020. The opportunity for the 157th to conduct this Home Station Mobilization allowed our team to train on our own task to conduct MFGI expansion. This proof-of-principle concept not only helped TF Nighthawk but helped train our organization in preparation for future operations and requirements.” 

Mills continued by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to better serve 157th CATB partners in the future at Camp Atterbury as a potential MFGI location. 

“We really appreciate all the hard work that went into this mobilization from the entire mobilization enterprise,” he said. “This is all about relationships between us, our partner, [the] National Guard Bureau, First Army, and the state -- and we couldn’t have asked for a better team. Everyone had the same focus and placed priority on the needs of the deploying unit and supporting the families as their Soldiers go off in the service of the Nation.”  

TF Nighthawk will deploy to the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, for a culminating training exercise and validation before assuming their mission in Southeast Europe. 
 
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• Date Taken: 09.30.2022
• Date Posted: 10.04.2022 11:33
• Story ID: 430678
• Location: IN, US