Photo By Staff Sgt. Bruce Daddis | Soldiers assigned to the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National...... read more read more
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It’s hot, it’s humid, and there are critters everywhere. “The Box” at the Joint Readiness Training Center is the preeminent environment where Soldiers can be battle-tested in a high-stress, multi-domain setting against a near-peer opposing force, becoming a deployment-ready element.
Showing their resilience and modernized war-fighting capabilities, the New Jersey National Guard’s 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was up to the task, and made history as the first N.J. Guard unit to lead a rotation at JRTC.
Nearly 3,000 N.J. Army National Guard Soldiers from the 44th IBCT were assessed on the unit’s ability to conduct large-scale combat operations, maneuvering as a close-combat force. It was the organization’s largest training exercise in over a decade, with approximately 2,500 additional Soldiers from more than a dozen states and Puerto Rico participating in rotation 23-08.
Brigade combat teams are designed to maneuver against, close with, and destroy enemy forces. They also acquire and occupy key terrain, and keep the enemy under constant pressure breaking their will to fight.
As the Army has transitioned from counterinsurgency warfare into large-scale combat operations, JRTC has implemented a refined training model and units of the 44th IBCT were able to demonstrate modernized capabilities during the exercise.
“The ability to successfully operate as a brigade while maneuvering battalions in a large-scale combat operation training environment is a rare achievement for a National Guard BCT,” said Col. Brian Stramaglia, commander of the 44th IBCT. “This is a historic experience for the 44th and for every Soldier and leader involved, as they were able to perform to the highest of standards in their given military occupational specialty.”
“The Box” consists of a two-week training period beginning with live-fire exercises before units move into a force-on-force phase. Units and their Soldiers were evaluated on the performance of their duties within their military occupational specialties by observer coach trainers. During the 10-day force-on-force exercise, Soldiers constantly battled various attacks and surveillance tactics by a notional opposing force in a simulated combat environment.
The training environment allows Army forces to gain and capitalize from information advantages by utilizing the human dimensions of an operational environment. Leaders combine these advantages to better understand the situation, and execute tasks in order to defeat enemy forces. Feedback from the JRTC observer coach trainers allows units to reflect on their actions and assess performance.
Soldiers also gain insight on how their given occupational specialties are vital in combat and are able to coordinate with other sections to gain wins on the battlefield, building unit cohesion.
“As the days went, I felt more confident and proficient in my duties in the Brigade Aviation Element, where I assisted in air assault missions as well as UAS (unmanned aerial systems),” said Sgt. Christopher Moses, an air traffic controller assigned to HHC, 44th IBCT. “It was a constant battle of improvising and improving to become more efficient and valuable to the unit’s mission. Like General Patton said: ‘He who sweats more in training, bleeds less in battle.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2023 23:32 |
| Story ID: | 447213 |
| Location: | FORT JOHNSON, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 900 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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