National Training Center tests brigade's combat capability in 'the box'

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, UNITED STATES

12.28.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Michael Williams 

155th Armored Brigade Combat Team

In the Mojave Desert, the U.S. Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, is the home of “the box” and that’s where the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team spent a few weeks conducting combat training exercises.
“The box,” short for the sandbox, is where the Dixie Thunder brigade and other enabling units tested battle tactics and readiness.
“This is it. This is the game,” said Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles,” adjutant general of Mississippi. “I would compare this to a playoff game to get to the Super Bowl or the World Series. This is where the real game is being played where they get force-on-force because the next step is to deploy.”
Approximately 6,500 National Guardsmen from both Army and Air trained in California in a tough, but realistic environment. Guard units that supported the 155th NTC rotation include the 184th Sustainment Command, 298th Support Battalion, 367th Maintenance Company, 1st Battalion, 204th Air Defense Artillery, 223rd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, 890th Engineer Battalion, 238th Air Support Operations Squadron and the 172d Airlift Wing.
“We were sort of identified as the unit to test the National Guard,” said Boyles. “Mississippi has been selected to test that system. And we are very proud of the Soldiers that are achieving those goals and continuing that legacy for the 155 - being that unit you can depend on.”
For decades, America’s Guardsmen have been defending their freedoms in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. In order to defend, Service members train in environments that provide intensive training, such as NTC, to hone their warrior skills.
“Our Mississippi Soldiers and Airmen are fully prepared to complete and support combat operations training at the National Training Center,” said Boyles. “This exercise will display the Mississippi National Guard’s robust talent, joint capabilities, and commitment to national defense. This is their best opportunity to validate and say we know what are doing,” he said.
The Dixie Thunder brigade recently wrapped up its most recent train-up by sending thousands of guardsmen to Fort Hood, Texas, to participate in the Multi-echelon Integrate Brigade Training, or MiBT, exercise in 2016.
In 2015, the brigade gained valuable experience in the Exportable Combat Training Exercise, or XCTC, that was held at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Mississippi. These training exercises are reflective of the complexities of potential adversaries the U.S. military could face and include: guerilla, insurgent, criminal and near-peer conventional forces.
“The world is a dangerous place and the last 15 years, we have been focused as an Army on fighting counter-insurgency, conducting, training, advising, and assisting,” said Gen. Robert B. Abrams, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command. “We have shifted our orientation away from counter-insurgency training and advising to be ready to deal with those near-peer threats should be called upon by the combat commander."
One way to stay “at-the-ready” is to survive the 21-day rotation at NTC. With the tough desert environment, long days and realistic combat training, one could be ready to call it quits. An NTC rotation replicates the tough, realistic operational environment that America’s war fighters face in combat. The training is reflective of the complexities of potential challenges our nation could face.
“The National Training Center is a premiere training venue for the United States Army,” said Brig. Gen. David O. Smith, 184th SC commander. “It is the best training our Soldiers can receive anywhere short of actual combat.”
During the unit’s seven-day intensive training in "the box,” its mission was to disrupt, defeat or destroy enemy forces through decisive actions to achieve higher headquarters objectives.
“We are deploying into the box to set up our tactical assembly areas and continue to refine our plan in preparation for execution of missions to come,” said Lt. Col. Jacques Byrd, 155th ABCT deputy commander.
With its cross-hairs on training, the unit trained for readiness and remained vigilant for the unexpected.
“We are going to train hard and learn a lot. The goal of this exercise is to train and help us to improve our readiness and preparedness,” said Byrd.
Throughout the vast desert, the 155th ABCT occupied several villages with houses, shops, mosques and marketplaces. The exercises are part of what the Army calls “full immersion combat simulation.” They use training dummies and hire people to play civilian roles. The training is tailored to specific situations the unit could face during a deployment, such as realistic villages and cities in the desert terrain and intense fighting.
“This is very beneficial to me while in this immersive training environment,” said Spc. Trevor Stephens, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 155th ABCT. “This opportunity will show the brigade’s work as a whole and it will give me the opportunity to test my individual tasks. I expect hot days, some long hours and some very tough fights but in the end we’ll emerge victorious.”
While in "the box," the unit’s objective was to assist the Atropian government, a mock government used to train troops in urban warfare at NTC. During the game-play, the brigade supported the Atropian Security Forces in operations to deter further aggression by Donovia and other hostile regimes. Roll-playing official leaders and the brigade leadership teamed up to achieve peace, stability, and to provide prosperity for all citizens of Atropia.
“This training offers our brigade the unique opportunity to train in a vast austere environment utilizing scenarios that closely replicate conflicts that the Army had to deal with in the past,” said Byrd.
The brigade’s training also included interacting with Afghan speaking role players, terrorist cells, insurgents, criminal networks, civilian authorities and military forces. This exercise is designed to test Soldiers of all ranks and put them up against a thinking, dedicated, opposing force. The overall goal is to sustain readiness.
“This right here is a great opportunity to come out and better ourselves,” said Command Sgt. Maj. John Beasley, 1st Squadron, 98th Cavalry Regiment. “When we are called up, we will be well-trained in a great organization and these Soldiers will be able to perform the duties they supposed to with the least amount of injuries and to the best effectiveness that we can do.”
While NTC rotation 17-07 was a conclusion of more than a year of individual Soldier tasks, gunnery tables and larger events like the MiBIT and the XCTC, it was also a stepping stone for the Dixie Thunder brigade’s final preparation to be mission ready.

• Date Taken: 12.28.2017
• Date Posted: 02.28.2018 16:59
• Story ID: 260493
• Location: JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, US