Task Force Illini planning 20 years into the Future

Photo By Maj. William Grove | Capt. Mathew Bisesto, Lead Project Developer of the Area Development Plan, and Lt. Col. Jeremy Irvin, Stakeholder Manager, discuss the location of some facility improvements at Combat Training Center-Yavoriv. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Dutch Grove)  

LVIV, UKRAINE

03.25.2021

Story by Cpl. Shaylin Quaid 

33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

LVIV, Ukraine – A team of Soldiers assigned to Task Force Illini, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Illinois Army National Guard, are working on a joint U.S. and Ukraine project called the Area Development Plan (ADP) that will vastly increase the capabilities of Combat Training Center-Yavoriv (CTC-Y) over the next 20 years.
The 21 projects in the ADP relate to the five training pillars used to assess the capability and capacity of CTC-Y. The five pillars are rotational units, operational environment and opposing forces, facilities, exercise planning and life cycle, and instrumentation. The ADP projects include establishing a railhead for vehicle delivery and staging, a radio system upgrade, increasing dining facility and barracks capacity, improving roads, infrastructure upgrades, and more.
Lt. Col. Jeremy Irvin is the CTC-Y Stakeholder Manager for the project.
“We discovered the necessity for the ADP through a conversation with Senior Architect Dr. Mark Holt, who represents the Atkins and Urban Collaborative; a real development company contracted by U.S. Army Europe-Africa and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Irvin. “They provide U.S. and Ukrainian stakeholders with master planning training to maintain and implement the ADP, while building multinational partnerships.“
Capt. Mathew Bisesto is the Lead Project Developer, he oversees individual project managers and coordinates with multinational partners to implement the plan.
“The ADP is a multinational effort to define capability gaps with facilities at CTC-Y. It identifies plans and projects to close those gaps, and funding to execute those plans. The scope is both large in space and time; the timeline for completion is 20 years and the entire training center is considered,” said Bisesto.
Capt. Jack Yamaji is one of several individual Project Managers working on the ADP, specifically focused on the removal of Unexploded Ordinance (UXO).
“My role in the ADP is to research and assess the training area for past and future possible UXO projects. I developed courses of action that will ensure that the training center is in accordance with NATO standards when it comes to UXO clearance,” said Yamaji. “This project, and others, will impact the training center by allowing the Armed Forces of Ukraine to smoothly host and train rotational units.”
The ADP consists of 21 individual projects. Some projects could be complete as soon as fall 2021. Budgets for a single project could be as high as $3.4 million. Each project serves to make training at CTC-Y more feasible and sustainable for future rotations.
“The ADP’s largest impact will be on the self-sustainability of the training center. The lack of certain facilities here has a negative impact on the complexity of the training available, the training timelines, and the cost per Soldier trained,” said Bisesto.
“The plan visualizes a capital investment strategy for all projects identified in the short, medium, and long-term plans, including small renovations and improvements,” said Irvin.
The improved training will have a direct impact on the combat effectiveness of the troops attending training at CTC-Y.
“Many of the cadets I have met at the National Army Academy will rotate through CTC-Y before going to the conflict zone in the East. If we work with the AFU and build the best possible training center for those brave men and women who will be fighting in the East, the training provided here could save lives,” said Yamaji.
Task Force Illini is the command element of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, which is responsible for training, advising, and mentoring the Ukrainian cadre at Combat Training Center-Yavoriv, Ukraine in order to improve Armed Forces Ukraine’s training capacity and defense capabilities.

• Date Taken: 03.25.2021
• Date Posted: 03.25.2021 12:02
• Story ID: 392264
• Location: LVIV, UA