Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Klestinski | Army Maj. Gen. Robert Carruthers, who serves as both Florida’s assistant adjutant...... read more read more
Key leaders of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) and supporting units met July 26 for a combined arms rehearsal (CAR) to prepare for the final, three-day event that will culminate the Florida Army National Guard’s Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise.
XCTC is a major training event that Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) Soldiers are participating in to prepare for a National Training Center rotation next year. This training ensures the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s readiness and proficiency to deploy. Almost 5,000 Florida Guard members have mobilized to Camp Shelby to support this XCTC.
Army Maj. Justin Howland, the 53rd IBCT’s S-3 officer, began the briefings for the 53rd IBCT’s brigade staff members, as well as battalion and squadron commanders. Among the Soldiers attending the brief were Army Maj. Gen. Robert Carruthers, who serves as both Florida’s assistant adjutant general – Army and the Florida Army National Guard commander, as well as Command Sgt. Maj. Jasen Pask, Florida Army National Guard command sergeant major. Briefers described their roles in the plan and the actions they would take in accordance with specific phases.
Howland said the CAR represented a synchronization between all the battalions and entities to ensure all the Soldiers understood the brigade’s overall plan, and that a common operating picture existed down to the lowest level.
“XCTC is all about platoon validation, and command and control, not only at the company and battalion level, but at the brigade level,” Howland said. “This rehearsal ensures that our staffs are synced and commanders at the highest level can command and control their forces out maneuvering in the training area.”
The rehearsal leading up to XCTC’s culminating exercise is especially important because the overall XCTC event is a rare training opportunity to prepare the Florida Army Guard for tomorrow’s conflicts. (The last such event occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.) According to Howland, exercises like XCTC and the rehearsals that lead up to them not only increase the Florida Guard’s readiness, but they establish “generational readiness.” Such opportunities develop junior officers who will eventually lead the companies, battalions and brigades that will engage in future XCTC training cycles – or war with near-peer adversaries.
“Combined arms rehearsals don’t happen very often at a scale of this size,” Howland said. “Only when we’re going to a collective training center or an XCTC are we able to truly do a brigade-sized operation. This [exercise] provides generational readiness across the formation.”
Second Lieutenant Paris Manis, project officer for the 53rd IBCT’s S4 section, said that it was helpful to observe all the pieces come together in real time to provide the “click” that gave him a big-picture understanding of the overall operation.
“Seeing how all the warfighting functions work together, like how fires works together with sustainment, and how the S-3 works with the S-2… has been a great experience and a great learning opportunity,” Manis said.
Army Col. John Sargeant ended the rehearsal with a friendly reminder for his leaders to keep safety in mind.
“At the end of the day, we’re in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and this is XCTC,” Sargeant said. “We want no safety incidents. Let’s leave here the way we are right now[,] get back to home station, and ready for hurricane operations.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2024 17:03 |
| Story ID: | 477161 |
| Location: | CAMP SHELBY, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 170 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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