FORT JOHNSON, La. - It’s hot and humid, and there are critters everywhere. “The Box” at the Joint Readiness Training Center is where Soldiers are battle-tested in a high-stress, multi-domain setting against a near-peer opposing force, becoming deployment-ready.
Showing their resilience and modernized warfighting capabilities, the New Jersey National Guard’s 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was up to the task, making history as the first New Jersey Guard unit to lead a rotation at JRTC.
Nearly 3,000 New Jersey 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 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. Units of the 44th IBCT demonstrated 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” includes a two-week training period beginning with live-fire exercises before the force-on-force phase.
Units and their Soldiers were evaluated on 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.
“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 Gen. Patton said: ‘He who sweats more in training, bleeds less in battle.’”