FORT STEWART, Ga. – The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, comprising more than 4,000 Soldiers across the Georgia Army National Guard, is conducting annual training at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as the brigade prepares for its transition to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team while continuing to develop Soldiers for future missions.
Annual training serves as the National Guard’s program of record designed to build platoon-level readiness and ensure brigade combat teams remain prepared to deploy, fight and win in complex operational environments.
Throughout the training period, Soldiers assigned to the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are participating in crew-served weapons training, completing the Soldier Readiness Program and conducting familiarization with multiple weapon systems, including the M2 .50-caliber machine gun, MK19-3 40mm grenade machine gun, M4A1 carbine, M240B machine gun and M249 light machine gun.
“We’re training based on current tactics, techniques and procedures in preparation for future missions,” said U.S. Army Col. Nathaniel Stone, commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. “As we train here and across the country, we are preparing Soldiers to respond quickly and effectively in a time of need.”
Training events throughout the exercise are focused on preparing Soldiers for realistic operational environments through convoy operations, weapons qualification, battle drills, communications exercises, land navigation and field training scenarios designed to test individuals and units under demanding conditions.
Soldiers are also completing the Soldier Readiness Program, commonly referred to as SRP, to ensure administrative, medical and personnel readiness requirements are met. During SRP, Soldiers move through multiple stations to update financial, administrative and legal records; complete medical screenings; and meet with support personnel to verify deployment readiness. The process ensures that Soldiers remain current with annual readiness requirements and prepared for future mobilization, if required.
As the battlefield continues to evolve, Soldiers assigned to the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, or IBCT, continue to adapt to meet future operational requirements.
“We are transitioning from an IBCT to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team,” Stone said, “while continuing to train for the future fight.”
The transition from an Infantry Brigade Combat Team to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team represents a shift toward a more mobile and adaptable combat force capable of supporting large-scale combat operations. Soldiers continue training with new equipment, modern tactics and enhanced mobility capabilities designed to improve operational effectiveness across the formation.
This annual training exercise at Fort Stewart provides Soldiers access to expansive training areas and realistic environments that strengthen unit capabilities through opportunities to identify, assess and neutralize potential threats while operating alongside specialized units across the brigade.
“Realistic training helps a Soldier to experience the closest thing we can to the modern battlefield, to prepare them for mobilization and to put them in stressful situations,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David Creamer, command sergeant major of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, “in order for them to learn how to react and develop their leadership skills.”
The annual training period demonstrates the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s continued commitment to readiness, professionalism and service as the brigade prepares Soldiers and leaders for future missions.