STARKE, Fla. - The year's largest training event for the Florida Army National Guard is taking place in North-Central Florida, as Soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) converged on Camp Blanding Joint Training Center for a nearly three-week exercise.
More than 4,500 Soldiers from the 53rd IBCT are at the post through the end of July, participating in the eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise. The exercise simulates battlefield conditions to train the Soldiers and their leaders "in their wartime missions" while enhancing their "tactical proficiency and technical competence."
Simply put, the Soldiers will be working on their Infantry skills - everything from conducting a medical evacuation, to responding to an IED (improvised explosive device) attack.
XCTC - a California-based company - will bring between 400-500 contractors to Camp Blanding during the exercise, providing an experience similar to that of combat training centers in Louisiana or California. The training, which is conducted for units during the ready phase of the Army Force Generation cycle, incorporates the most current tactics, techniques, and procedures used by Army National Guard Infantry brigades.
Jim Shaver, Exercise Control Cell Chief for the XCTC training at Camp Blanding for this cycle, explained that the hundreds of contractors used during the training will make the exercise as "realistic as possible," and provide "Hollywood-level moulage to simulate casualties" on the battlefield.
His group from XCTC includes instrumentation and communications teams, battlefield effects simulation teams, and battlefield immersion teams that provide civilians on the battlefield and foreign language speakers.
"The more realistic - the more you can make the training environment look like actual combat - the better off you will be in terms of preparing the Soldiers for a real combat experience," Shaver said.
Shaver explained that the first portion of the XCTC period will cover Infantry training techniques, and the final portion will be a brigade-level field training exercise complete with role-players and opposing forces (OPFOR).
During the training, more than 600 Soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division are filling OPFOR roles, and more than 200 Soldiers from 1st Army from Camp Shelby, Miss., are acting as observer-controller trainers..
"My staff is basically an extension of the brigade commander. This is his training plan," Shaver said, noting that his group has met extensively with 53rd IBCT Commander Col. Mike Canzoneri and his command team to plan aspects of the XCTC training for the Florida Soldiers.
He said upgrades to the electronic Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System, or MILES gear, this cycle will be used throughout the training area. It will make it possible to "track a Soldier anywhere in the training area 24-7."
"If you fire your weapon, it knows that you are firing and it can give a shot-line on our screen to show who you are shooting at," Shaver explained.
Infantry Soldiers received their equipment July 12-14, in preparation for the actual training which begins July 15.
As his Soldiers received their personal MILES equipment on July 12, the 53rd IBCT's Capt. Matthew Tebow noted that he was excited as an Infantry company commander to participate in the training.
"As a company commander this is a 'once-in-a-career' type experience," Tebow, of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, said.
He noted that the 85 Soldiers in his company have been training for the past two years knowing that they would be coming to Camp Blanding for the XCTC.
"We are really excited to participate in it...to make our mistakes, to learn from our mistakes, to grow from our mistakes," he added.
Personnel from both the Florida Army National Guard and Air National Guard will support the three weeks of training at Camp Blanding. Even experts from the Camp Blanding-based 221st Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company used their annual training to support XCTC.
On July 11, EOD specialists used detonation cord and plastic explosives to clear unexploded ordnance on Camp Blanding's Pinner Range where some of the training would take place. The unit will also be available to help the Infantry in the event they have malfunctioning ammunition, find unexploded ordnance, or have any similar emergencies.
"While they are conducting any type of (missions) on ranges we can go out and respond to them so they can resume training and they don't have as much down time," 221st EOD Platoon Leader 1st Lt. Lee Ashlock said. "It is so they can maximize the training they have at Camp Blanding."