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NEWS | July 23, 2014

Michigan Army Guard kicks off XCTC training exercise, active component and Army Guard Soldiers train together

By Army Staff Sgt. Kimberly Bratic Michigan National Guard

LANSING, Mich. - Approximately 5,000 Soldiers from five states have converged on Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, Michigan, to participate in an eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation where they are scheduled to conduct artillery live-fire tables, undergo react-to-contact drills and a variety of other tactical and technical scenarios.

This rotation marks the first time active component units will be integrated with reserve component units for validation during an XCTC rotation. The training exercise includes Army National Guard units from Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and West Virginia as well as elements from the active component’s 10th Mountain Division. Personnel from First Army Division East are acting as observer/ controllers and evaluators during the exercise.

Units conducting training include:

  • 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment - New Hampshire Army National Guard
  • 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment - Michigan Army National Guard
  • 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Regiment - Rhode Island Army National Guard
  • 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery Regiment - Michigan Army National Guard
  • 1st Battalion, 201st Field Artillery Regiment - West Virginia Army National Guard
  • 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division - Fort Drum, New York

XCTC is a program of record that has been used by the Army National Guard since 2005 to train more than 11 combat and functional brigades and the melding of Army Guard and active component elements into the training is a first at Camp Grayling, officials said. That reflects the larger nature of deployments and real-world missions.

"After eleven and a half years of combat, we have to rely on each other," said Sgt. Maj. Phong Tran, an observer/controller with First Army Div. East. "This exercise reinforces that need."

During the three-week exercise, a variety of artillery rounds are scheduled to be fired including high-explosive, smoke and illumination rounds. Meanwhile, others Soldiers are scheduled to fire training munitions with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems while others will be firing 81mm and 120mm high-explosive and smoke mortar rounds. While all that is taking place, Soldiers must also react to direct contact by opposing forces with simulated small arms fire, simulated roadside bombs and complex attacks while testing casualty evacuation and vehicle recovery procedures.

 

 

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