FORT PICKETT, Va. -- Paratroopers with 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division kicked off exportable Combat Training Capability rotation 14-01 by jumping into Fort Pickett in the middle of the night, June 6.
The XCTC rotation partners 2-501 "Geronimo" battalion paratroopers with Soldiers assigned to the Army National Guard's 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Throughout the month-long exercise, Geronimo paratroopers will enhance their marksmanship abilities and hone their warrior skills while serving as a contemporary opposing force for the Guard Soldiers. The training is the culminating event in preparation for their deployment.
Once the paratroopers landed in Fort Pickett on June 6 they seized Blackstone Army Airfield, cleared the runway and conducted an assault on an sawmill. The opening exercise of the rotation tested the Geronimo battalion on its ability to quickly out load its paratroopers and equipment.
"The drop zones and training facilities at Fort Bragg provide more than adequate support for training our paratroopers on the [joint forcible entry] sequence, however our unit has multiple iterations jumping into these [drop zones]," said Capt. Brian Delgado, operations officer for 2nd Bn., 501st PIR. "Fort Pickett has provided our brigade the opportunity to exercise what we have trained for on an actual functioning airfield with all of the obstacles and realities that are very difficult to recreate on dedicated [drop zones]."
Once the airfield was secured paratroopers moved out to various ranges throughout Fort Pickett.
Halfway through the exercise the Geronimo paratroopers will shift their role from engager to educator and will begin assisting 116th IBCT by providing in-depth training on warrior tasks and drills.
"With today's range of national threats, it is imperative that active duty and National Guard [and] Reserve forces function as one Army," said Delgado. "The opportunity to train and support the 116th BCT through their events creates unlimited opportunities for our Soldiers to learn from one another and to create relationships of respect that can only make our military stronger."
The Geronimo paratroopers will complete the XCTC rotation by conducting an airborne insertion back into Fort Bragg, North Carolina, at the end of June.
Families are invited to come out to Sicily Drop Zone to watch their paratrooper as they descend back into Fort Bragg.
"Many of the battalion's [family readiness groups] will be on hand at Sicily Drop Zone to watch their Family members return home," said Delgado. "The unit plans on greeting them back at the battalion area with a barbeque."
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