FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- The United States Army's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, begins a two-week exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., Oct. 10.
Today, Oct. 9, the Ironhorse brigade "rolls out" into the "box" -- or the 1,200 square miles of training area at this Army combat training center. The armored unit Soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, will be operating convoys that include M1 Abrams main battle tanks, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M113 personnel carriers and M109 self-propelled howitzers.
The training rotation for the brigade actually lasts four weeks, with one week of staging, reception and integration -- before the two-week exercise -- and the last week dedicated to after action reviews, regeneration, and returning to home station.
The field exercise, termed a decisive action rotation, challenges the 1ABCT/1CAV DIV in scenarios within a contemporary operating environment force. The COEFOR replicates a near-peer conventional force, host nation security forces, guerilla forces, insurgent forces, and a criminal element to replicate the complexities of the modern battlefield; combined together these elements of the NTC provide a tough, realistic training environment and first class leader development opportunity (NTC regulation 350-1).
The brigade will also conduct live-fire training -- from small arms weapons to M1 tanks and artillery.
The 1ABCT/1CAV DIV commander, Col. John Digiambattista, stated that his brigade is one of only nine armored brigade combat teams in the Army and brings an unmatched firepower and lethality.
"Upon completion of this decisive action NTC rotation, the Ironhorse brigade will be fully trained and ready for our nation's call to any mission," said Digiambattista, a native of Anaheim, Calif., and 1991 U.S. Military Academy graduate.
Digiambattista commended his Soldiers for their hard work and dedication.
"They continue to learn as Soldiers and leaders and are getting better every day," Digiambattista said. "A successful deployment to NTC is built on the standards and discipline that are instilled in every level of the brigade."
A day before roll-out, Soldiers in company-level units made final preparations of their gear, weapons systems and armored vehicles. Captain Tony Nguyen, commander of A Co., 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment (2-8 CAV) with Ironhorse, said he expected his Soldiers -- operating primarily M2 Bradleys -- to have an open mind and a willingness to learn. However, he also anticipates his Soldiers taking initiative and practicing the skills and crafts they have honed.
"This shouldn't come as a surprise to them. I tell them this all the time: 'You know what the right answer is. Go out there and do the right thing. Execute what you've been taught'," said Nguyen, who is an infantry officer from Baton Rouge, La., and oversees approximately 100 Soldiers and more than 20 vehicles.
The brigade public affairs officer, Capt. Pete Bogart, said the brigade has been preparing at Fort Hood for the rotation, from the individual level, to squad and platoon levels. Preparation culminated in August with a combined live-fire exercise, including combined engineers, combined arms battalion, and attack aviation. The NTC training allows the brigade to confirm its capabilities.
"[The rotation] brings the whole brigade together and gives us a chance to validate our whole brigade -- all our systems, our logistical processes and everything that goes into moving this big of an element across the country -- and then train together as an entire brigade," Bogart said.
Bogart explained the NTC infrastructure -- including an opposing force and austere environment -- provides a realistic training environment that simulates what could be seen in a potential deployment, thus providing a tremendous training opportunity.
The NTC exercise scenario involves the Ironhorse brigade partnering with the fictional country of Atropia, with United Nations backing, said Bogart. Atropia has requested support to deter aggression from external forces.
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