Army chief of staff visits National Training Center, discusses changes to training

By Caroline Keyser, Fort Irwin Public AffairsJanuary 23, 2011

Casey arrives at NTC
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- Versatility in training will be the biggest change the National Training Center, here, can expect to see in the future as the Army shifts its deployment training focus to include hybrid threat scenarios, said Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. during a visit to the NTC, Jan. 22.

"These training centers are critical to our ability to prepare Soldiers for combat, and at the same time, train them to do operations across the spectrum," Casey said. "(The NTC) has to be versatile enough to have a rotation one day for Afghanistan, and the next day a completely different rotation. That's the biggest shift."

Casey said the United States' next big threat will likely come from an unforeseen source.

Casey visited a combat outpost and received briefings from NTC and Fort Irwin commanding general Brig. Gen. Robert "Abe" Abrams and NTC combat trainers to discuss training trends at the NTC. Casey also visited the tactical operations center of the NTC's rotational training unit, where he visited with Soldiers.

The main reason for his visit was to see how the NTC is adapting to prepare for its first non-Iraq or Afghanistan rotational training in more than five years, Casey said. The NTC is set to conduct its first hybrid threat scenario rotational training in August.

"That's important for us as an Army because we have to have the flexibility to do other things," Casey said.

Casey encouraged the NTC's current rotational unit, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, to train hard, and he thanked the local community for supporting Soldiers and their families.

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Slideshow: Gen. Casey visits NTC in Ft. Irwin