FORT BENNING, Ga., (Dec. 9, 2015) -- Junior officers and senior enlisted Soldiers conducted a simulated tactical training exercise as part of the Maneuver Senior Leaders Course at the Close Combat Tactical Training Center Dec. 4.

Students, ranging from staff sergeant to sergeant first class, began planning for the strategic mission on Nov. 30. This component of the MSLC was meant to train and evaluate combined arms planning, mission command and maneuver, said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Ames, commandant, Henry Caro Noncommissioned Officer Academy.

Each student learned the value of different weapons and resources a few days prior to the tactical exercise. Noncommissioned officers learn to work with junior officers, captains from the Maneuver Captain Career Course and first lieutenants from the Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course and Infantry Basic Officer Leaders Course, to plan a mission at the platoon and company levels.

The training exercise provided future platoon leaders with the opportunity to form relationships with platoon sergeants. Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Pitman, branch chief of MSLC, NCOA said the experience will be invaluable after IBOLC and ABOLC graduation when they are forced to establish similar relationships as a platoon leader. Staff sergeants and sergeants first class without previous experience in a platoon sergeant position also benefit from the experience.

Students learn the dynamics of various Army weapon systems since some students come from light and mechanized Infantry backgrounds, as well as Cavalry and Armor backgrounds.

The simulated exercise replicated the exact terrain of Fort Irwin, Calif.; so, when Soldiers go there for training to execute similar missions they will have situational awareness, said Sgt. 1st Class Shane Richardson, instructor.

"The best thing about this out here is just not having to use so many resources," said Sgt. 1st Class Richardson. "Students get more resources because we can actually provide the air support and everything on the virtual system, versus what we could do out in the field environment."

It is a good process for students to practice before they go and perform in real-life training exercises. Students learn the essentials of mission command, such as communications with other units and maximizing the use of their resources, and know how to decisively apply them in actual missions, said Sgt. 1st Class Richardson.

The After-Action Review followed the simulation exercise, where students studied the mission and focused on how it was executed.

The simulated exercise is intended for students to go outside their areas of expertise and learn the fundamentals of combined arms.

"You're going to be put outside your comfort zone," said Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Fuentes.

Sgt. 1st Class Fuentes added a student's ability to lean on their peers to their right and left is important to extract certain parts of information to be successful.

This simulated exercise specifically teaches students how to work with combined arms and learn different weapons systems in the Army, but one of the most valuable aspects of this training is how students build relationships with different ranks and unit types, said Sgt. 1st Class Fuentes.

"Everyone brings their subject-matter expertise to this fight," said Capt. Todd Pepino, who came to the class from the Maneuver Captains Career Course and served as the company commander for the exercise.

"We're able to apply that, so in a normal class environment not everyone is the same military occupational specialty or job, which is great as a combined arms team, we come together," he added.

The simulated tactical training exercise tests Soldiers' abilities to be smart, fast, lethal, and precise.

To assess students' abilities to be smart, Command Sgt. Maj. Ames said, "The training provides knowledge of mission command and operations planning."

Command Sgt. Maj. Ames said students become faster by gaining muscle memory with the Military Decision Making Process and operations processes, and lethality is enhanced as students learn to fight as a combined arms organization.

Precision is tested by being forced to concentrate on mission command in a complex environment, which is the most challenging component of any operation, Command Sgt. Maj. Ames said.