FORT STEWART, Ga. (Aug. 13, 2014) -- Commanding General U.S. Army Forces Command Gen. Daniel B. Allyn toured Fort Stewart to observe the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's eXportable Combat Training Capabilities exercise.
The eXportable Combat Training Capabilities, or XCTC, program provides Soldiers with an experience similar to combat missions overseas. XCTC is a battalion field-training instrument designed to certify company proficiency in coordination with First Army.
More than 2,000 Georgia Guardsmen have converged on the regional training center at Fort Stewart, minimizing cost and time otherwise spent traveling to one of the Army's Combat Training Centers in Fort Irwin, California, or Fort Polk, Louisiana.
"Going forward, what you are going to see is a lot more training with partners in the Active Component and in the Army Reserves," said Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. "We are going to go after a much more integrated approach to training and readiness and we want you [guardsmen] to have, routinely, access to all components of our force as we train and fight."
The Forces Command mission is to provide trained and ready conventional land power to combatant commanders worldwide in defense of the nation at home and abroad. As the commander of the Army's largest organization, he is responsible for manning, equipping, and training 265,000 active-component Soldiers, and training and readiness oversight of 560,000 Soldiers of the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve.
Allyn toured ranges and met with Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and their international brethren the 51st Highlands, 7th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. The Scottish soldiers are on location to cross train with the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in the XCTC exercises.
"Just integrating with the guys and getting on the ground leading with them, setting the example for them to follow," remarked Capt. Christopher Pulliam, commander of Alpha Company 1-121st Infantry Regiment, when asked by Allyn what he had learned at XCTC. "Making sure I have all my guys to the volunteer standard."
The SRI International team demonstrated some of its simulation capabilities with a scenario involving actors and high-tech props. The National Guard Bureau operates the XCTC program in conjunction with SRI International giving Soldiers true-to-life simulations to enhance their training. Utilizing personnel location and 3D interfaces to conduct after action reviews, the mission of XCTC is to gain better perspective into the actions of platoons in the field environment.
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