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First-ever division level training rotation at NTC complete

By Janell FordApril 14, 2021

Photo Credit: Sgt. Russell Youmans, Operations Group, National Training Center
Photo Credit: Sgt. Russell Youmans, Operations Group, National Training Center (Photo Credit: Janell Ford) VIEW ORIGINAL

The National Training Center and Fort Irwin have completed the Army’s first-ever divisional training rotation. The Rotational Training Unit was the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kansas.

“This last rotation was a pretty historic achievement in the last 20 years of the Training Center,” NTC’s Commanding General, Brig. Gen. David Lesperance said. “We dropped an entire division here to train in a way that we’ve never done before and it took a lot of team work to bring this rotation across the line.”

The 1st Infantry Division said the weeks-long crucible tested every soldiers’ mental and physical toughness as teams from squad to division-level worked together to overcome every challenge the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment threw at them.

The rotations were developed to create a common training scenario for use throughout the Army. The training is reflective of complexities of potential adversaries the nation could face and include guerrilla, insurgents criminal and near-peer conventional forces woven into one, dynamic environment.

Decisive Action Rotations at NTC ensure Army Brigade Combat Teams remain versatile, responsive, and consistently available for current and future contingencies.