BRYAN, Texas – III Armored Corps Soldiers from the 3d Cavalry Regiment participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bryan, Texas, at Texas A&M University, Nov. 4, 2022, celebrating the dedication of the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex.
Before the day’s festivities began, III Armored Corps demonstrated its lethality and precision at the university’s Innovation Proving Ground, part of the larger George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex. Soldiers from K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3d Cavalry Regiment maneuvered their M1126 Stryker through numerous obstacles, including debris, rough terrain, a water trap and an extreme incline.
“I’m so thankful to have this experience at Texas A&M,” said Sgt. Korbin Kuhn, an infantryman with K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3d Cavalry Regiment. “This is my first time doing anything like this.”
The course is part of an elaborate technological system that allows Army leaders and technological innovators to receive feedback in real time as vehicles negotiate the track’s varied terrain.
“The engineers that work here put a lot of sensors on our Stryker, and they’re testing the way the hydraulics and the suspension and everything else works together against certain environments,” Kuhn said. “Then, they get that raw data, the pitch, the yaw and all that, and they’re able to find ways to improve it.”
Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Rowe, first sergeant, K Troop, provided guidance and oversight to the Stryker crew from the observation deck.
“We came here to show the capabilities of this vehicle,” said Rowe. “It feels great. It was a great opportunity.”
He said he was glad to be able to push his crew and their vehicle to its limit.
“We rarely get to push these vehicles to their limit and actually see what they’re capable of,” Rowe said. “This course definitely allowed us to do so. This is great for my drivers, because it allows them to trust their vehicle and know that they’re ready for the job...and these Soldiers will be able to take that back with them to Ft. Hood and the Army as a whole.”
Following K Troop’s demonstrations, a ceremony took place at the newly dedicated George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex. The dedication culminated in a ribbon cutting ceremony before the attendees moved inside to view several displays of defense related experiments.
“We are in daily competition against people out there who want to take away our liberties,” said Lt. Gen. Ross Coffman, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general during his address before the ribbon cutting. “The work that is being done here, right here where we stand, is going to keep us ahead of our adversaries.”
Following the ceremony an open house was held and the attendees moved inside for refreshments and an open house.
“It is very impressive to see what can be done with a strong partnership between the Department of Defense and the university here,” said Brig. Gen. Robert Davis, director of cyberspace operations, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
“We’re very excited about the opening of this campus and the work that Army Futures Command is doing,” Davis said, “which is so important to homeland defense.”
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