Prepare to move... train as you're gonna fight
by Staff Sgt. Les Newport
(Ft. Stewart Fast Facts)

The 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will spend approximately two more weeks at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center before a holiday break. Shortly after the first of the year, the 3,400 members of the Indiana National Guard and their families will be recognized at a departure ceremony in Indianapolis, then leave directly for Ft. Stewart, Georgia near Savannah.

According to Lt. Col. Robert Rooker, Commander of the 188th Training Support Battalion, the brigade should expect long days with few breaks.

"The brigade will move directly into one of two forward operating bases and begin training," said Rooker. "Everyone should expect to see forty days in the field of the fifty-four scheduled days of training."

The brigade is moving through a new training model initiated by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, described as a twelve and one. From the time the brigade goes on Title 10 duty when they report to Camp Atterbury in December to the time the brigade returns to Indiana should not exceed twelve months. The "one" refers to the thirty days of earned leave by the end of deployment.

That has much of the brigade speculating most everyone should be home before Christmas breaks next year.

"That's the goal," said Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson, Pubic Affairs Officer for the Indiana National Guard. "Of course we've seen extensions in the past and situations can change, but we feel confident that this is the model that will work for this deployment."

Thombleson said the same model would be implemented for several smaller Indiana National Guard units waiting for mobilization orders in 2008.

According to Rooker, the annual-training length rotations at Camp Atterbury,Ft. Campbell and Camp Grayling have given the brigade the opportunity to complete training that had previously been conducted as part of the mobilization process.

"The forty Warrior Tasks and Theater Specific Individual Readiness Training has become the responsibility of the state," said Rooker. "When the brigade reports to Ft. Stewart, they will immediately begin collective training."

Theater-Immersion Training is the cornerstone of mobilization training for deploying units. First Army imposes an aggressive training regiment to replicate an operational environment that the brigade will encounter in Iraq.

"Highlights will include Improvised Explosive Device lanes training, live fire lanes, base defense and urban operations training," said Rooker. "Live fire and gun-truck gunnery to the crew level as well."

The two-months of intensive training will culminate with an eight-day exercise known as an ARTEP, Army Training and Evaluation Program, a process that must be completed in order to validate the brigade prior to deployment. Rooker described the two months as an "action acked, highly stressful time with mental duress and physical labor."

"Our goal is that when (the brigade) steps off the plane at Ali Ah Salim Airfield in Kuwait, they are nothing less than fully prepared to move forward with their missions," said Rooker.

Ft. Stewart Fast Facts

Ft. Stewart is the largest Army Training Area east of the Mississippi: flat, sandy, pine scrub forests with abundant low swampy areas. The fort is located due east of Savannah, Georgia.

The 188th Training Support Battalion is responsible for training, evaluating and validating the brigade. Three Unit Mobilization Assistants will be assigned to each company. UMAs will also be assigned to brigade and battalion staff.

The 188th TSB falls under First Army, Commanded by Lt. Gen. Russel Honore. Upon reporting to Camp Atterbury, Soldiers of the Brigade will enter a Title 10 service status and fall under First Army until validated and deployed forward.

A majority of the staff of the 188th is made up of active, reserve and National Guard Soldiers who have recently returned from deployment. They have opted to extend for up to a year to serve with First Army through the Operation Warrior Trainer program.

The command has determined that travel to Ft. Stewart will be commercial ground to avoid complexities of air travel. The difference in time of travel is negligible and ground travel will accommodate a more orderly movement into Ft. Stewart.

First Army has accommodated a four-day pass into the training schedule after the ARTEP and prior to deployment. Travel will be limited to local areas and Soldiers will not be permitted to return to Indiana.

Ft. Stewart is home to Third Infantry Division, the Dog Face Soldiers. A vast majority of the division is currently serving overseas, but the installation and supporting units have been fully engaged in preparing for the 76th Brigade mobilization training.

Communication with Soldiers of the 76th IBCT will be extremely limited during pre-mobilization training. First Army will drive an intensive training schedule, immersing Soldiers of the 76th in operational environment that replicates the operational environment they will experience in theater. 

The goal is to build in the in the BCT an intuitive response to threats they will face while deployed. Commanders will insist on a focused training environment with minimal distractions to ensure the brigade is fully prepared to meet the demanding operational tempo of the deployment.