Georgia Guardsmen train for NTC
by Sgt. Roy Henry
FORT STEWART, Ga. (Army News Service June 10, 2003) -- More than 4,000 Georgia Army National Guard soldiers will spend the next two weeks training in the sand and swamps here for a rotation in the deserts of the National Training Center in 2005.
Besides the usual elements of the Georgia Guard providing support to the 48th, selected Army National Guard and Army Reserve units from other states that make up a Multi-State Task Force are here to provide assistance, said Brig. Gen Terry Nesbitt.
Throughout last weekend, soldiers from 27 armories across the state moved into barracks, unpacked their gear, and got themselves ready to face an intense two weeks of combat training among the tall pines of Fort Stewart, the largest military reservation east of the Mississippi River.
Spc. Troy Sawyers, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, based in Calhoun, Ga., is one of the 48th Brigade's 2,100 soldiers here for Annual Training 2003. Sawyers, a sales associate from Dalton, Ga., said he has looked forward to his two weeks here.
"This has been really good training," Sawyers said, while checking his equipment. "We've had quite a bit to do and much more to accomplish before training ends."
Fellow medic, Spc. Jeremy Combs of Ellijay, also with HHC, 1st Bn, 108th Armor, added that while the training has been good, it's also been hard.
"There's a lot we must do to get ourselves ready for the NTC, and that requires an extra effort on everyone's part to make sure every task is accomplished," he said. "Hard work, however, never hurt anyone."
Brig. Gen. Robley S. Rigdon of Snellville, Ga., the 48th's Brigade commander, said that elements of the brigade will spend 10 consecutive days in the field. Included among them are soldiers from the 121st Infantry, 108th Armor and 148th Heavy Support Battalion.
Rigdon said that brigade leaders will focus on taking the soldiering skills of the individual guardsman and incorporating them into training at the platoon level, or the larger company level. Combat arms units, such as the infantry and armor, will concentrate on small-unit training, while the support and service units will focus on training as larger units, Rigdon explained.
"There are going to be long days and plenty of hard work between now and June 14 when our citizen-soldiers return to their home stations," he said. "But I'm confident the 48th Brigade will demonstrate the professionalism and dedication for which it's known."
While a successful annual training may be measured by how well units perform the tasks they are given, it's also gauged by the how safely the soldiers complete their assigned missions, Rigdon said.
"Safety, as always, is paramount," he said. "We want annual training 2003 to be a success but we also want our soldiers to be healthy and injury free.
"Every unit commander within the 48th, every NCO from the most senior to the most junior understands the importance safety plays in the accomplishing the mission," Rigdon added. "I know they will see to it that their soldiers have a great AT and return to their families safe and sound."
The brigade's training this year is preparing them for next year's AT at Fort Riley, Kan., and where it will continue sharpening its combat skills for their rotation at NTC in 2005, said Rigdon.
When the 48th Brigade does arrive to Fort Irwin, it will come up against one of the best opposition forces the Army has, Rigdon said.
During two weeks of force-on-force combat against this highly trained unit, elements of the 48th will "shoot and move" through the hills and mountains of the Mojave Desert in hopes of soundly beating the active Army force at its own game, Rigdon said.
(Editor's note: Sgt. Roy Henry is a journalist with the Georgia National Guard's 124th MPAD)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
