At Ease - Wisconsin National Guard Department of Military Affairs

weather still topped the subzero
numbers coming from the
Badger State.
“The brigade will have a
diverse mission in Iraq which
will be challenging as well as
rewarding,” Bensend said. The
infantrymen in the brigade will
be tasked with security force
operations.
The training at Camp
Blanding will help the Soldiers
not only to improve these skills,
but also to train together as a
team. During their training, the
Soldiers will take part in army
warrior training, collective task
training, weapons qualification
and staff and leadership
training.
The training has been
augmented by the eXportable
Combat Training Capability
(XCTC), the latest in
battlefield training technology.
XCTC provides a realistic,
instrumented battalion field
training exercise, complete
with role players and scenarios.
Individual Soldiers wear GPSenabled
gear allowing leaders
to see what is going on in the
battlefield in real time. From
a central location, leaders can
now tell where each Soldier is
and whether that Soldier has
received a simulated wound or
fatality in the training scenario.
Many of the Soldiers, even
the youngest, face their second
or third deployment.
“We’ve always had high
quality Soldiers,” Bensend
said, “The difference now is the
experience level.”
Top: Spc. Pa Vang, a supply specialist
for Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th
Infantry Regiment, makes corrections
to her M-4 assault rifle before qualifying
at the marksmanship range at Camp
Blanding, Fla. Photo by Sgt. Carmen Gibson, 107th
Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Left: 32nd Brigade Soldiers receive
a briefing from a contractor’s
representative after being issued
Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement
System gear for use in the XCTC
training environment. Photo supplied by SRI
International
24 at ease