U.S. Army Abrams and Bradleys conduct test fires in Fort Hood

Soldiers of the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, conduct test fires in Fort Hood, Texas, Aug. 12, as part of an eXportable Combat Training Capabilities exercise.

The eXportable Combat Training Capability, or XCTC, is a series of training exercises between an active-duty U.S. Army brigade and an Army National Guard brigade, intended to increase the skills and readiness of National Guard units.

XCTC is a cost-efficient, time-efficient option for delivering combat readiness training to soldiers at or near their home stations. This scalable live-training program has proven effective for pre-mobilization forces, in accordance with the Army Force Generation model.

XCTC training exercises provide an experience similar to a Combat Training Center to Guard Soldiers at home station or at a regional training center, minimizing cost and time away from home and jobs.

Training aids include battlefield effects, civilians on the battlefield, foreign national role players, and Soldiers and vehicles will be outfitted with global positioning system-based instrumentation system tracking technology. The GPS system tracks vehicles and participants to the Soldier level, allowing unit leaders to replay the day’s training scenarios and discuss lessons learned in instrumented after action reviews with 2D, 3D, tactical audio and handheld video within minutes of mission completion.

Photo by Patrick Loch

Photo by Patrick Loch

Photo by Patrick Loch

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