Hundreds of soldiers head to Louisiana for month-long combat training exercise

ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS - Hundreds of vehicles and pieces of equipment are being loaded up and heading south for a massive month-long military training exercise. About 200 vehicles from the Illinois Army National Guard will load onto rail cars at the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) July 9-13, as part of a deployment to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

The moving effort is part of training and loading exercises using assets from the National Guard, RIA, and the Illinois State Police, according to Lt. Col. Kevin Little of Franklin, Illinois, deputy logistics officer for the ILARNG. Part of the training exercise includes demonstrating the Guard's ability to deploy vehicles and equipment quickly. Little said the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) established rail head operations to load equipment at RIA and at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

"This is to test how well we move and how well we build up combat power," said Chief Warrant Officer Jeremy Doggett of Greenview, Illinois, civil operations officer-in-charge of the ILARNG's Logistics Directorate. "We have about 180 pieces of rolling stock here we have to load, and another approximately 700 pieces at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. The whole exercise includes this unit and 24 enablers from around the United States." He called the effort a complex move with "2,400 moving parts."

Col. Mark Alessia of Sherman, Illinois, commander of the 33rd IBCT, says ILARNG leaders realize this month-long training is a big commitment for many Guardsmen. "We very much appreciate our families and civilian employers who continue to support us as we take on some additional training to make sure we are combat ready at all times."

The 33rd IBCT will establish a rail head in Wilmington, Ill., to unload the vehicles and equipment when it returns from its JRTC rotation in August.

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