Military service members conduct intensive training before deployment.
Army deployment training is a three- to four-week program that takes place at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. Training consists of live-fire weapon ranges, tactical operations planning, and simulated combat situations. Soldiers whose units are scheduled for deployment generally attend NTC one to two months prior to deployment.
Function
The NTC trains soldiers for real-world combat situations.
NTC's primary purpose is to train soldiers for the realities of combat through simulated training exercises. Using live-fire weapon ranges, civilians train to act as oppositional forces (OP-FORs), and on geographically similar terrain soldiers are given an accurate expectation of deployment circumstances.
Training
Live-fire exercises help prepare soldiers for combat.
Army deployment training includes a week-long field exercise that requires soldiers to sleep in trucks, eat field rations and engage OP-FORs in simulated combat. A variety of situations are presented to soldiers, including nighttime attacks, improvised explosive device (IED) encounters and security operations.
Considerations
NTC's terrain closely resembles that of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fort Irwin is located in the Mojave Desert, where daytime temperatures can reach 130 degrees during summer months. In the winter, temperatures can dip as low as 7 degrees, and soldiers must be aware that desert conditions require increased water consumption regardless of the season.
Tags: Army deployment, Army deployment training, combat situations, deployment training, Fort Irwin, live-fire weapon, live-fire weapon ranges
