Soldiers begin pre-deployment training up to one year before deployment.
Army pre-deployment training consists of physical exercise, tactical planning and technical training designed to prepare soldiers for the rigors of combat. Most Army pre-deployment training takes place at a soldier's home duty station. However, deploying soldiers must train for up to four weeks at the Army's National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, in harsh desert conditions designed to simulate combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Benefits
Oppositional Forces (OP-FORs) dress like the nationals of Iraq and Afghanistan to make Army pre-deployment training more realistic.
Fort Irwin is situated in the Mojave Desert. Weather conditions are similar to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and soldiers become acclimated to desert weather during training. Members of the military and civilians are hired by the Army to act as oppositional forces (OP-FORs) to simulate combat situations for training purposes. OP-FORs dress, speak and behave like nationals in Iraq and Afghanistan to ease soldiers' transition to a combat environment.
Time Frame
NTC's terrain is similar to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Soldiers spend three to four weeks at NTC conducting Army pre-deployment training. Week one is spent preparing for rigorous training that takes place during weeks two and three. Weeks two and three consist of soldiers setting up makeshift campsites, sleeping in trucks, conducting live-fire training and participating in simulated combat situations. Week four is dedicated to administrative paperwork, clean-up and shipping of training materials back to soldiers' home stations.
Size
Fort Irwin spans more than 642,000 acres of the Mojave Desert and can accommodate several Army brigades at one time. During training periods, NTC may house up to 5,000 soldiers.
Dangers
Clouds are rare at NTC and offer little protection against extreme sun exposure.
Soldiers conducting Army pre-deployment training at NTC are at risk for dehydration, snake and spider bites, and scorpion stings. There is little protection from sun, wind or temperature change. Daytime temperatures may soar above 120 degrees F while nighttime temperatures drop into the 50s during summer months. Average winter temperatures range from 8 to 70 degrees F.
Training Exercises
Soldiers training at NTC conduct live-fire rifle marksmanship courses.
Soldiers conducting Army pre-deployment training at NTC participate in convoy live-fire ranges, mountainside ruck marches, extended runs (in excess of eight miles) and set up camp at various locations in the Mojave Desert. Soldiers are subjected to random day- and nighttime assaults by OP-FORs designed to simulate real-time combat situations.
Tags: pre-deployment training, Army pre-deployment, Army pre-deployment training, Iraq Afghanistan, combat situations, conducting Army
