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Fort Stewart to host Texas Guard training
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Activities associated with Fort Stewart's training of a Texas National Guard brigade combat team for deployment to Iraq have begun, and the Army is cautioning motorists about the presence of about 800 additional personnel.
The soldiers and civilians who will be observer/controllers and trainers for the 56th Brigade's Mission Rehearsal Exercise in September began arriving Friday and Fort Stewart said the additional personnel would increase traffic on the installation. Drivers are asked to drive safely.
More than 3,500 members of the Texas National Guard are expected in early September. In its role as a power projection platform, Fort Stewart hosts units for training, using its large area and specialized facilities.
Earlier this year the installation was the site of the MRE for the 36th Indiana National Guard Brigade, which is now in combat in Iraq.
Fort Stewart's National Guard area is converted for training into a mock Forward Operating Base complete with guard towers and concertina wire.
The soldiers make use of the installation's small arms ranges and special arrangements such as a "shoot house" and an Iraqi village.
Role players including some Iraqis are recruited to participate in realistic exercises in which the soldiers interact with them.
After each exercise, observer/controllers review with the soldiers, which activities went well, which went poorly and how to improve. Frequently photos, videos, recorded message traffic and other products of instrumented training are used in the after action reviews.
The AAR process of the U.S. Army is considered one of its strengths, and soldiers from other nations frequently request AAR training.

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