CrosswireThe

Brig. General Johnny Miller is the Assistant Adjuntant General of the Illinois National Guard

The Illinois Showcaseby: Brig Gen. Johnny Miller, Asst. Adj. Gen. of the ILANG

I want to welcome you all to Camp Ripley, Minnesota. It is a distinct honor to be the Task Force Illini Commander dur-ing this Annual Training. The eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) is an out-standing opportunity for us to highlight the quality of the Illi-nois Army National Guard and our Soldiers. I like to call this Annual Training “The Illinois Showcase;” it will demonstrate the high caliber of our organiza-tion to key decision makers at the national level, the commu-nity leaders where our armories are located, and our Polish part-ners. This exercise is the culmi-nation of over a year’s planning and coordination.

XCTC is focused on the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team,

but it will equally challenge the 108th Sustainment Brigade and all aspects of our organization. This challenge is an opportu-nity to strengthen our team and provide a setting for our expe-rienced veterans to pass along those hard ‘lessons learned’ from theater to our young Sol-diers. These efforts help keep us “Illinois Strong!”

Commander’s Brief page 2

Long Haul (cont.) page 2

Safety Message page 2

Validating lanes page 3

Brigade Run page 3

BSTB saves mission page 4

Official Newsletter of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat TeamIssue 1 | July 10, 2012

Soldiers make the long haul for special trainingby: Allison Lampe, 33rd IBCT Public Affairs Specialist

Soldiers with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) traveled to Camp Ripley, Minn. this week by bus, plane and con-voy for the eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program as a part of their annual training.

The 33rd IBCT, consisting of approximately 2,150 Soldiers attending XCTC from 30 com-panies based as far north as Ma-

chesney Park to Southern Illi-nois, had to ensure that not only all the Soldiers arrived safely, but also the vehicles and equip-ment needed to support them as well.

Chief Warrant Officer (2) Kenneth Morris of Headquar-ters and Headquarters Company, 33rd IBCT in Urbana, the acting logistics officer, was responsible for assembling the 597 vehicles and 209 trailers required for the training.

continued on pg. 2Page 1

In this issue

Distinguished Visitors arriving

July 11-12.Polish Land Cmdr•MG Celletti•CSM Robinson•

by: Spc. Christopher Garibay, 33rd IBCT Public Affairs Specialist

Soldiers with the 33rd In-fantry Brigade Combat Team, Headquarters and Headquar-ters Company (IBCT HHC) in Urbana erected a Tactical Operation Center (TOC) July 7 in preparation for the three-week long eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) to complete the fourth stage in the deployment cycle.

The training will place the 33rd IBCT in the “ready” phase of the deployment cycle, mak-ing the brigade of nearly 3,000 Soldiers deployable.

“The TOC consists of seven modular tents, powering three Extremely Lightweight Air Mo-bile Systems, four command post platforms powered by gen-erators air controlled climate systems,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Stoner from Champaign with 33rd IBCT HHC.

While there are still a few things that need to get done, the layout is set for operations to commence and continue all throughout XCTC, said Stoner.

We are running millions of dollars worth of equipment, navigate through data on our servers and stream live feeds through our command, said Sgt. 1st Class Adam G. Gordon, Data Systems Integrator with the 33rd IBCT HHC. Dozens of Tactical Battle Commands op-erate through the TOC, coordi-nating the thousands of Soldiers taking part during the XCTC, said Gordon.

We anticipate this training

exercise to bring out the best in our Soldiers, said Col. Paul C. Hasting, brigade commander of the 33rd IBCT. This XCTC will give us keen insight into our strengths and weaknesses, mak-ing sure our Soldiers are well equipped to meet the needs of our state and our country, said Hastings.

Soldiers with the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Headquar-ters and Headquarters Company pull open one of seven modular tents as a part of setting up of a Tactical Operations Center (TOC) at Camp Ripley, Minn. (U. S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Garibay/released)

Setting up shop

continued from pg. 1Morris began preparation for

the long haul as early as March, directing members of the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regi-ment in Kewanee driving con-voys to Fort McCoy, Wis. for their drill weekend and busing them back. They repeated that process in April. Overall, units managed to pre-position a com-bined 177 vehicles and trailers over drill weekends.

Morris also used the Maneu-ver Area Training Equipment Site on Camp Ripley to borrow 179 vehicles and 25 trailers.

From there, a combined 157 vehicles and trailers were brought on semi trailers and 223 were driven in convoys.

Maj. Friedrich Josellis, com-munication officer for the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, explained “Soldiers did extraor-dinarily well given the trying conditions in terms of staying healthy and keeping the vehi-cles running,”

All Soldiers are scheduled to have arrived on post by July 8, with the last convoys rolling in that afternoon.

Soldiers make long haul

Cpl. William McNeece directs the convoy of the Headquarters andHeadquarters Company, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team as they make their way from Urbana, Ill. to Camp Ripley, Minn. July 5 for an-nual training. (U. S. Army photo by Pfc. Allison Lampe/released)

Soldiers from the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team arrive at CampRipley, Minn. on a C-130 from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182ndAirlift Wing out of Peoria, Ill. July 7. Eight C-130s flew in Soldiersfrom across the state for this year’s annual training. (U. S. Army photo by Pfc. Allison Lampe/released)

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Safety firstFor your Health and Safety:• Ticked off: If you get a tick, please do not attempt to remove it yourself. 68Ws have the equipment to prop-erly remove ticks and get them tested for possible lime disease. Results take four days and if positive you will receive immediate treat-ment.• Avoid Dumpster Diving: Please remember to dispose of all unused MRE heaters in the designated blue bins at the DFACs.• Hit the Track Jack: Run-ning is only allowed on the running track. Headphones are allowed on the track and PT belts are required.• Beat the heat: Drink wa-ter! Dehydration is a health risk that is completely avoid-able. Severe heat casualties will require immediate med-ical aid.

Fellow Centurions!by: Col. Paul C. Hastings, 33rd IBCT commander.

XCTC is here, and we are in full pursuit of tactical excellence. Over the next three weeks we will train to be the most lethal and survivable IBCT in the National Guard. XCTC will challenge all of us in the 33rd IBCT – from those that have been hardened by a decade of war, to our newest Soldiers eager to contribute to the hard scrabble ways of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Clearly, this XCTC rotation is the most aggressive and complicated rotation ever contemplated. We have developed 37 dif-ferent training lanes, seven different live fire exercises (squad, platoon, mortar, artil-lery, etc), and we will culminate in a brigade attack field training exercise. The next three weeks will be full of challenge and oppor-tunity. Central to our success is our junior

Col. Paul C. Hastings is the commander of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

noncommissioned officers. It is they that will provide ground level leadership, main-tain standards and discipline, and see each mission through to completion. All of us are charged with the same. Lets make sure it happens.

We are mission complete when our pla-toons successfully conduct live fires, are proficient in maneuver (day & night) under the mission command of the company and battalion; junior leaders are able to appro-priately react to unpredictable, complex ill-defined situations, and all aspects of safety, Soldier care and Army values are accom-plished.

Centurions, Forward!

Validating training lanesby: Spc. Christopher Garibay, 33rd IBCT Public Affairs Specialist

Soldiers with the 33rd Infan-try Brigade Command Team (IBCT) reviewed training lanes along with soldiers representing the First Army and civilian staff supporting the eXportable Com-bat Training Capability (XCTC) for upcoming training.

The preparation is vital be-cause it gives them the opportu-nity to make changes to tactical maneuvers to be held over the next three weeks.

The “lane validation” is a standard practice by brigade and battalion staff to ensure that unit’s standard operating proce-dures are met. The training also ensures units are prepared for the most up-to-date combat and humanitarian missions.

Col. Thomas Weiss, Director of Plans and Training for the Illinois Army National Guard, said lane validation is a way for brigade and battalion staff to observe the lanes before train-ing begins. He said it provides them with situations where they have to react in real-time and do it within the current Army stan-dards.

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy

Beck of Eagle, Wisc., brigade command sergeant major of the 33rd IBCT said the lane valida-tion ensures the brigade com-mander’s intent, creating lethal, proficient and trained squads and platoons is met.

“Brigade and battalion com-manders and command sergeant majors walked through 10 areas where Soldiers will be training during the next three weeks,” said Beck. “It also set up a rat-ing system for us to evaluate the expectations set forth by their battalions and brigades.”

“The goal of the XCTC is for all the Soldiers in the brigade to achieve tactical excellence, to make the most of the training that has been provided for them and to ensure we are the most capable brigade in the state and in the country,” said Col. Paul C. Hastings, 33rd IBCT com-mander.

Col. Paul C. Hastings (center), brigade commander of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, along with other members of the brigade staff, conduct ‘lane validation’ for training to be held at Camp Ripley, Minn. (U. S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Garibay/released)

33rd IBCT soldiers march in formation folllowing a brigade run. The run was aimed to foster unity and cohesion, as well as set the tone for the rest of XCTC. (U. S. Army photo by Pfc. Allison Lampe/released)

The 33rdIBCT waits for Reveille after the 2.5 mile brigade run July 8 at Camp Ripley, Minn. Over 2,000 Soldiers participated in the first ever brigade run. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Allison Lampe/released)

Beginning XCTC with brigade run

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Capt. Jason Carter of Chicago , company commander of Battery B of the 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery discusses training plans with XCTC staff regarding counter-IED measures. (U. S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Garibay/released)

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by: Sgt. Jesse Houk, 139th Mobile Public Affairs De-tachment

Quick and competent response from Com-pany C, 33rd Brigade Special Troops Battal-ion (BSTB) July 7-8 along with assistance from the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, civilian subject matter experts, and the Minnesota Army National Guard helped advert a damaging situation before training for the eXportable Combat Training Capa-bility (XCTC) program officially began.

Upon arriving at Camp Ripley it was dis-covered that mission-critical Satellite Trans-port Terminals (STT) had been damaged in the transport and were rendered inoperable.

“It’s not what you want on day one; to get off the plane and find that your equip-ment isn’t functional,” said Warrant Officer Robert L Dobbs of Marion, network opera-tions chief, Co. C, 33rd BSTB.“But instead of dwelling on that we focused on solving the problem and creating some communica-tion.”

The Soldiers immediately went to work trying to troubleshoot and repair the dam-aged equipment.

“Charlie companies Soldiers worked through the night to bring us an alternative so that if the exercise got to the point where some sort of communication was needed they could provide a minimal capability for voice and data,” said Maj. Fred J. Josellis of Macomb, communications officer with the Headquarters and Headquarters Com-pany, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT).

The IBCT was familiar with the work Company C, BSTB does and knew how vi-tal they were to the success of the mission.

“They’re our counterpart,” said Master Sgt. Shawn E. Ward of Peoria, Communi-cations Noncommissioned Officer of the HHC, 33rd IBCT.“We don’t move without them. We work with them and do training with them once a quarter. We know they’re going to work around this and figure out a way to make it work.”

The dilemma proved that Company C was ready for the challenge and set the tone for the rest of the Soldiers involved in the XCTC program.

BSTB Co. overcomes Annual Training setback

Spc. Raymond B. Georg, Belleville and Spc. Adam W. Fager, Carbondale, both Satellite Transport Terminals operators with Company C, 33rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion work on damaged satellites. The unit was success-ful at establishing communication and will continue on with training at Camp Ripley, Minn. for the duration of the eXportable Com-bat Training Capability program. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jesse Houk)

Spc. Raymond B. Georg, Satellite Transport Terminals (STT) operator, Belleville talks with a level one operator to maximize satellite efficiency while Spc. Adam W. Fager, STT operator, Carbondale assists with inputting appropriate information. Both Soldiers were a part of Company C, 33rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion that responded to downed satellites at the beginning of the eXportable Combat Training Capability program at Camp Ripley, Minn. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jesse Houk)

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Public Affairs Staff

Officer in Command:Maj. Nathan Westby

Noncommission Officer in CommandSgt. Jesse Houk

Public Affairs SpecialistPfc. Allison Lampe

Public Affairs SpecialistSpc. Christopher Garibay

State Public Affairs SupportLt. Dutch Grove

Sgt. 1st Class Mike Chrisman

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