Friday, June 13, 2003

Guardsmen move to Ft. Stewart for annual training

Right now, 4,000 soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard are scattered amongst the piney woods, sand and swamps of Fort Stewart near Savannah participating in their annual military training.

The training of Georgia's largest Army National Guard unit is in preparation for the Brigade's deployment to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif, in spring of 2005. The California training center in the Mojave Desert is considered the Army's most realistic and technically advanced military training environment.

As the 48th Brigade begins its training at Fort Stewart, another 3,200 Georgia Army and Air National Guardsmen remain deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle.

Guardsmen from more than 27 armories across the state are participating in the two weeks of intense battlefield training that validates the war fighting skills of the enhanced brigade. Guardsmen will participate in live fire training exercises and task force maneuvers.

In 2004, the brigade will deploy to Fort Riley, KS, known as America's warfighting center to further prepare for their deployment to Fort Irwin the following year.