3-116th Scouts and Snipers train hard during XCTC - June 25, 2014

Scouts and snipers of the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Virginia Army National Guard conduct a platoon attack exercise during their 10-day eXportable Combat Training Center rotation June 25, 2014, at Fort Pickett, Va. The brigade-wide XCTC was designed to train and validate platoons on tasks that support offensive and defensive operations under daylight and hours of limited visibility. Units will concentrate on training selected mission essential tasks in a realistic field environment to refocus junior leaders on tactical field craft. The Army National Guard’s XCTC program provides an experience similar to a Combat Training Center to Guard Soldiers at a home station training center, minimizing cost and time away from home and jobs. XCTC is an instrumented field training exercise designed to certify unit proficiency in coordination with First Army. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. JoAnna Greene/Released)