First Army Commander Visits 116th Engineers - June 26, 2014

Lt. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, commander of First Army, visited engineers from Fredericksburg-based Company A, 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team during a live fire exercise at Fort Pickett, Va. June 26, 2014. (Photo by Maj. Matthew J. Nowak, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)

Tucker visited the engineers as they wrapped up their live fire and training lane as part of the10-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation 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.