Ravens provide eyes in the sky - June 20, 2014

Soldiers from Christiansburg-based Company C, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team launches the RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial vehicle to provide route reconnaissance information before a movement to another area as part of an eXportable Combat Training Capability lane rotation at Fort Pickett, Va., June 20, 2014.

The exercise is part of the 10-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. (Photo by Maj. Matthew J. Nowak, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)