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Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre

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The Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC) is the Canadian Army's functional centre of excellence (FCoE) for collective training (CT) and is the army CT training authority on behalf of its higher headquarters, the Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre (CADTC). It is housed by 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright , in Denwood, Alberta .

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68-575: As of 2023, the commander of the CMTC is Colonel Scott MacGregor. CMTC's mission is to deliver collective training within a realistic and immersive contemporary operating environment. CMTC also provides support to exercise design, delivery, and execution for the Canadian Army and its allies. CMTC executes its mission through a combination of force-on-force exercises, simulation training, courses, professional development, and exchanges with allies. CMTC

136-400: A de-brief in that it begins with a clear comparison of intended versus actual results achieved. An AAR is forward-looking, with the goal of informing future planning, preparation, and execution of similar actions. Assigning blame or issuing reprimands is antithetical to the purpose of an AAR. An AAR is distinct from a post-mortem in its tight focus on participants' own actions; learning from

204-588: A Continental Army Command (CONARC) post in July 1975 and became a Forces Command (FORSCOM) member. In the spring of 1976, the Infantry Training Center at Fort Polk closed its doors and ceased operations. The final chapter of the Vietnam War ended for Fort Polk. The Combat Engineer Battalion of the 588th lived on North Fort Polk, Louisiana. With the end of the Vietnam War, Fort Polk experienced

272-457: A GPS system that allows each individual soldier's actions and fate on the battlefield to be centrally tracked. The system is provided by CUBIC. CMTC contracts a population of civilians in the battlespace (CIBs) who populate several villages and an urban area with actors. Actors allow the training of soldiers in realistic scenarios that go beyond force-on-force combat. The CIBs have an integral make-up and production team that coordinates and executes

340-589: A group of senior leaders within University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acted on the realization that bullying and blaming behaviours were impacting on safe and effective care. They commissioned the UCLH Education service to tackle the problem, and AAR was chosen as the tool to use. In 20011, Professor Aidan Hallighan, UCLH's Director of Education, wrote "Healthcare is dominated by

408-588: A modern Post Exchange, commissary, warehouses, classrooms, athletic complexes and improved gunnery ranges. Effective 21 March 1976, the 1st Battalion 61st Infantry was reactivated and once again assigned to the 5th Division at Fort Polk. In 1993, the Joint Readiness Training Center moved from Fort Chaffee , Arkansas , to Fort Polk, and once again, the post was called on to prepare soldiers for conflict. Each year, JRTC typically conducts several rotations for units about to deploy. During

476-497: A multinational context. The regular inclusion of Allies into training opportunities better prepares our soldiers for the realities of integrating people, capabilities, and equipment from other nations. After-action review An after action review ( AAR ) is a technique for improving process and execution by analyzing the intended outcome and actual outcome of an action and identifying practices to sustain, and practices to improve or initiate, and then practicing those changes at

544-616: A proactive approach to learning from incidents." Fort Johnson 31°04′21″N 93°04′50″W  /  31.072638°N 93.080635°W  / 31.072638; -93.080635 Fort Johnson , formerly Fort Polk , is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish , Louisiana , about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish . Named after New York soldier William Henry Johnson ,

612-540: A transition from an installation focused on basic and advanced individual training to that of the home of the reactivated 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Activated in September 1975, the division called Fort Polk home until it was inactivated in November 1992. The date of this inactivation, 24 November 1992, was exactly 75 years from the date of the original activation of the division on 24 November 1917. The division

680-562: Is based on each participating organization's mission essential tasks list and many of exercises are mission rehearsals for actual operations the organization is scheduled to conduct. JRTC scenarios allow complete integration of Air Force and other military services as well as host-nation and civilian role players. The exercise scenarios replicate many of the unique situations and challenges a unit may face to include host national officials and citizens, insurgents and terrorists, news media coverage and non-governmental organizations. The mission of

748-472: Is filled with dense, jungle-like vegetation, so this, along with Louisiana's heat, humidity and precipitation (similar to southeast Asia) helped commanders acclimatize new infantry soldiers in preparation for combat in Vietnam . This training area became known as Tigerland . For the next 12 years, more soldiers were shipped to Vietnam from Fort Polk than from any other American training base. For many, Fort Polk

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816-401: Is proposed" , but in 2005 there were concerns of the post being "at risk", with a proposal to look at land expansion. In 2008 Fort Johnson began a land expansion plan. The plan calls for the acquisition of 100,000 acres for large JRTC maneuvers and live fire operations. This will be the largest land expansion since World War II, located south and southeast of Peason Ridge, and the first parcel

884-610: The Afrika Korps , Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's troops who fought in North Africa. They were housed in a large fenced-in compound in the area now encompassing Honor Field, Fort Polk's parade ground. Finding themselves captured, transported across the ocean, and imprisoned in the middle of summer was made to hurt their spirits. In his book Up Front , author Bill Mauldin noted that it was more practical to ship prisoners to camps in

952-624: The NATO Reforger 78 and 84 Exercise in Europe and the 1989 Invasion of Panama, known as Operation Just Cause . From June to August 1987 the 95th Division (Tng) conducted basic training exercises of approximately 600 recruits. During the stay of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Polk experienced a major building program that included new barracks, motor pools, 1000 family housing units, chapels, and dental clinics. The Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, named after Stanhope Bayne-Jones ,

1020-442: The 115th Combat Support Hospital include: general surgery, orthopaedics, podiatry, and physical therapy. Additional support for clinical operations is provided through a pharmacy, X-ray services, clinical laboratories, anaesthesia, and operative services. The 115th Combat Support Hospital is also staffed to provide medical command management and administrative support through an organic medical headquarters. During peacetime operations

1088-463: The 115th Field Hospital trains at the JRTC and Fort Johnson. As a deployable medical systems hospital with the most modern equipment available, the unit is capable of being deployed in an area of operations during a contingency, war or national emergency. U.S. Army Garrison provides installation support for all tenant units as well as JRTC rotational units. The Fort Johnson medical facility comprises

1156-693: The 1990s and the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade , and the 162nd Infantry Brigade in the 2000s. Fort Johnson is now home to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division , 115th Combat Support Hospital , U.S. Army Garrison and Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital. The land that is now Fort Johnson is part of a region of cultural resources, including archaeological sites, historic houses and structures, and other sites of historical value. The U.S. Army has spent considerable time, effort, and money to find and inventory thousands of archaeological sites on Fort Johnson and

1224-486: The 1990s, Fort Polk based soldiers deployed to Haiti , Southwest Asia , Suriname , Panama , Bosnia , and other locations. Weather support for the exercise is completed by the units participating in the exercise in conjunction with the 26th Operational Weather Squadron . The 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived at Fort Polk in 1993 as the armored cavalry regiment of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Elements of

1292-461: The 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment would be transformed into an Infantry-based Stryker Brigade and move to Fort Lewis, Washington. The transfer of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Polk to Fort Lewis was completed in 2006. The 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment was later moved to Vilseck , Germany. The Joint Readiness Training Center is focused on improving unit readiness by providing highly realistic, stressful, joint and combined arms training across

1360-584: The 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning. Upon completion of Operation Sagebrush, Polk was declared a permanent installation and the 1st Armored Division was reassigned from Fort Hood to the newly renamed Fort Polk to continue to test mobility and combat strategies for the nuclear age. The 1st Armored Division, with its modern M-48 Patton Tanks and new helicopters, remained at Fort Polk until June 1959, before returning to Fort Hood. In 1962, Fort Polk began converting to both basic training and an advanced individual training (AIT) center. A small portion of Fort Polk

1428-627: The Army and the United States Congress to keep troop strength at full capacity despite looming defense cuts. Fort Johnson began as a base for the Louisiana Maneuvers in the 1940s. It served the 1st Armored Division in the 1950s, and became a basic training post during Vietnam War years of the 1960s and '70s. It hosted the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) in the 1970s-1980s, and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in

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1496-737: The Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, the Wellness and Readiness Center, the Department of Behavioral Health and the United States Army Air Ambulance Detachment. The hospital is named in honour of Brigadier General Stanhope Bayne-Jones, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. A bacteriologist and preventive medicine specialist, he achieved worldwide acclaim as the individual responsible for the control of typhus in Europe at

1564-460: The CA's brigades and battlegroups. CMTC manages exercise design, delivery, and execution through leveraging its sub-components CMTC HQ is the unit responsible for exercise design and planning. The HQ conducts planning conferences, writing boards, and site reconnaissance with exercise participants in order to design exercises that will best fit their training aims. During in-house exercises, CMTC HQ leads

1632-519: The Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup (eFP BG) Latvia. ICE confirms that the eFP meets the supreme allied commander Europe's (SACEUR) requirements, and that the eight sending nations and framework nation are effectively integrated into one multinational battlegroup. CMTC typically deploys on two ICE rotations a year, spring and fall. CMTC conducts the certification and validation of a light infantry battle group in

1700-525: The FCoE for CT doctrine. CMTC's exercises are designed around the achievement of battle task standards (BTS), which are derived from operational needs and implemented in doctrine. Army CT ensures that doctrine is updated as the operational environment shifts, to ensure exercises are relevant to the needs of training audiences. Exercise Maple Resolve (Ex MR) is the Canadian Army's cornerstone exercise for proving brigades, battlegroups, and their soldiers in

1768-553: The Korean War. During the Korean War the 45th Infantry Division suffered 4,004 casualties; 834 killed in action and 3,170 wounded in action The division was awarded four campaign streamers and one Presidential Unit Citation. Most of the units who rotated through Camp Polk during 1952-54 were trained for combat by the 37th Infantry Division of the Ohio Army National Guard . Although the 37th Division itself

1836-552: The Mississippi River. The maneuvers gave Army leadership the chance to test a new doctrine that stressed the need for both mass and mobility. Sixteen armored divisions sprang up during World War II after the lessons learned during the Louisiana Maneuvers were considered. These divisions specialized in moving huge combined-arms mechanized units long distances in combat. On the defensive front, U.S. doctrine

1904-532: The North African, European and Pacific fronts. Soldiers at Polk participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers , which were designed to test U.S. troops preparing for World War II. Until 1939, the Army had mostly been an infantry force with supporting artillery, engineer, and cavalry units. Few units had been motorized or mechanized. As U.S. involvement in World War II became more likely, the Army recognized

1972-601: The Opposing Force is handled by the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (1-509th IR) . It is the job of the 1-509th IR to conduct combat operations as a dedicated, capabilities-based Opposing Force (OPFOR) to provide realistic, stressful, and challenging combat conditions for JRTC rotational units. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division was officially activated at Fort Polk in February 2014 as 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division , utilizing

2040-514: The U.S. in fall 2011. From 2016 to 2019, the "Patriot Brigade", as they are known, became part of the 36th Infantry Division ( Army National Guard ) as part of the Army's Associated Unit Pilot. The "Patriot Brigade" was the only Regular Army unit assigned to the 36th ID but returned to the 10th Mountain Division when the Army's Associated Unit Pilot ended. The 115th Combat Support Hospital traces its origin to Evacuation Hospital #15, originally organized at Fort Riley, Kansas on 21 March 1918. At

2108-463: The U.S. on otherwise empty troop ships returning from the ETO, housing and feeding them in the U.S. where escape was far less likely, rather than further burdening outbound cargo ships with provisions for prisoners in camps based in Europe. He added that American GIs resented the fact that German POWs were allowed to breathe the air in the U.S. while GIs were on the battlegrounds of a devastated Europe through

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2176-548: The United States aboard the "S.S. America" and was demobilized at Camp Lewis, Washington on 28 June 1919. Evacuation Hospital #15 was reconstituted as the 15th Evacuation Hospital in 1936, after having been organized as an inactive unit of the Regular Army on 1 October 1933. 115th Combat Support Hospital is a deployable medical unit that provides medical specialities to the battlefield. Medical specialties provided by

2244-710: The assets of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division , which was inactivated. As part of the Army's transformation initiative, this organization was designed to create a highly mobile, lethal, and flexible combat unit to support the rapid buildup of combat power wherever needed across the globe. The structure of the brigade is modular and provides for organic infantry, cavalry, field artillery, maintenance, logistic and support capabilities. While stilled flagged as 4th Brigade, it deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2006 to 2007 then again for Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2007 to January 2009. The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in fall 2010 and returned to

2312-420: The conclusion of World War II. The Louisiana Army National Guard maintains a maintenance facility on Fort Johnson which services its major units such as the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 225th Engineer Brigade . There have been several times when Fort Johnson was at risk of closing. In 2002 the Army stated a position of "No acquisition of land through purchase or withdrawal of public domain lands

2380-403: The contemporary operating environment. During the exercise, soldiers test their ability to integrate with allies and other government departments as they hone their warfighting skills within a realistic, complex and demanding environment. Exercise Unified Resolve (Ex UR) is the Canadian Army's largest and most complex computer-assisted training exercise. The training plays a key role in confirming

2448-486: The duration of the war, but they understood the logic of keeping the POWs in the U.S. rather than in Europe. The POWs picked cotton, cut rice, and cut lumber. They also helped sandbag the raging Red River in the summer of 1944. Prisoners were not forced to work, and some refused. Those who worked earned scrip for their labor, with which they could buy such necessities as toothpaste or snacks at their own Post Exchange. From

2516-412: The emphasis is on learning after less than perfect events, AARs after successful experiences can also provide rich benefits. Prerequisite to the success of a formal AAR are a few key ingredients, including a trained ‘conductor’, a suitable safe private environment, allocated time and the assumption of equality of everybody present. Every AAR follows the same structure with the conductor getting agreement for

2584-633: The end of World War II until the early 1960s, the post was closed and reopened numerous times. During much of this time, it was open only in the summers to support reserve component training. Soldiers were stationed there temporarily during the Korean War and the Berlin Crisis . In August 1950, the 45th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma Army National Guard became the first unit to train at Fort Polk in preparation for

2652-566: The exercise control (EXCON). CMTC HQ is also responsible for maintaining connections with allied training centres and industry partners to incorporate best practices across a wide network. CMTC Operations Group (Ops Grp) is the unit responsible for the execution of exercises. This is done through the employment of its sub-units, which provide a rich training environment, facilitate learning, and inform EXCON. Ops Grp consists of: Observer controller trainers (OCT) are experienced officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned members who coach and mentor

2720-571: The exercises it leads. Formation Training Group (Fmn Trg Grp) provides training to the Canadian Army at the formation level. This includes the design and delivery of Exercise United Resolve and the provision of the Canadian Army Exercise Planning and Execution Course (CAEPAC) and the Civilian - Military Interagency Planning Seminar (CMIPS). Army Collective Training (Army CT) is responsible for upholding CMTC's duties as

2788-451: The extreme, the unknown and the very improbable with high impact consequences, conditions that demand leadership, and yet we spend our time focusing on what we know and what we can control. Educating staff on the use of After Action Review enables team working and cues behaviours through allowing an emotional mastery of the moment and learning after doing." "AARs are applicable to almost any event, clinical or otherwise, and whilst

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2856-733: The fort was renamed to honor William Henry Johnson , a World War I veteran from the New York National Guard unit known as the " Harlem Hellfighters ". It was previously named for Leonidas Polk , a Confederate general. Johnson was one of the first Americans to receive the French " Croix de Guerre ". He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor. It

2924-607: The full spectrum of conflict. The JRTC is one of the Army's three "Dirt" Combat Training Centers resourced to train infantry brigade task forces and their subordinate elements in the Joint Contemporary Operational Environment. With great emphasis on realism, the JRTC Operations Group provides rotational units with the opportunity to conduct joint operations which emphasize contingency force missions. The JRTC training scenario

2992-575: The ground rules at the outset and ensuring everyone is clear about the specific purpose of the AAR and the four apparently simple questions to be used." AAR is actively used in a number of NHS organisations including Cambridge University Hospitals, Bedfordshire Hospitals and NEL Healthcare Consulting and has been recommended as an approach to be used in the new NHS Patient Safety Incident Response Framework, which "moves away from reactive and hard-to-define thresholds for 'Serious Incident' investigation and towards

3060-560: The information domain, and vice versa. CMTC builds after-action reviews into the various stages of its exercises. CMTC AARs are informed by feedback from OCTs who observe the battle in person and from command nodes, data as shown by WES, and the OPFOR and COEFOR. CMTC's OCTs coordinate all of the available inputs for Commander's to conduct their own AARs. CMTC seeks and accommodates allied partners for all major exercises. CAF members deployed on operations can almost always expect to be working in

3128-630: The need to modernize the service. It also needed large-scale maneuvers to test a fast-growing, inexperienced force. That is where Fort Polk and the Louisiana Maneuvers came in. The maneuvers involved half a million soldiers in 19 Army divisions, and took place over 3,400 square miles (8,800 km ) in August and September 1941. The troops were divided into equal armies of two notional countries: Kotmk (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky) and Almat (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee). These countries were fighting over navigation rights in

3196-401: The next iteration of the action AARs in the formal sense were originally developed by the U.S. Army . Formal AARs are used by all US military services and by many other non-US organizations. Their use has extended to business as a knowledge management tool. An AAR occurs within a cycle of establishing the leader's intent, planning, preparation, action and review. An AAR is distinct from

3264-538: The onset of hostilities during World War I, the unit sailed aboard the "S.S. Mataika", departing the United States on 22 August 1918, and arriving in France 3 September 1918. Evacuation Hospital #15 earned a battle streamer for its participation in the Meuse-Argonne Forest offensive from 26 September 1918 through 11 November 1918. The hospital, having served honorably and proud during World War I, returned to

3332-542: The operational readiness of mechanized brigade group command and control elements and tests their ability to plan and conduct missions. During the simulation, participants react to computer-assisted scenarios within the contemporary operating environment across the full spectrum of conflict. CMTC conducts the Integrated Capstone Exercise (ICE) as part of the CAF's contribution as the framework nation for

3400-630: The penetration. Tank destroyers employed aggressive, high-speed hit-and-run tactics. The conclusion drawn was that tank destroyer battalions should be raised. Immediately after the war, the battalions were disbanded and the anti-tank role was taken over by the Infantry, Engineer, and Armor branches. While primarily a training facility, Camp Polk also served as a military prison for Germans captured during World War II. The first prisoners of war (POWs), who began arriving in Louisiana in July 1943, were from

3468-641: The planning and command and control of high-intensity tactical operations facing a hybrid threat consisting of a near-peer conventional force and irregular units in a joint, interagency, multi-national, and public (JIMP) contemporary operating environment. The field training exercise is in Fort Johnson , Louisiana, United States. The Weapons Effects Simulation (WES) system is a live simulation system that represents people, vehicles, and equipment in combat situations. The system includes both vehicle and person-worn systems with laser detectors and projectors, linked to

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3536-479: The post encompasses about 198,000 acres (309 sq mi). Some 100,000 acres (160 sq mi) are owned by the Department of the Army and 98,125 acres (153.320 sq mi) by the U.S. Forest Service , mostly in the Kisatchie National Forest . In 2013, there were 10,877 troops stationed at Fort Johnson, which generated an annual payroll of $ 980 million. Louisiana officials lobbied

3604-496: The property owned by the U.S. Forest Service where the Army trains. Originally named after Confederate general Leonidas Polk , Fort Polk became Fort Johnson during a re-designation ceremony on June 13, 2023 in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient from North Carolina who served in the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment. Construction of Camp Polk began in 1941. Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up quickly to support an Army preparing to do battle on

3672-457: The regiment deployed to Haiti in 1995 in support of Operation Uphold Democracy and to Bosnia in 1996 in support of Operation Joint Endeavor . The 2nd ACR deployed to Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Djibouti in 2002 to in support of Operation Enduring Freedom , and then deployed in Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (now known as Operation New Dawn). The Army announced on 14 May 2004, that

3740-404: The representation of casualties with realistic injuries. CMTC has the capability to run a simulated social media network on top of an isolated network. This allows everyone in the battlespace to interact in a public forum. Access to the network is granted through internet cafes and cellphones in each community. This network reinforces to training audiences that actions in the physical domain impact

3808-422: The review is taken forward by the participants. Recommendations for others are not produced. AARs in larger operations can be cascaded in order to keep each level of the organization focused on its own performance within a particular event or project. Formal AAR meetings are normally run by a facilitator or trained 'AAR Conductor', and can be chronological reviews or tightly focused on a few key issues selected by

3876-463: The spectrum of personalities in the battlespace, between the opposing force (OPFOR), training audience, and the population base. The employment of COEFOR causes soldiers to consider every person in the battlespace, and forces them to remain aware throughout the entire exercise. CMTC's COEFOR also supports allied exercises around the world. CMTC has an integral administration and network support capability that provides admin services to its own members and

3944-597: The team leader. Short cycle informal AARs are typically run by a team leader or assistant and are very quick. In the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), AAR is increasingly used as a learning tool to promote patient safety and improve care, as outlined by Walker et al. 2012. In the UK and Europe other healthcare organisations, including pharmaceutical and medical technology businesses such as BD , are beginning to roll out their own AAR programmes. In 2008,

4012-539: The training audience, by leveraging their experience, knowledge of doctrine, and interpretation of discrete and aggregate data. CMTC's OCTs support all CMTC-led exercises, and often support other excises for the Canadian Army and allies. They also provide courses for Canadians and allies on how to be an OCT, and how to conduct an after-action review . Contemporary Operating Environment Force (COEFOR) provides unconventional, para-military, and host-nation forces and key personalities to role-play in exercises. They cover any gaps

4080-402: Was based on two needs: the ability to defeat Blitzkrieg tactics; and how to deal with large numbers of German tanks attacking relatively narrow areas. As such, the maneuvers also tested the concept of the tank destroyer . In this concept, highly mobile guns were held in reserve until friendly forces were attacked by enemy tanks. Then the tank destroyers would be rapidly deployed to the flanks of

4148-429: Was built around the 1st Armored Division and an opposing force was built around the 82nd Airborne Division . U.S. Air Force bombers and fighter planes also participated in this exercise with powerful aircraft operating in the sky, stirring great interest among the citizens of the region. Also participating as part of the provisional army was the 15th Infantry Regiment (actually designated as 15th Infantry Combat Command) of

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4216-530: Was established in 2004 and delivered its first exercise, Exercise Maple Guardian in 2006, but assisted in running the brigade training event (BTE) in 2005. In 2006, the primary focus of CMTC was to train task forces deploying to Afghanistan. Since the end of the Canadian combat mission in Afghanistan, CMTC continues to design and deliver collective training exercises to maintain the warfighting capabilities of

4284-467: Was not sent to Korea as a unit, nearly every soldier was sent as an individual replacement. In 1955, the U.S. military conducted another large training exercise that covered a substantial portion of Louisiana. Named Operation Sagebrush, the focus of this exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness of military operations in a nuclear environment. The exercise lasted for 15 days with 85,000 troops participating. A provisional army, meant to represent U.S. forces,

4352-618: Was one of the U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers recommended for renaming by the Congressional Naming Commission . On January 5, 2023, William A. LaPlante, the US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment ( USD (A&S) ), directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide. An area covering 105,545 acres (42,713 ha) within

4420-705: Was organized with two active duty brigades and a brigade from the Louisiana National Guard. From 1972 until 1987, Fort Polk hosted the 1st Battalion, 40th Armor Regiment. During that time 1/40th Armor participated in training exercises with the Louisiana Army National Guard and 5th Infantry Division units. It was part of the Rapid Deployment Force for the operations in Grenada, but was not deployed, instead it

4488-444: Was purchased in 2012. Eminent domain is an option if needed. Fort Johnson issued a press release on 5 May 2014, that 32,500 acres of the targeted 47,500, out of the 100,000 approved, has been acquired. Fifty-four landowners are involved, twenty-nine residences, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers being the Army's real estate agent. On 12 November 2014, a grand opening for a new Fort Polk Commissary took place. On 13 June 2023,

4556-649: Was reassigned to the hills nol (German Defense Plan). In 1983, the 1/40 Armor took part in the Reforger 1984 exercises in Bavaria and two deployments to the National Training Center in 1984 and 1985. The 1/40 Armor was deactivated at Fort Polk in 1987. It was reactivated as the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry at Fort Richardson in Alaska in 2005. While at Fort Polk, the 5th Infantry Division participated in

4624-408: Was the only stateside Army post they saw before assignment overseas. Many soldiers reported to basic training at Fort Polk and stayed on post for infantry training at Tigerland before being assigned to infantry line companies in Vietnam . In October 1974, Fort Polk became the new home of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and basic training and AIT started being phased out. Fort Polk changed from

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