FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
More than 2,100 service members from several states participated in a large-scale exercise known as a Warfighter June 2 to 11 at Fort Indiantown Gap.
A Warfighter is simulated exercise designed to train and evaluate Army division-sized elements on mission command in large-scale combat operations.
The exercise’s primary training audience was the New York National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division. About 600 personnel from the 42nd ID participated in the exercise.
"The 42nd Infantry Division came here with a mission, to use this Warfighter exercise to train and mentor our noncommissioned officers, warrant officers and commissioned officers on taking their specific skill sets and aggregating them together to accomplish our corps commander’s intent,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Spencer, commanding general, 42nd ID. “We accomplished our mission and trained how we would fight. I am very proud of my Soldiers and am extremely confident that the Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division are ready to accomplish any mission in the service of this great nation."
Soldiers from National Guard units from Texas, Kentucky, Washington, Kansas and California also participated in the exercise as well as active-duty Soldiers from First Army, 1st Armored Division and Mission Command Training Program.
Warfighter exercises focus on command and control rather than large numbers of troops training in the field, said 1st Lt. Tyler Price, Warfighter exercise project officer.
“They bring the headquarters of brigades and divisions, and they actually work their command and control in a simulated environment, instead of bringing thousands of troops to a training center,” Price said.
For previous Warfighter exercises at Fort Indiantown Gap, the personnel were split between several bases. This year was the first time all participants were at Fort Indiantown Gap, and the 2,100-plus Soldiers were the most that ever participated in a Warfighter here. The previous high was about 1,500.
Large exercises like this can pose numerous challenges, Price said. The last Warfighter at Fort Indiantown Gap took place during COVID, so participants had to implement COVID mitigation efforts, such as wearing masks, testing, eating outside and social distancing.
This year, there was a larger footprint for the exercise because it involved more personnel. Additionally, because smoke from Canadian wildfires created poor air quality, the mayor cell distributed masks to Soldiers who had to spend time outdoors, Price said.
“We’ve overcome some challenges with personnel dealing with real-world issues outside of the Warfighter,” Price said. “The ultimate challenge was communicating with several different units from three different components and seven different states.”
Sgt. Tabitha Hickman, military police support noncommissioned officer, said security can be a challenge during exercises like this.
“Just ensuring that places are secure, things aren’t brought in that shouldn’t be there and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of those who are on the ground,” Hickman said. “We’ve had a few hiccups, but that’s to be expected at every Warfighter. It’s been mostly smooth, nothing crazy.”
First Sgt. Thomas Nace, mayor cell noncommissioned officer in charge, said the Warfighter was a big mission for Fort Indiantown Gap that involved numerous directorates, including billeting, maintenance, environmental, the community club and the police and fire departments.
“The Warfighter project team here at Fort Indiantown Gap was tasked with providing real-life support to all the units participating in the Warfighter, including feeding, housing, transporting and providing security,” Nace said. “While the units have been here, we have been resolving any issue that arose outside the exercise itself, in order to provide them with an appropriate environment in which to train.”
Fort Indiantown Gap began hosting Warfighter Exercises in 2016 and typically hosts one per year.
The capability to host Warfighter exercises is one of the things that makes Fort Indiantown Gap one of the premier National Guard training centers in the country, said Col. Kevin Potts, garrison commander.
“The fact that we can bring over 2,000 Soldiers here for an exercise like this, in addition to all of the other training that was taking place on the installation, is a credit to hard work and dedication of the installation's employees,” Potts said. “At one point, we had over 8,000 personnel on the installation for training, and ensuring they have everything need is no small task, but our employees stepped up and got the job done."