CAMP SHELBY, Miss. - Close to 5,000 Florida Army National Guard Soldiers reported to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for the eXportable Combat Training Capability exercise in July.

The xCTC is a significant training event the Florida Guard completes every five years. It ensures the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s readiness and proficiency to deploy and provides realistic scenarios that certify the 53rd IBCT has achieved its training requirements.

While an obvious focus for a combat-oriented exercise involves the occupational competence and lethality of the infantry Soldiers, xCTC also recognizes the importance of sustainment operations. The exercise emphasizes the work of Soldiers who comprise the support network that makes a long-term presence in contested environments possible.

The preparation of the training itself is no exception. Soldiers of the 50th Regional Support Group and the 53rd Brigade Support Battalion executed an ammunition move from an ammunition supply point to an ammunition holding area for dissemination to various units July 15. 

While passing out ammunition to infantry forces for training seems like a basic task — and in the big picture, it is — the nature of this work still requires planning, coordination and teamwork to accomplish safely and efficiently.

Once the ammunition arrived at the holding area, Soldiers of the 53rd BSB undid the straps that secured it during the transfer. Forklifts removed the pallets holding the ammo from HEMTT cargo transporters, and Soldiers prepared the ammunition for various units to receive.

“xCTC represents a worst of the worst situation, and we’re trying to simulate those conditions to prepare Soldiers for that,” said Army Staff Sgt. Eleymis Costa, the ammunition noncommissioned officer in charge who oversaw the move. “This exercise can be a reality check for Soldiers who come right out of basic training and haven’t dealt with this kind of environment. To ensure Soldiers can train to the standard, they need those basic resources.”

The next day, Soldiers assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Company also used forklifts to unload and organize ballistic plates at Camp Shelby’s Range 13. The plates are crucial components in the body armor Soldiers later used in their training that members of the 50th RSG facilitated, which made a “train like you fight” experience possible.

“[Tasks like these] point out deficiencies we have before we go into an actual combat environment and make us more prepared and ready to conduct the supply process,” said Army 1st Lt. James Klein, the 50th RSG’s assistant S-2 officer. “The supply process — getting the troops what they need — is one of the most important parts of the military, and every Soldier needs to be protected.”