3rd Brigade Soldiers Leave For Desert Training

The 3rd Brigade is suiting up for a month of intense training before its 4th deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This week 3,500 3rd Brigade soldiers will fly to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. There they will train at the brigade level for three to five weeks in the California desert.

Company commanders say this is the capstone training event for these soldiers. They have already trained as individuals, teams, platoons and companies.

Captain Mike Barth is in charge of the 31 Cavalry Squadron. He was monitoring the soldier check in on Wednesday. He says the conditions at NTC are a fantastic representation of the conditions in Iraq. Barth says the training is crucial to soldier success, “They come instantly into contact with Arabic speaking personnel and they are forced to use their Arabic language skills. They are immersed in Arabic culture from the time they get there.”

Wednesday was the last day for many soldiers to see their families before they leave, we talked to one newlywed couple just moments before they said goodbye. Ashley Shaw walked by her husband’s side as he dropped of his bags. She says, “This will be a pretty good test to see how we do, because we just got married in August.”

Tony says this is new territory for him as a soldier, “I’ve been to Iraq twice, NTC once, GRTC once, but I have never had to leave a family before, it’s new, I don’t like it very much but I do what I’ve have to do.”

The 3rd Brigade returned from their 3rd deployment to Iraq just last spring. Soldiers will deploy roughly 90 days after they return from NTC.

Stay tuned to News 3 for the latest updates from the 3rd Brigade throughout their training.