The Alabama National Guard’s 167th Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) conducted a five-day field training exercise (FTX) on Fort McClellan’s Clarke Range Complex last month.
The training focused on enhancing communication, tactical proficiency and readiness for future large-scale combat operations (LSCO). The command-directed exercise, the first of several planned, aimed to move soldiers and equipment out of the armory and into a field environment to test their ability to rapidly move and communicate in dynamic environments for survival and mission success.
Lt. Col. Justin Floyd, 167th TSC operations officer and the officer in charge of the FTX operations, highlighted the shift in military focus from global terrorism to LSCO.
“The days of the global terrorism where we’re gonna go to a base that’s a hardened structure where we’ve got all sorts of security around us, we feel like those days are probably in the past,” Floyd said. He emphasized that future iterations would be “much more difficult” with more role players and injects.
Floyd expressed enjoyment in returning to field exercises, a practice he noted had become less frequent over the years. “This is the Army that a lot of people joined to be a part of,” he said, mentioning the welcomed opportunity to interact with soldiers and officers in a hands-on training environment.
Capt. Brent Luper, the 167th TSC Special Troops Battalion operations and training officer, detailed the exercise’s initial phase, which began with convoy operations. This included ensuring all personnel understood the plan through a Rehearsal of Concept drill, then moving from the armory to the bivouac site. Upon arrival, focus shifted to establishing communications, setting up security and implementing camouflage techniques to minimize electronic and visual signatures.
“Once you establish comms [communications], send what traffic you need to over the net, then you drop back down and you focus on your noise and light discipline and camouflage yourself, your equipment and try not to be found,” Luper explained, emphasizing the critical importance of electronic emissions control.
U.S soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command set up a tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Capt. Joseph Meier, network engineer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, conducts a convoy brief to soldiers of the 167th TSC on Clarke Range before movement to home station during a five-day field training exercise. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S Army Sgt. Maj. Darren Scott, operations sergeant major with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, sets up a tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lance Pilgrim, mobility officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, camouflages a high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle with foliage during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command practice Army warrior task Clear a Room during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command set up a tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Command Sgt Maj. Martin Tillery, command sergeant major of the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, addresses soldiers with the 167th TSC during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command set up a tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
A U.S. soldier with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command ground guides a high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle during a five-day field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command provide power to the mounted mission control system during a five-day field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Blackmon, antiterrorism security force protection noncommissioned officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, leads instruction for Army warrior task Clear a Room during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. soldiers with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command receive coins from Command Sgt Maj. Martin Tillery, command sergeant major of the 167th TSC, during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric North, training and exercise officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, evaluates soldiers with the 167th TSC during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S Army Sgt. Maj. Darren Scott, operations sergeant major with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, sets up a tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Col. Mitchell Nethery, chaplain with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, conducts a religious service where soldiers were permitted to remove headgear during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Maj. Jacqueline Krimmel / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Andrew Conant, deputy commanding general of the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, addresses soldiers with the 167th TSC during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Perry, chemical biological radiological nuclear noncommissioned officer, and Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Blackmon, antiterrorism security force protection noncommissioned officer, both with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, instruct Army warrior task Hasty Fighting Position during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Spc. Erick Hall, utilities equipment repairer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, constructs a litefighter tent during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Andrew Conant, deputy commanding general of the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, addresses soldiers with the 167th TSC during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S Army Sgt. Maj. Darren Scott, operations sergeant major, and Lt. Col. Justin Floyd, chief of operations, both with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, set up their tents during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lance Pilgrim, mobility officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, camouflages a high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle with foliage during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Capt. Brent Luper, operations staff officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, listens as Brig. Gen. Andrew Conant addresses soldiers with the 167th TSC during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric North, training and exercise officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, evaluates the dispersement of tents during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Perry, chemical biological radiological nuclear noncommissioned officer with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, instructs Army warrior task Hasty Fighting Position during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Blackmon, antiterrorism security force protection noncommissioned officer, and Sgt. Kristopher Crook, senior information technical specialist, both with the 167th Theater Sustainment Command, set up a training area for Army warrior task Clear a Building during a field training exercise on Clarke Range Complex in Anniston. (Sgt. Maj. Myra Bush / U.S. Army National Guard)
Day two of the FTX consisted of basic warfighter skills training ranging from room-clearing drills to fighting positions. Luper highlighted the boost in morale as soldiers engaged in practical, hands-on training.
“Any time that we go into an environment like this, you’re really getting back to the basics of being a soldier,” Luper said. He noted the visible improvement in soldiers’ skills and teamwork as they progressed through the training. “That really improves our lethality, and that’s what we came out here to do.”
Lt. Col. Eric North, the training and exercises officer for the 167th TSC, served as the assessor for the FTX. He advised on the exercise’s planning, drawing on expertise from institutions like Fort Johnson’s Joint Readiness Training Center. North developed a rubric to assess various aspects, including placement, concealment, security, dispersion, radio frequency noise, sound discipline and timely displacement.
North evaluated convoy operations, dispersement distance between tents and night noise and light discipline at the tactical command post. “Overall, they did a really good job,” North stated, commending soldiers’ tactical actions, quick communication setup and discipline in shutting down frequencies. The unit scored an “impressive” 88 out of 100 on his assessment, a result North considers excellent for a first exercise. This rubric will serve as a consistent grading sheet for future FTXs, allowing for a clear comparison of growth and improvement.
This LSCO training model sets the standard for future field training exercises, allowing soldiers to train as they fight – preparing them for the modern battlefield.
The 167th Theater Sustainment Command, headquartered at Fort McClellan, is the only theater-level sustainment command in the U.S. National Guard and plays a critical role in providing logistics support across multiple theaters of operation. Tasked with ensuring combat readiness and mission success, the 167th TSC supports joint and multinational operations through strategic logistics, resource management and dynamic training exercises. The command plays a critical role in preparing sustainment forces for large-scale combat operations and evolving global missions.
