The Missouri National Guard is spending two million dollars to build some urban areas—so troops are better prepared for the urban combat today’s military is facing. The Guard is assuming a new mission of pre-mobilization training in more than 130 different tasks and missions. The biggest impact will be on Guard training sites at Caps Crowder and Clark, as well as Macon and Wappapello.
Guard Captain Tammy Spicer says activated units will go those sites before going overseas. They’ll be working in simulated urban settings, learning how to move through streets, into buildings, through checkpoints, and so forth.
Troops will be taught by soldiers who’ve been in the Middle East, bringing real world experience to the simulated real world training centers, eliminating the need for Missouri National Guardsmen to have to travel to other states for urban warfare training. Spicer says the new facilities will let them train in Missouri for situations they might encounter halfway around the world.