Ft. Hood Visit
A JINSA delegation just returned from meetings at III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas as guests of Lt. Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, III Corps Commanding General. JINSA semiannually visits American military installations to acquire first-hand knowledge of the latest in U.S. military concepts and practices and to forge closer relations between the public and the men and women of the armed forces. Fort Hood is the Army’s premier force projection post and home to the 1st Cavalry Division, the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the 13th Corps Support Command as well as various major subordinate commands.
A JINSA delegation just returned from meetings at III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas as guests of Lt. Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, III Corps Commanding General. JINSA semiannually visits American military installations to acquire first-hand knowledge of the latest in U.S. military concepts and practices and to forge closer relations between the public and the men and women of the armed forces. Fort Hood is the Army’s premier force projection post and home to the 1st Cavalry Division, the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the 13th Corps Support Command as well as various major subordinate commands. It is the Army’s primary base for the Army-wide digitization effort.
The Army’s Force XXI project intends to complete the digitization of the entire III Corps by 2004. JINSA has been closely following these efforts for some years now having received updates during past visits to Army posts and through the Pentagon Fly-In program. The full scope of the digitization effort envisions increasing the Army’s ability to project a more integrated force able to dominate information for maximum awareness of the battlefield and logistical support activities. Thus allowing the entire battle space to be shaped for quick and decisive operations leading to victory with the fewest casualties. This will be accomplished by providing communications equipment to all units (from individual vehicles down to the soldiers) knowledge of everything from the three most basic points – your exact position, the position of your fellow units and the position of the enemy – to exact data on fuel, ammo, food, water, vehicle condition, etc. The hardware that makes this possible includes integrated rugged high speed communication devices, computers and displays.
The JINSA delegation was able to examine an M1A2 main battle tank equipped with the latest types of this equipment and speak with the crew regarding its benefits. Later, a live fire exercise vividly demonstrated the systems efficiency in relaying target data from one vehicle to another. The group also tried out the latest generation of the Close Combat Tactical Trainer, a simulator for training tank and armored fighting vehicle crews in the intricacies of large unit movements at a dramatic cost savings versus repetitive exercises in the real vehicles.
A highlight of the visit was a breakfast with members of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, a multi-base membership club of some 400NCOs dedicated to public service and charitable work. In a one-on-one setting, these “voices of the Army” were able to impart knowledge of the armed forces from “the inside” in an informal environment. In turn, the JINSA delegation carried the message to the Army that the public does care about the military and wishes to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing the services.