48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
Col. Randall Simmons Commander 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Georgia Army National Guard
The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), headquartered in Macon, is made up of more than 3,500 Citizen Soldiers who operate out of 26 hometown armories throughout the state. The 48th IBCT is organized into six subordinate battalions: the 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA); 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry (IN) Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 121st IN Regiment; 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery (FA) Regiment; 148th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB); and the 48th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB). The 48th IBCT is trained and ready to enter its available year for worldwide deployments or defense of the homeland as a cohesive, well disciplined, well trained and lethal team of teams, of which is the Brigade of choice for unified land operations. The 48th IBCT spent most of 2013 preparing for future overseas deployments in 2014.
The Brigade’s culminating training event for 2013 was the Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise #13-06 (XCTC) at Fort Stewart, Ga. The 48th IBCT Headquarters and select units will deploy in 2014 to Afghanistan to conduct a variety of training and security missions as the United States hands over security operations to the government of Afghanistan. Additionally, the 48th IBCT was the first ARNG unit selected to support the Department of Defense’s regionally-aligned forces mission and will deploy select units to Central America to advise and train partner nation militaries. The 1-108th CAV “Roughriders” spent the past year training and executing cavalry operations in support of the 48th IBCT. The 1-108th successfully completed all gunnery requirements ensuring Troops A and B met the milestones for a culmination combined arms live fire exercise (LFX). Troop C qualified on all assigned weapon systems and executed a dismounted scout team combined arms live fire exercise which included supporting fires from their snipers and mortar section. The 1-108th snipers ran the 48th IBCT “SniperX” to provide sniper sustainment training for all brigade sniper teams. The 1-121st IN “Spartans” focused on offensive unified land operations. The Spartans started the year with Soldier readiness processing and individual skills training and shifted to company level forceon-force operations in February when two rifle companies conducted attacks, with one company in the defense as an opposing force. Battalion and company mortars maintained proficiency through integration into attack/defense operations. The 2-121st IN “Warriors” focused on the validation of each maneuver element and specialty/staff section with a focus on offensive unified land operations. The
Warriors conducted Soldier and family readiness activities, individual and team to squad level re-validation, and the validation of the battalion staff throughout the year. The 1-118th FA “Old Hickory” set the standard for indirect-fire training during XCTC 13-06, where the battalion processed 109 fire missions, fired 2,276 high explosive, white phosphorus, and illumination rounds and conducted 46 reconnaissance, selection and o ccupation of p osition (RSOP) operations without incident. External evaluators certified both of the battalion’s firing batteries at the culmination of the training. The unit orchestrated the company combined arms live fire lanes by integrating fires from close air support (CAS), 105mm artillery, and mortars from the brigade’s maneuver battalions. Upon completion of XCTC 13-06, the unit demonstrated that it had refined and perfected the field artillery mission to deliver fires for the Brigade. T he 1 4 8 t h B SB, “Wi sh maste rs”, coordinated and conducted three brigade level training events during 2013. Operation “Sharp Scalpel” started off the year by improving the medical proficiency of brigade medics. Gunnery training was conducted in April and a brigade logistics exercise was conducted in May, which facilitated logistics-focused training for all six battalion logistics sections and four forward support companies. The 48th BSTB “Strykers” built upon combat support focused weekend training and integrated its key enablers into the maneuver battalions within the brigade. The battalion’s training focus was mission command, sustainment and mobility operations. Stryker conducted weapons qualifications, demolition and obstacle emplacement training, command post operations, and increased intelligence c o l l e c t i on a n d a n a l y s i s op e r at i on s throughout the year.
48th IBCT Units • 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry, Calhoun • 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Winder • 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Forsyth • 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, Savannah • 148th Brigade Support Battalion, Macon • 48th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Statesboro
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