[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9613-S9614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER

 Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a 
national resource that is training the military leaders of today and 
tomorrow. It is the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
  The commanding officer of the National Training Center, Brigadier 
General Dean Cash, is a soldier's soldier. He is dedicated to 
developing leaders, and he leads by example. General Cash is also 
dedicated to the soldiers' families. Despite the long hours and tough 
duty, General Cash makes sure none of the soldiers or officers in his 
command misses the birth of their child or a birthday celebration. He 
believes those are significant events that cannot be missed.
  And General Cash wants to make sure the families are cared for. 
Whether its child care, shopping or support groups, the families of the 
soldiers assigned to Fort Irwin get the best available. The base takes 
an active role in the schools and also has extended its reach to at-
risk children in the Los Angeles basin.
  The soldiers at Fort Irwin and the National Training Center are 
professionals. They present the greatest challenge for units training 
at the center. This is their mission, and they do it well.
  I believe, Mr. President, that the reason our forces were successful 
against Saddam Hussein in Operation Desert Storm was the training they 
received at NTC. They were in an environment very similar to conditions 
in the Middle East. They were fighting against forces simulating the 
style of the former Soviet bloc. And they were fighting against tanks, 
artillery and infantry units with a ``home field'' advantage. The 
permanent opposition force at NTC knows every rock, every hill and 
every ravine. That is a tremendous advantage, and really tests the 
leadership skills of the training forces.
  As we see the downsizing of our active Army force, we must have a 
National Guard and Reserve component acting as an integral part of our 
military if we have a significant crisis anywhere in the world that we 
have to deal with. That is why, Mr. President, I am so pleased that the 
Idaho Snake River Brigade is able to train at NTC. We need to make sure 
they're ready if called upon.
  The facilities at NTC are, to say the least, very impressive. Using 
the latest state-of-the-art computer, laser and satellite technology, 
the instructors and observers at NTC can tell, in real

[[Page S9614]]

time, where every tank, every piece of artillery and every humvee is at 
any moment. And each soldier's movements, radio communications and 
weapons are continuously monitored.
  When a simulated battle is complete, the instructors go through each 
exercise with the individual unit commanders. They find out what went 
right, what went wrong, and what can be done to improve. This attention 
to detail is vital. The only way our nation is going to maintain the 
best military in the world is to have the best leaders leading the 
best-trained forces. They're getting that education at the National 
Training Center.
  Countless individuals provide that education. I met two who I'd like 
to highlight. Colonel J.D. Thurman is Chief of the Operations Group, 
and Colonel John Rosenberger is Commander of the 11th Armored Cavalry 
Regiment. Both men are soldiers. But both are educators. They take 
their jobs very seriously, and they see the value to what they're 
doing. It's because of their dedication and skill that our Army turns 
out commanders for the next century--commanders who will be on the 
front lines of defending democracy.
  I would like to encourage my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services 
Committee and others in the Senate to visit the National Training 
Center and see it first hand. You can't leave there without being 
totally impressed with the dedication of the officers and the enlisted 
personnel at Fort Irwin and their belief in what they're doing. To see 
how it enhances the morale and training of units that rotate through 
NTC, is impressive. This is a national resource that deserves our 
utmost support.

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