California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has joined a U.S. Army Forces Command program that pairs National Guard and Reserve units with active BCTs for joint planning, interoperability and training exercises, the Army News Service reported Thursday.
David Vergun writes the 79th Infantry BCT trained with the 1st Armored Division’s 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment from May 15 to June 4 as part of FORSCOM’s Total Force Partnership Program.
Lt. Col. David Murphy, commander of the 79th IBCT’s 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, said the partnership represents the first time in over a decade that the military unit partnered with an active duty component.
The program works to operationalize the Army Total Force Policy established in 2012 and coordinate all eight Army National Guard division headquarters and with active component corps headquarters, Vergun reports.
