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Atterbury-Muscatatuck earns Joint National Training Capability

By Staff Sgt. Brad Staggs

BUTLERVILLE, Ind. - The Indiana National Guard's Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck Center for Complex Operations, is the 38th training site to become a Joint National Training Capability certified site and member of the Joint Training Environment.

The certification is an enhanced way of providing training that offers services - from tactical to strategic level capabilities through a spectrum of live, virtual and constructive training environments.

"The JNTC Certification program works together with other programs to achieve the overarching goal of increasing military readiness across the Services and Combatant Commands," said David Hill, certification manager for U.S. Joint Forces Command. "Certification validates that the technical enablers required to execute training on joint tasks are available and interoperable."

David Hill, Certification Manager, and Allen Lawver, Service Coordination Branch Chief for United States Joint Forces Command, present Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex Site Commander Lt. Col. Dale Lyles with a plaque certifying Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck as a Joint National Training Capability Site and member of the Joint Training Environment. Photo:Staff Sgt. Brad Staggs, Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex Public Affairs

Starting in June of 2010, USJFC spent more than nine months conducting assessments, making site visits to observe and discuss capabilities, and documenting everything they found at Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck to make a final determination of certification.

Certification involves a close look at eight JNTC Site Certification Focus Areas to ensure the facility meets the criteria. Those eight areas are: Program Management; Communications Training Systems, Supporting Networks, Information Management and Knowledge Management; Live, Virtual, and Constructive Integration; Training Feedback, After Action Review, Instrumentation and Data Collection; Opposing Force and Situational Forces; Configuration Management; Integrated Logistic Support; and Environmental.

With only a few recommendations for improvement, Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex passed the certification process. Maj. Gen. Clif Tooley, CA-MCCO commander and Deputy Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard, said the certification positions CA-MCCO for the future because Atterbury and Muscatatuck are certified to support the conduct of joint training.

"The JNTC Training Site Certification validates our accomplishments to date toward becoming a place of choice for other services and agencies to train," Tooley said. "It also lays the groundwork for expansion in this area in the coming months and years."