EDINBURGH — Nearly 6,000 Indiana National Guard troops are taking part in a major joint training exercise across the state, utilizing the facilities at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville.
The large-scale training event, known as a Combat Readiness Exercise (CRX), is designed to validate the Guard’s ability to rapidly deploy, integrate with joint forces, and execute complex operations against modern adversaries on global battlefields.
Modernization at the Forefront
Spearheading the exercise is the Indiana National Guard’s 76th Mobile Brigade Combat Team (MBCT). The brigade is leading a key transition for the U.S. Army’s “Transforming in Contact” initiative, evolving from a legacy infantry model into a mobile, dispersed, and highly agile combat brigade tailored for multi-domain operations.
To support this transformation, troops are actively field-testing and integrating cutting-edge technology during the exercise, including:
- Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISVs): Lightweight, highly mobile tactical vehicles designed to rapidly transport personnel across challenging terrain.
- Unmanned Aerial & Loitering Munition Systems: Hands-on operations involving advanced reconnaissance drones (such as the Ghost-X) and loitering munition systems (such as the Switchblade 600).
- Next-Generation Communications: High-tech, decentralized network architecture aimed at keeping dispersed units connected under electronic warfare conditions.
Multinational Collaboration
To simulate realistic joint operations and strengthen international alliances, the CRX incorporates multinational military partners. Allied forces and military observers participating alongside Hoosier Guardsmen include representatives from Slovakia, Estonia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine.
The complex terrain offered by the combined facilities—spanning the firing ranges and maneuver corridors of Camp Atterbury to the dense, mock-city infrastructure of Muscatatuck—provides a unique urban and rural testing ground for these multi-domain scenarios.
Leadership Perspective
“The CRX exercise showcases the rapid modernization of the Indiana National Guard and our transformation to a highly agile, lethal force prepared for large-scale combat operations,” said Major General Lawrence Muennich, Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard.
“As we integrate new cutting-edge, war-fighting technology across our force, we remember that our true strength lies in our Guardsmen,” Major General Muennich added. “The Indiana National Guard is an operational force that serves at the local, state, national, and global levels, providing combat-ready Soldiers and Airmen who strengthen the Joint Force whenever and wherever they are needed.”
