Ok, so I'm gonna try to help out and dispel a couple of rumors here.
First, I am a US Army Veteran and after getting out I still worked at one of the largest military installations in the US for several years. In addition to that, I spent the first six years after I left the military training Military Intelligence soldiers on how to do their jobs. I spent six months out of the year living and working at the nations two most prominent training centers.
Within the United States there are two primary training centers for military units. There's one smack dab in the middle of Mohave desert called NTC (National Training Center) and another in Louisiana called JRTC (Joint Readiness Training Center).
I essentially lived at these two bases back and forth for six years.
When units go to train at these facilities, what they will do is load up as if they are going to war and move all of their working equipment to these facilities. We're talking dozens of tanks, dozens of APC's, Strykers, Humvees... and an unholy mother of satanload of Potable Water tanks... because you need to drink a lot of water in the middle of a desert and there ain't no water fountains in the middle of the Mohave unless you bring your own.
The most cost efficient way to move millions of tons of military equipment to training facilities or to docks in order to ship them to combat zones, is by train. Also, about 10-11 units per year will rotate through these facilities, therefore you will see these trains moving huge amounts of equipment several times a month as the equipment is moved to training and back to the unit's home.
Therefore seeing a huge train full of military equipment means literally diddly squat. Sorry, but that's just the truth of it.
Congrats on seeing one though, they are pretty awe inducing and show you just how much military might the US has.
Ok, so I'm gonna try to help out and dispel a couple of rumors here.
First, I am a US Army Veteran and after getting out I still worked at one of the largest military installations in the US for several years. In addition to that, I spent the first six years after I left the military training Military Intelligence soldiers on how to do their jobs. I spent six months out of the year living and working at the nations two most prominent training centers.
Within the United States there are two primary training centers for military units. There's one smack dab in the middle of Mohave desert called NTC (National Training Center) and another in Louisiana called JRTC (Joint Readiness Training Center).
I essentially lived at these two bases back and forth for six years.
When units go to train at these facilities, what they will do is load up as if they are going to war and move all of their working equipment to these facilities. We're talking dozens of tanks, dozens of APC's, Strykers, Humvees... and an unholy mother of satanload of Potable Water tanks... because you need to drink a lot of water in the middle of a desert and there ain't no water fountains in the middle of the Mohave unless you bring your own.
The most cost efficient way to move millions of tons of military equipment to training facilities or to docks in order to ship them to combat zones, is by train. Also, about 10-11 units per year will rotate through these facilities, therefore you will see these trains moving huge amounts of equipment several times a month as the equipment is moved to training and back to the unit's home.
Therefore seeing a huge train full of military equipment means literally diddly squat. Sorry, but that's just the truth of it.
Congrats on seeing one though, they are pretty awe inducing and show you just how much military might the US has.
The local ANG unit has been deployed since before the 4th of July.
Just sayin.
Why do they have to be local? Fort Drum might have a unit going to NTC, who knows.