TRAINING |
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Training on the Massachusetts Military Reservation  One of the most important aspects of our mission here at the E&RC is to ensure that realistic training facilities are available to our soldiers. In actuality, all of our environmental programs exist because of the need to train our soldiers. The environmental performance standards that have been established provide necessary guidelines to our military trainers, who use the land for critical military training.
Another tool that has been provided to military trainers and environmental managers for use in planning training exercises, is the Camp Edwards Massachusetts Army National Guard Trainers Guide (aka Camp Edwards Regulation 385-63, Range Safety and Trainers Guide) which is accessible from our Publications page. This document provides an in-depth look at each training area available for use, any environmental restrictions that may apply within the area, the type of training that may be conducted in each area and historical usage of the land area itself. This information is valuable to unit trainers who plan for their organizations to come to the MMR to conduct Field Training maneuvers. Additionally, this document is used by Range Control personnel during unit safety orientation briefings. Training, historically speaking The E&RC was developed as a forward looking organization. The training and readiness issues we focus on are to ensure that our soldiers are prepared for future military missions. Since September 11th of 2001  the role of the National Guard has never been more important to this nation's defense. For information about early training at MMR, go to the MMR History page.Training Facilities The northern training areas located on the MMR represent 15,000 acres of terrain that is ideal for military training missions. This area is ideal for unit training of Brigade sized units (3000 soldiers) down to the Squad level (9 men). One of the most important aspects of training is the conduct of maneuver, or more simply stated, moving a military unit from one location to another in preparation for battle while exercising command and control of the subordinate units. At the MMR, military units may utilize initial staging areas to arrive, assemble, reconfigure loads, conduct tactical update briefings and then move to forward p
 ositions. Bivouac (life-support areas) sites are plentiful and Unit Commanders may plan on dispersing their unit in accordance with tactical doctrine. Small Arms Ranges The MMR has some excellent small arms training facilities that Unit Commanders should plan on using to improve their Unit Status Reports while training in the field. The Camp Edwards Ammunition Supply Point is capable of storing the ammunition your unit requires for range firing. Unit trainers should review the Camp Edwards Massachusetts Army National Guard Trainers Guide available on our Publications page.
Recent modifications to our long distance ranges provide a challenging pop-up target capability for the M16A2 SAW. T  here are only two locations in New England that offer this challenging small arms training capability, Camp Edwards and the Fort Devens Training Area. Recently mobilized Massachusetts National Guard units achieved all post-mobilization requirements utilizing our facilities. Battle Positions The northern training area has numerous training facilities identified as Battle Positions. These key locations are normally co-located with bivouac sites to allow Commanders the ability to better plan maneuver training. These selective areas are maintained by the Natural Resources personnel of the E&RC and are monitored for overuse in order to ensure the highest level of troop utilization. Battle positions can be utilized at the Battery/Troop/Company or Squad level, depending on training tasks selected.
Infantry Country The MMR's upper 15,000 acres is truly an Infantry soldiers' paradise. A vast expanse of terrain is available for the conduct of ground maneuvers from Squad up to Brigade level.  Lanes training areas are available for Infantry soldiers to utilize for rehearsal prior to conducting larger scale maneuver training on the Infantry Battle Course (IBC) Range. Additionally there are formal Land Navigation Courses established at the MMR as well as areas ideally suited for the conduct of Common Task Testing. Our NBC Training Area provides an enclosed building for use with CS Tear-gas for Chemical Protective Mask Confidence Training. Short travel distances between these facilities make for reduced logistical support requirements for all organizations. Infantry Battle Course (IBC) The MMR offers its IBC to units for the conduct of Infantry maneuver training. The IBC has the potential for up to four lanes to be conducted simultaneously upon one or more objectives. A sand table is available to rehearse all maneuver training as well as a viewing stand for others to observe tactical maneuvers. Numerous variations to enemy threat locations make this facility a challenge for the soldiers and a test of tactical maneuver capability. Drivers Network Training  The reservation has a large variety of roads within its interior network. The roads and trails provide any Unit Commander an excellent opportunity to conduct driver training and convoy movement operations under day or limited light conditions. Cape Cod's sandy environment provides realistic conditions for any driver to negotiate while executing a tactical scenario. Tracked and wheeled vehicles may operate on the tactical road network as long as environmental performance standards, outlined in the trainers guide, are observed. The ability to conduct movement operations under full tactical procedures makes the MMR a unique training facility when compared to Local Training Areas that are normally very restrictive.  Aviation Operations The reservation provides an excellent small scale Army Aviation training environment for both day and night operations. Combat organizations have conducted small scale Combined Arms exercises with an Air Assault element with great success. Numerous departure and landing zones are available for planning use by trainers and Aviation units who provide the support. The reservation has a large airfield co-located within its boundaries (Otis Air National Guard Base), which can accept landings of the largest fixed wing aircraft. Also located on the airfield is the Army Aviation Support Facility that provides aircraft maintenance support to visiting aircraft including the UH-60, UH-1H and OH-58 helicopters. The facility has a fully operational flight operations and maintenance function and will, space available, provide inside storage for overnight parking. JP-8 fuel is available from the Army National Guard Flight Facility. Night Vision Goggle training is approved for terrain flight levels on the MMR.
Engineering Training  The reservation offers outstanding tactical training areas for the conduct of engineer METL training. Earth moving, barrier construction, breech crossings…you name it, the MMR has terrain upon which you can do these missions. In fact, the photo to the right was taken during this annual training exercise for the 181 En (CBT) Battalion during a lanes training exercise. The Battalion received excellent evaluations for its training. The MMR is a very important Major Training Area for the Northeast section of our nation. Training Support Center Some of the best training opportunities exist in the lower 5000 acres of the MMR. Many of our simulation centers are located within the Camp Edwards cantonment complex. The Fire Support Combined Arms Tactical Trainer, Guardfist IIA, Engagement Skills Trainer, Rappel tower, Leadership Reaction Course and the Close Quarters Battle Site provide various training simulation areas for Commanders to use during training visits. It is our hope that providing information about the missions and usage of facilities that comprise the MMR will increase public awareness. During completion of our Final Environmental Impact Report we developed a sense of public need to understand our mission and the types of training we conduct on the reservation. We hope to apply the 'picture is worth a thousand words' adage to this section. Seeing a 'land navigation course' will help you to visualize the training that goes on at that location.
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