THE GUYS REPLACING OUR BRIGADE

The 39th Enhanced Infantry Brigade, Arkansas National Guard will replace 1st Brigade, 1st AD.

Hurry up guys!!!!

Training staff at Fort Polk, La., say they are “turning up the heat” on the Arkansas-based 39th Infantry Brigade this month with detailed simulations of potential experiences in Iraq.

“It’s important for soldiers’ families to understand that we’re turning up the heat so they sweat here rather than bleed on the battlefield,” Maj. Ron Elliott said. “If we save one life because of our training, we’ve been successful.”

The 4,200 members of the 39th Brigade Combat Team — about 3,000 from Arkansas — moved from Fort Hood, Texas, to Fort Polk for final preparations before deployment to Kuwait and Iraq in March and April, respectively.

The former National Guard unit, now a team within the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, received $15 million in new equipment Sunday and will put it to use in intensive war games, live ammunition training and other role-playing exercises starting Friday.