Army news service (Jan. 17, 2006): Army selects unit to test FCS.WASHINGTON -- The Army has selected Fort Bliss Fort Bliss, U.S. army post, 1,122,500 acres (454,300 hectares), W Tex., E of El Paso; est. 1849 and named for Col. William Bliss, Gen. Zachary Taylor's adjutant in the Mexican War. Originally strategically located near the only ice-free pass through the Rocky Mts. , Texas, as the location for its Evaluation Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branched maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. , or EBCT EBCT Electron Beam Computed Tomography EBCT Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos (Portugese: Brazilian Mail and Telegraph Company) EBCT Empty Bed Contact Time (liquid phase carbon application design variable) , which will evaluate and test leading-edge technology for the Future Combat Systems program. Fort Bliss was selected because of its access to White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), approximately three times the size of Rhode Island, making it , N.M., which provides the requisite land, airspace, and facilities for EBCT soldiers to fully train, evaluate, and test FCS FCS - Frame Check Sequence capabilities, said Lt. Col. Michael Johnson Michael Johnson or Mike Johnson may refer to:
Fort Bliss is the Army's second-largest post with almost 1.2 million acres of land in both Texas and New Mexico. Its garrison headquarters is in El Paso, Texas. The EBCT will be made up of about 3,500 soldiers, Army officials said. "The Evaluation Brigade Combat Team is a key milestone in the FCS program and will enable the Army to evaluate technologies and develop tactics, techniques, and procedures that will maximize the program's value to the force," said Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey. The EBCT's mission will be to evaluate operational concepts and conduct testing and training of FCS equipment in realistic environments while providing continuous feedback, Johnson said. He said this feedback will allow the Army to determine what, if any, adjustments and/or improvements will be needed to continue to develop the best equipment for soldiers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The FCS program is the core of the Army's modernization program, officials said. It consists of 18 manned and unmanned systems connected by a secure network designed to enhance soldiers' capabilities. The EBCT will be created from a heavy brigade combat team coming from the 1st Armored Division. It will be ready to support FCS evaluation and training in June 2007, Army officials said. They said the first fully equipped FCS unit is expected in 2014. |
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