JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ -- The Joint Training and Training Development Center (JT2DC), has a new command team. The outgoing command team consisting of Col. Paul Nema and Command Sgt. Maj. Paula Cantara were replaced by Col. Paul E Rumberger III and Command Sgt. Maj. John Hicks during a change of command and responsibility ceremony held at JT2DC on April 8, 2018.
Col. (P) Mark Piterski, deputy adjutant general of the New Jersey National Guard presided over the ceremony. The 7221st Medical Support Unit, an Army Reserve medical unit assigned to Army Reserve Medical Command, was conducting training at JT2DC during their annual training and their commander, Lt. Col. Katherine Marr, was invited to attend the ceremony.
The JT2DC is a center operated by the New Jersey National Guard. The JT2DC is utilized by units from every branch of the Armed Services, as well as local and federal law enforcement agencies to train them for their missions, according to Sgt. 1st Class William Daisey, an interactor currently assigned to JT2DC.
Daisey noted that the center’s greatest assets are the fact that it prepares the service members for real world situations while conducting training in a simulated environment. “While the training outside may be halted due to severe weather or for other reasons, inside the JT2DC the training never stops,” said Daisey.
Recently, the center was equipped with the newest Engagement Skills Trainer (EST). The EST2000 was replaced by the latest version known as the EST2. According to Daisey, the EST2 provides more realistic scenarios and provides the Soldiers with a higher level of range skills assessment.
Members of the JT2DC don’t limit their training to U.S. service members and law enforcement agents. According to Col. (P) Piterski, Soldiers from the JT2DC participated in mission command exercises with our international partners. “They participated in numerous mission command exercises in Albania, France and they had a difficult one in Canada. They provided our partners an opportunity to hone their skills in mission command,” said Piterski during his remarks at the ceremony.
Marr, who was present at the ceremony, was also able to witness the capabilities of JT2DC herself. “I thought it was a fantastic training opportunity. Not only are the facilities world class, but the National Guard personnel there that helped us with our training were also fantastic,” said Marr.
Throughout their two-week annual training, Marr’s unit will also be able to train using the new EST2 system to improve the unit’s range skills. She also noted that “although the EST cannot totally replace live fire ranges like we will be doing later this month, it allows the Soldiers time to get their hands on something that feels like a real weapon to refamiliarize themselves with these weapons.”
This type of training is extremely important to today’s Army. It is these skills that will allow the U.S. Army Reserve to be the most lethal, capable and combat ready force in the world. Nema, the outgoing commander, noted the capabilities of the JT2DC to handle battalion size elements wishing to train at the center. “The future of Army training is contained within this building” and called the JT2DC “a hidden gem,” Nema said.