Recently, the first resident training course at Joint Readiness Training Center in Ft Polk for regionally aligned forces culminated recently with 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division attending a cultural dinner hosted by their counterparts from Bangara — a fictitious country from West Africa who have been hosting the unit on Fort Polk. The five-day course brought some 'Spartan' Brigade Soldiers back from a recently completed JRTC rotation.

Maj. Duane Bailey, Regionally Aligned Forces Training Team Director assigned to 3rd Battalion, 353rd Infantry Regiment, has studied lessons learned and tailored this event to meet the same demands a unit would face deploying to the country.

Click here to learn more about how simulated cultural engagements take place.