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Video by 1st Sgt. Jim Heuston

The Arkansas River Trains Soldiers Like No Where Else

Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs Office

July 19, 2024 | 3:37

The Arkansas River makes the Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center unique in training centers across the United States, and since Fort Chaffee was named a “Level 1 Training Site,” the river has been the focus for what makes it better for large scale operational training.

Being a “Level 1 Training Site” means Fort Chaffee is capable of providing continuous pre and post mobilization training support, combat preparation and sustainment capabilities for large scale mobilization operations in an intense and realistic environment, and the Arkansas River adds to that intense and realistic environment by having the FCJMTC training area on both sides of the commercially navigable river.

With a flow of 47,970 cubic feet per second, varying depths to 50 feet, and an average channel depth of twelve feet, the Arkansas River provides a challenging environment for any unit seeking to add a wet gap crossing to their training operation.

“I was really surprised of the how large the Arkansas River actually is,” said Lt. Ian Richter, 341st Multi-Role Bridge Company, U.S. Army Reserve. Originally stationed in Texas, Richter was new to Fort Chaffee when assigned a command with the 341st MRBC in Barling, Arkansas. “This company being local, we can just come out here every BA [Battle Assembly], if we wanted to. We could get out on the river, and it is actually a large enough body of water that we don't have to worry about, if the water level is too low to do any bridging operations. So, with the Arkansas River, we don't have to worry about that.”

Fort Chaffee’s more than 65,000 acres of training area provides the ability to plan a complex scenario involving a river crossing site that can move beyond the wet gap crossing and further into the downrange training areas.

Interview 1 - Maj. Michael Speight, chief of operations, Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center
Interviews 2 - Lt. Ian Richter, 341st Multi-Role Bridge Company, U.S. Army Reserve
Interview 3 - Spc. Deborah Kaitesi, combat medic, 341st Multi-Role Bridge Company
Interview 4 - Spc. Matthew Wagner, bridge crewmember, 341st Multi-Role Bridge Company

(Video by Arkansas Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Jim Heuston)