FORT PICKETT, Va. –
FORT PICKETT, Va. — Virginia National Guard Soldiers from units across the Staunton-based 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conducted Infantry Squad Vehicle Operator New Equipment Training Nov. 10-14, 2025, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The 116th is one the first National Guard infantry brigades to convert to the mobile brigade combat team and the first to field the new vehicle. The ISV fielding is a critical step towards increasing the brigade’s mobility on the battlefield.
“The ISV gives our infantry the reach to cover more objectives, get to them faster, exploit enemy weaknesses, catch the enemy off guard and maintain the initiative,” said Col. Arthur S. Moore, commander of the 116th.
The ISV is a modified commercial off-the-shelf program of record for the Army Ground Mobility Vehicle fleet and provides enhanced tactical mobility is capable of moving a nine-Soldier infantry squad, with their associated equipment quickly around the battlefield.
“The Infantry Squad Vehicle is a clear visual indicator of the 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team’s transformation, and we were excited to facilitate,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 William T. Johnson, the Virginia Army National Guard’s force integration readiness officer.
He said the 116th MBCT, Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center, Virginia Army National Guard G4 Logistics Directorate, the Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site and General Motors Defense, the ISV manufacturer, came together with the systems Integrator at National Guard Bureau and the Program Executive Office - Maneuver to field the ISV even though the federal government lapse in appropriations halted many different training activities.
This ISV provides the ability to execute medium distance insertion operations giving commanders greater freedom of movement and freedom of action, Johnson said. The ISV is transportable via CH-47 and can be sling loaded by a UH-60 or CH-47.
The OPNET consisted of a 40-hour block of instruction for operators and a second 40-hour block of instruction for maintainers.
The operator course familiarized Soldiers with basic functionality of the ISV and its components as well as preventive and corrective maintenance procedures for the operator and hands on training for off road and adverse terrain driving conditions as well as how to configure the ISV for casualty evacuation.
The target training audience for the OPNET was master drivers and noncommissioned officers who will then take their new skills and training back to other Soldiers in their units to train them on ISV operations.
“The ISV fielding provided valuable time with the program training team, and this allowed us to learn from those directly involved in the program,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Michael B. Wilcox, assistant operations noncommissioned officer for the 116th who completed the 40 hour OPNET. “We were able to learn the capabilities and put every block of instruction to use in a practical exercise in a training area on Fort Pickett.”
Wilcox said the ISV fielding is tangible milestone in the 116th’s transition to an MBCT.
“Adding this equipment will provide the MBCT with additional capabilities to maneuver troops more rapidly than we previously had as an IBCT, and it allows the brigade to start implementing the transition to greater extent in training,” he said.
Wilcox also said Soldiers and units will have added mobility and flexibility with the objective to make this piece of equipment work for them to accomplish their mission.
“Soldiers will develop load plans and incorporate these vehicles into new and existing standing operating procedures and techniques, tactics and procedures as they add additional drivers training and continue to train as a MBCT training year,” he said.
The ISV is one of many different pieces of equipment the 116th will receive as part of the conversation to an MBCT, Moore said. In addition to the ISV, he said notable changes in equipment include a significant increase in drones, or unmanned aerial systems, and electronic warfare capabilities.
“Once fielded, these will be in our Soldiers’ hands down to the company level,” he said. “Along with this, we will receive Counter-UAS systems to help counter this increasingly lethal threat on the battlefield.”
The initial fielding provides enough vehicles to be stationed at key locations across Virginia and Kentucky for Soldiers to conduct hands-on training to prepare for the upcoming JRTC rotation in June 2026, he said. When fielding is complete, each infantry company in the brigade will have enough ISVs to rapidly move every squad where they need to be for a given operation or mission.
Moore said the brigade is adjusting how it fights doctrinally with the addition of the ISVs and other equipment.
“The Infantry Squad Vehicles provide a means to cover more objectives and get near them faster, and our drones and electronic warfare equipment help with reconnaissance,” he said.
He said the rifle and rucksack remain central, but now they are joined by mobility platforms and sensors that give the infantry more reach, awareness and options.
“Our fundamental job to close with the enemy as light infantry remains unchanged,” Moore said.