Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers with Avalanche Company, 1-297th Infantry Battalion, practice squad and platoon situational training exercises (STX) at Alcantra armory in Wasilla, Alaska, March 11, 2022. An STX is a short, scenario-driven, mission-oriented exercise designed to train one collective task or a group of related tasks or battle drills. For the A-Co. Soldiers, the STX allows for evaluation of basic Soldier skills and leadership competencies to determine proficiency and certify the platoon to conduct live-fire exercises. It also reinforces previous training that the Soldiers have completed by bringing the entire platoon together to further prepare the unit for live-fire training. The infantrymen are preparing to participate in the Army National Guard’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program, which is a brigade field training exercise similar to a Combat Training Center. They will participate in an XCTC rotation at Camp Roberts, California, July 2022. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Grace Nechanicky)