The 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, loaded M1A1 tanks and M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles onto the Air Force’s C-17 cargo aircraft May 9, at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

The battalion conducted the airload training as part of a brigade-level validation exercise, known as Spartan Agoge.The exercise validates the execution of certain critical tasks necessary for the brigade to fight and win.

The Spartan Brigade adopted the word “Agoge” from it’s historical namesake to describe the training cycle for the Army’s 15th armored brigade. “Agoge” is a reference to the rigorous training program mandated for all Spartan citizen-soldiers in Ancient Greece.

“The purpose of today’s exercise is to certify our ability to deploy our equipment from Fort Stewart, Ga. to any location worldwide,” said 1st Lt. Larry Penrod, Platoon Leader of Bravo Company, 3-67 AR. Penrod continued.

The 15th Air Support Squadron, U.S. Air Force supported 3-67 AR and instructed Soldiers on the proper load and secure techniques.

“We spent the day learning to tie down and use the chains properly,” explained Pvt. Alexander Popper, a tank driver with Bravo Company, 3-67 AR.

The exercise concluded with a short fly around with the Bradley fighting vehicle and a group of Soldiers from 3-67 AR. After driving a tank all day, Popper got to experience a different seat.

Popper admitted, “Sitting in the cockpit of the C-17 Globemaster was probably the most fun I’ve had at Fort Stewart.”