Alpha's tribulations at NTC are shared by all the 10 5,000-soldier brigades annually that train here before deploying to Iraq. Their trials are part of a accelerating trend across the U.S. military services of providing ultra-realistic training to its troops.

For Alpha, right now there's no time for rest. The commander of the 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade, Col. Jeffrey Bannister, has ordered Alpha -- from the 1st battalion of the 9th Infantry -- to secure Medina Jabal in advance of his July 28 meeting with the regional governor. All over the Rhode Island-size desert range, 2nd Brigade units are engaged in mock combat with "insurgents" from the resident 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, but the most important fight is here at this tiny, shambling village of concrete and plywood buildings. Victory in this simulated Iraq, just like in the real Iraq, hinges on hearts and minds. If Bannister is going to win over the local populace, it's going to happen here when he stands up with the governor (portrayed by a Kurdish Iraqi national) and promises a better future for the residents of Medina Jabal (played by Iraqi nationals and local actors).

But the insurgents know that, and they will focus all their efforts on wrecking Bannister's carefully orchestrated event. Down at the 11th ACR's operations center in the heart of Ft. Irwin, staff officers plot 2nd Brigade's movements on a map and consider their options. With Alpha moving into Medina Jabal, it's going to be hard to slip in fighters. Someone proposes an Improvised Explosive Device smuggled in a truck. Another pitches mortar barrages. Snipers are an option too. And if Alpha interdicts all these efforts, then the 11th ACR -- the so-called "Opposing Force," or Opfor -- can send teams to harass the brigade's Forward Operating Bases, including its vulnerable helicopter base at FOB Miami, in an effort to draw Bannister's attention away from Medina Jabal.

Alpha seems to know exactly what the Opfor is up to. Per Capt. John Tate's orders, the Soldiers string up razor wire to restrict movement inside the village, post sentries at road checkpoints to intercept vehicles, man roving patrols to flush out mortar teams and install an attached Navy SEAL team in a two-story building to watch for insurgents snipers. Maj. John Clearwater, a base spokesman observing the exercise, declares the village "locked down". Observer-controllers whose job it is to referee the exercise predict defeat for the Opfor.

At nearby FOB Miami, a battalion of the 227th Aviation Regiment struggles with a blown tire on a Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter and with searing heat that, according to 39-year-old Lt. Col. Thomas Jessee, knocks out command systems. But with brigade troopers manning road blocks on all the approaches to the FOB, a major attack on the base appears unlikely. Bannister has gathered his forces at his major centers of gravity, taking a defensive posture he seems to hope will see him through the next 24 hours.

The 11th ACR staff desperately searches for vulnerabilities. With so many 2nd Brigade troops consolidated at the major villages and FOBs, long-range patrols are rare, meaning the brigade hasn't checked in with some of the distant Iraqi Army outposts, including one where, two days ago, the Opfor "killed" two Iraqi soldiers played by National Guardsmen. The role-players have long since been evacuated, but in their places the training staff can leave dummy bodies. The Opfor leaders make plans to send out a film crew and craft a propaganda video starring the long-dead, abandoned Iraqi soldiers. But even this would be a minor victory compared to the coup Alpha Company is about to score in Medina Jabal. As the sun sets on the penultimate day of the exercise, the 11th ACR staff puts its heads together one last time.

Sunrise in the desert is a beautiful sight, but Alpha Company seems to barely notice. Sgt. Jeremy Payne, 22, is busy searching Iraqi civilians streaming into Medina Jabal to hear the governor's speech. "We're expecting a lot of people, a small disturbance, nothing big. I feel like we've controlled the situation fairly well."

Bannister arrives with a SEAL escort. The governor has his own coterie of bodyguards. As they climb to a rooftop to address the growing crowd, Iraqi Army soldiers form a cordon at the building's base. Alpha seems to hold its collective breath.

Bannister speaks, praising local leaders and Iraqi forces for standing up to insurgents. Next, in Arabic, the governor promises peace for the people of Medina Jabal. A cheer rises from the crowd and Iraqi soldiers fire celebratory rounds into the air.

Suddenly Soldiers spring into action, rushing towards a nearby building. A SEAL has reported a round fired from a second-story window. Alpha company Soldiers fire their specially-modified rifles at the source -- blanks pop, invisible lasers simulating gunfire lance into the target. From inside the building, someone's laser-detecting vest emits a high-pitched beep, indicating he has been hit.

Soldiers rush upstairs and discover an insurgent sniper lying on the floor, his rifle lying at his side. An observer-controller has deemed the sniper a casualty and assigned him a major wound -- an arm amputation. An Alpha company medic rushes forward to treat and evacuate the sniper. Meanwhile, Bannister, the governor and Iraqi civilians have evacuated the town. The event is over, a qualified success for U.S. and Iraqi forces.

After the sniper catches medevac out, Iraqi troops mount Vietnam-era M-551 Sheridan tanks modified to look like Soviet-made vehicles. The roar out of Medina Jabal while Alpha Company dumps a cooler of water on its commander Tate then gathers for a group photo. Dripping wet, Tate sums up his experience at the exercise and anticipates his coming Iraq deployment. "Preparation is the biggest thing," he says.

"We're teaching these guys to fish. It’s an adaptive process," post commander Brig. Gen. Robert Cone says as he tours the village. "This has been a revolution in training."

View David Axe’s photo-journal of Alpha’s victory at http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_axe/sets/72157594215720154/