In the summer of 2008, the brigade's combat service/combat sustainment support battalions took part in equipment testing and training in Rapid City, South Dakota. It tested the Multifunction Agile Remote Control Robot IV, a route clearance robot, with the assistance of the South Dakota National Guard. The bulk of the brigade spent the summer at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to train aviation assets for deploying units. In June 2008, the brigade trained the aviation assets of the 34th Infantry Division in air combat, air assault, and other tactics related to aviation. For this mission, the brigade was assisted by the 479th Field Artillery Brigade, which handled ground exercises. As part of a new training routine, the brigade trained the 34th Infantry Division's aviation units at Fort Rucker, spending a longer time training the unit because it continued to train the brigade as it mobilized and prepared to deploy. Other units trained with the Division, but none through the entire mobilization process. This process used new and never-before-used facilities to streamline training exercises. Purportedly, it gave the 166th Aviation Brigade much additional time for training, as the streamlining process made some programs more efficient, cutting time needed to prepare for them in half.