Division West commander talks training

Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gen. Warren Phipps Jr., center, First Army Division West commanding general, and Col. John Marr, right, 189th Infantry Brigade commander, meet with Lt. Col. Lawrence Aiello, 3-358th Field Artillery Battalion commander to discuss operations during the warrior exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., April 19. Aiello recently returned from Afghanistan with the First Army Security Forces Assistance and Advisory Team. SFAAT was the first unit in First Army to deploy since World War II. (Photo by Sgt. Jeran Placke, 189th Infantry Brigade, Division West Public Affairs)  

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, UNITED STATES

04.19.2013

Courtesy Story

First Army Division West

By Sgt. Jeran Placke
189th Infantry Brigade, Division West Public Affairs

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif., — Division West’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord based 189th Infantry Brigade is currently here supporting the United States Army Reserve Command and the 84th Training Command.

The 189th provides the multi-component Task Force Cold Steel as a fully integrated supporting element to the 91st Training Division for their Warrior Exercises and Combat Support Training Exercises.

Maj. Gen. Warren Phipps Jr., First Army Division West commanding general discusses the division’s role in these exercises.

“First Army has given [Division West] the mission to assist in the training of our reserve component forces” said Phipps. “Our role is to assist those units so they are properly trained and equipped to succeed in any mission given to them by the combatant commander. It is paramount for us to ensure we meet the 91st commanding general’s objectives for the subordinate units that are here.”

Soldier safety and readiness are forefront in the mind of the Division West commander.

“We have a contract with our nation and the Army before we put sons and daughters in harm’s way,” he said. “We must to do everything we can to be sure they are prepared for what we are going to ask them to do.”

The exercises will refine the methods Division West soldiers use in their training missions, Phipps added.

“I think the model we have going here at Fort Hunter Liggett will do us well and set a standard for how we prepare the contingency expeditionary forces,” he said.

Although the training exercises are important to the success and readiness of the units, Phipps pointed out another important role for his soldiers as leaders.

“Leadership roles in Division West are two-fold; one, we achieve the mission, and two, we care for each other,” said Phipps. “The greatest legacy we leave is not the operations or exercises we conduct, but in the soldiers that work for us. We set the example for them.”

• Date Taken: 04.19.2013
• Date Posted: 05.07.2013 17:47
• Story ID: 106501
• Location: FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US