Photo By Maj. Joseph Odorizzi | Col. Keith Sledd (right), deputy commander of the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – The 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command conducted the Leader Development and Education for Sustained Peace Program at Club Hood Aug. 18-21 in preparation for the unit’s upcoming deployment to Kuwait.
Senior leadership conducted four full days of training, while junior leaders and Soldiers conducted training in one day. Classes focused on political, military, cultural and strategic aspects for the entire U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The 13th ESC will have overall responsibility of logistics and sustainment for the region when they deploy in December.
Established in 2001, the LDESP program prepares units deploying to various regions/countries by providing cross cultural, historical, socio-political and regional education through distance learning programs, seminars and news updates. Training is facilitated by a pool of more than 300 faculty members – scholars from leading educational institutes, the Department of Defense, government agencies and international organizations – who support Army regional/cultural educational requirements.
Based on the region a unit may deploy to, the faculty has the ability to pool resources and develop training plans to fit any topic. Although the program pulls instructors from across the country, its headquarters is at the Center for Civil-Military Relations at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
“We’ve been doing this for 14 years, so, virtually every unit in the Army has gone through the program,” said retired Army Col. Robert Tomasovic, program director. “Our sole focus is preparation of our US Army forces for deployment. We are based at the Naval Postgraduate School, but we are Army-focused.”
Tomasovic led a team of nine scholars and retired military officers. Each member of the team brought their own brand of expertise to the training on topics ranging from Iran’s role in regional security to understanding popular culture and the role of media in the Arab world.
“The biggest take away from the program is to leave here with more questions than answers, in my opinion,” said Tomasovic. “We can provide a lot of answers, but we want to provide the tools and direction for the Soldier to conduct self-study.”
One unique aspect to the training is the availability of each subject matter expert when the program concludes. Everyone received personal contact information for each instructor and told to contact them at any time with questions.
“The LDESP program was informative and timed well with this point in our deployment train up,” said Maj. Lou Castillo, 13th ESC chemical officer. “The training provided by the LDESP team provided a good macro-view of the geopolitical environment in the Middle East and the countries where we will conduct operations.”
To schedule a seminar for your unit or to find out more about the LDESP program, please email the LDESP Staff at LDESP_Staff@nps.edu or visit their website at http://ldesp.wordpress.com.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2014 19:21 |
| Story ID: | 143083 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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