By Tamiko Rodriguez
Family Member with 3rd Battalion, 410th Engineer Regiment, 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, Division West
FORT BLISS, Texas – Sgt. 1st Class Spencer Waters, mobilization liaison officer 3rd Battalion, 410th Engineer Regiment, Task Force Thunder, 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, could attest to exactly how flexible his unit needs to be considering his daily undertakings as an LNO are not only to make certain Soldiers are manned, equipped, and qualified to go downrange but also to maintain the skill set required of First Army Division West trainers in the event he is called upon to fulfill those duties.
The preparation and mobilization of joint warfighters can be a formidable task. It is an assignment requiring commitment, proficiency, and most of all flexibility.
“These Soldiers typically work in the capacity of either a liaison officer or Battle Noncommissioned Officer for our Information Operation Center and not as an observer-coach/trainer,” Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Rodriguez Sr. said. “We needed to incentivize a way to keep this skill set honed and ready.”
After a year in the making, written tests, and a board of rigorous questions; TF Thunder awarded its first Observer-Coach/Trainer of the Year Award to MOB LNO, Waters on Sept. 26, 2014.
Waters competed against quarterfinalists, Sgt. 1st Class Vicente Pantoja and Staff Sgt. Yanira Taylor, both observer/coach trainers TF Thunder, in a two day head-to-head competition that tested the Soldiers’ aptitude for fitness, casualty evaluation, preventative maintenance, composite risk management, and marksmanship. Fourth-quarter winner Sgt. 1st Class Theodore Braunch was unable to compete in the final evaluation.
“It’s an honor and I feel privileged to be the first O-C/T of the Year for the battalion,” Waters said. “The competition made me realize how much fun it is being a Soldier.”
Finalists agreed the competition was an opportunity to increase proficiency and strengthen camaraderie within the unit however, according to the evaluation committee, it provided much more.
Sgt. 1st Class Vicente Guillencepeda, the 3/410th demobilization noncommissioned officer-in-charge, said the competition, “allows the Soldiers to get the experience for board proceedings…and ascertains their knowledge—how much they’ve gained, their growth and potential.”
Rodriguez who conceptualized and developed the battalion O-C/T Recognition Program said the 3/410th Bn. is staffed as an Engineer Training Support Battalion but functionally serves as an operations battalion charged with the Mission Command of Fort Bliss’ Mobilization Training Center.
“In this sense, their daily functions do not typically revolve around the skills exhibited in this competition… [but] it was necessary to challenge the Soldiers to keep these skills up to date,” said Rodriguez.
Waters also relayed the importance of honing his training skills regularly and throughout the competition.
“To be an O-C/T you have to be technically competent. If you feel like you’re going to train up a company commander or a first sergeant or even the whole unit, you have to be knowledgeable yourself. You can’t just talk and you don’t know what you’re talking about…[the competition] makes sure you don’t forget those skills which we need to know and they’re perishable skills if you don’t do them you can lose them,” said Waters.
Taylor said these tools could also potentially be used in a civilian setting suggesting the casualty evaluation measure could be utilized in assessing a civilian emergency and aiding the injured until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene.
As to additional O-C/T competitions, Waters said, “I can’t wait until the next one.”
| Date Taken: | 10.27.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2014 17:55 |
| Story ID: | 146228 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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