Photo By Spc. Justin Snyder | Soldiers of the 414th Transportation Company and the 257th Trans. Company jointly...... read more read more
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FORT IRWIN, Calif. – In a day and age where Army Reserve soldiers have been deployed more than ever in history, it’s not unusual for active-duty and Reserve components to work as one force.
However, the notion still exists that the Army Reserve and active duty should train separately.
“There is often the idea that the Army Reserve is below the active duty or that we can’t do the same things they can,” said Colonel Barry Bort, 143rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command G-3 operations. “But that’s not the real story. We fight together, so why not train together as well.”
Various levels of leadership and commands came up with a way of proving that. They organized a long-haul convoy to prove the Army Reserve could perform as well as the active component. This would also set the example for future Combat Support Training Exercises held at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif.
The 414th Transportation Company, of Orangeburg, S.C., and 257th Transportation Company, of Las Vegas, joined to prove this concept during the 2011 CSTX.
Soldiers rallied June 17 to transport fuel, food and water safely and efficiently from Fort Hunter Liggett to United States Marine Corps. Logistics Base Yermo in support of the National Training Center, Fort. Irwin, Calif.
The transportation companies completed three round trips in a span of nine days.
“The ultimate goal was to prove that the Army Reserve remains fully capable of providing sustainment support in a continental United States training environment as they do in Operations Enduring Freedom and Operations New Dawn,” said Col. David Aucoin, 143rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command deputy commander.
The exercise began with soldiers performing pre-maintenance checks and services on all vehicles, while taking part in numerous briefings and rehearsal drills.
The PMCS and drills helped familiarize soldiers with their route and ensure the safety of all participating in the first-of-its-kind mission. It also allowed for the two units, who had no prior working relationship, some time to gel.
“The drills were a very important part of this mission,” said Staff Sgt. Lassandra Keys, 414th Trans Company acting convoy commander for the mission. “It’s all about preparation. A prepared soldier makes for a safer soldier and we can’t stress safety enough.”
The convoy, consisting of three tankers, nine flatbeds, one Humvee and a wrecker vehicle in case of any problems, departed mid-day Friday en route to their first pit stop, Camp Roberts, Calif.
Here soldiers were fed and had a place to sleep. All vehicles were staged and prepared for travel in the early morning.
Soldiers then departed from Camp Roberts to the National Guard Armory in Bakersfield, Calif., where all the vehicles refueled using one of the tankers traveling in the convoy.
“Being self-sufficient and refueling using our vehicle was very important on a training standpoint,” said Keys, a native of Jessup, Ga.
“It gave our soldiers another chance to get better at what they do and made it possible for us to arrive at our goal destination with enough fuel,” she said.
The convoy then departed Bakersfield for their final destination of Yermo.
Throughout the trip, soldiers were forced to endure from bright to foggy conditions, travel among the busy traffic of freeways and scale the scenic hills and terrain of California, often competing with the local population for road space.
For some of the drivers, it was their first experience driving in a long-distance convoy, while for others they appreciated the hilly terrain for realistic deployment conditions.
“I think the training for our drivers was great,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kenyatta Bell, 414th Trans. Company driver. “We are fighting a war right now in Afghanistan, and I’ve been told that the terrain is very hilly there. Getting used to that kind of scenery will help these soldiers a lot.”
After two days, four stops and 300-plus miles of driving, CSTX history was made as the convoy arrived on time to Yermo where they met with leadership.
This was the Army Reserve taking chances, breaking down walls and driving their way into the future.
Aucoin was on hand to meet the soldiers and congratulate them on a successful mission.
“I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the soldiers,” he said. “They did very well. They were excited, energized and at the same time very tired. Three-hundred miles makes for a long day, but this kind of training is the right thing to do and was truly spot on as an outstanding training event.”
“A lot of lessons learned from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were incorporated to ensure that this exercise was real and provided the rigor needed in order to help deploy these units forward,” added Aucoin.
Aucoin said that the convoy’s success is pivotal in helping bring together active duty components and Reserve components for future training.
“Certainly on the short-term scale, we succeeded in preparing these units to deploy, but more importantly in the long-term we are ensuring that the CSTX is the pre-eminent combat support training for the United States Army, both Reserve and active duty component,” said Aucoin.
Bell said the soldiers appreciated the command being there and enjoyed the training.
“A lot of our soldiers didn’t have a lot of experience prior to this mission,” said Bell, a native of Springfield, S.C. “They were all saying how great the training was and that they wanted to do more things like it in the future. We are better at our jobs now because of it.”
Following completion of the exercise, an after action review was completed with the soldiers input, something Bort believes is important.
“This mission will pretty much make or break the CSTX in the future,” said Bort. “These AAR’s give us the information needed to expand upon the training and is essential in making sure soldiers get the best training possible for years to come.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2011 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 72548 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 527 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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