Reserve Unit Gets Back to the Basics

Photo By Sgt. Anthony Hooker | Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Howard Thomas and Sgt. Bennie Vega line up metal while using a crimping machine to secure a crate June 19 at Fort Gordon, Ga. Thomas and Vega, soldiers with the 324th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, were participating in the unit's annual training exercise.  

FORT GORDON, GA, UNITED STATES

06.25.2012

Story by Spc. Anthony Hooker 

359th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade

FORT GORDON. Ga. — More than 200 members of the 324th Expeditionary Signal Battalion participated in the unit's annual training exercise at Fort Gordon, June 9-22. Companies from East Point, Ga., and Greenville, S.C. joined with the 324th ESB's Fort Gordon elements for an exercise designed to have service members practice their basic military operational skills. Lt. Col. David Zillic, battalion commander, said the training allowed his soldiers to get 'back to the basics' by successfully demonstrating proficiency in their MOS.

"An important part of annual training is the training," said Zillic. "As a signal battalion in the [Army] Reserves, we have the same expectation of us that are expected of active duty units. [We are] now part of the operational force, versus what we were twelve years ago - a contingency force to support active duty troops. Reserve units used to get equipment one generation behind the active component; now we are being equipped and trained for the same missions as the active forces."

Zillic said that status meant a higher state of readiness, a logistical challenge because Reserve units are allotted only 38 days in a calendar year to get the same level of readiness as an active unit.

"Our soldiers typically see each other one weekend a month during a battle training assembly. They come from different locations from as far away as Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia . . . we got a lot to do in that 38-day period: Working on field and administrative stuff, PT tests, family day celebrations - it's very important that we maximize our time."

The first week was dedicated to individualized training. The signal system operators received classroom instruction and hands-on programs; Zillic said the intent was to give each soldier one-on-one time with a system. The second part of the annual training focused on training in the field. Seven nodal systems spaced over three training areas established and maintained systems, allowing units to see how well they could install and maintain their command post nodes.

Many companies don’t have the opportunity to regularly train assigned soldiers because deploying units often temporarily acquire individual soldiers, commonly known as cross-leveling. With many of the 324th ESB’s accomplished soldiers deployed to Afghanistan, some of its youngest troops got the opportunity to practice their craft and experience some true trial and error. Pvt. Abigail Thomas, a 19-year-old radio systems operator, said the bigger challenge during her first annual training was not handling the equipment, but learning how to deal with the hot Georgia heat and manage her time wisely.

“I was on the night shift so it was a little hard,” said Thomas, an Atlanta resident. “The classroom training was useful since I had some knowledge and experience working on the equipment, but it was hard to sleep during the day because it was so hot.”

First Sgt. Rosalyn Howard, the non-commissioned officer in charge of 324th ESB’s Charlie Company, said annual training gave her soldiers an opportunity to learn endurance, practice teamwork, performing tasks with a sense of urgency and understand the importance of camaraderie. She said many of her soldiers were eager to show how well they could operate and establish a joint nodal network, but needed to learn how to make better use of their skills when supporting a network. That balanced approach is usually established by unit leaders when they create a mission essential task list, often referred to as a METL.

“I have soldiers who will want to work for 24 hours on a systems issue, but this training teaches how to maintain a site continuously,” Howard said. “A soldier might be the subject matter expert on a communication system but may need to understand the needs of the site versus their own professional desires . . . moving equipment, kitchen patrol, guard duty, the ability to be resilient – because tasks always emerge.”

Howard concluded that as the training was coming to a conclusion, her soldiers really took to the total soldier concept.

“(My soldiers) go on their guard duty and then sometimes go straight to their shift,” she said. “They don’t complain, they don’t gripe; they know it’s the soldier thing to do and if we ask them for assistance there must be a reason for it.”

The 14-day exercise also allowed support troops to get some needed time to work their skills. Mechanics got to work on vehicles, cooks prepared and served meals, and supply clerks provided products for the signal teams on an as needed basis. Pfc. Ashley Gambrell, a small wheel mechanic assigned to the 324th ESB’s Greenville company, said she was happy to get some professional opportunities and mentoring.

“When I first came to the unit last December, most of the unit members were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.” said Gambrell. “Out here, I helped raise a makeshift motor pool bay, along with working on trucks and even generators.”

Although she didn’t’ know any of the other mechanics at the start of AT, Gambrell, 19, said it has been a fun experience.

Staff Sgt. Karen Kendrick, the battalion’s food service supervisor, said annual training’s toughest challenge typically is merging each company’s asset into one combined force. Kendrick said because every unit trains differently during their battle assemblies, it can be tougher to evaluate the mission’s proficiency. She said having a METL helps her soldiers make the timelines for feeding troops in the field.

“One of our (mobile kitchen trailers) had a fault so we had to decide on an alternative way to serve meals at one site,” Kendrick said. “Because we’d prepared for contingencies earlier with our classroom training, we used a (light-medium tactical vehicle) as a staging point to feed those troops.”

“Although ideally that’s not our practice, our servers understood that getting meals out in a timely manner is important for morale,” Kendrick said. “Troops who work hard are looking for a hot meal because it gives them a chance to relax; if you take too long to get the meal on site, the meal depreciates in value.”

At the conclusion of annual training, most leaders of the 324th were satisfied with their soldiers’ effort. Although his unit did not officially provide service for any customers, Zillic said the 324th ESB is better prepared to meet the challenge of maintaining a ready status for future deployments.

“Training is capturing lessons learned and not making the same mistake the next time,” Zillic said. “The things we are doing here are directly applicable to supporting the warfighter whether we go to Afghanistan or any other place that is experiencing regional conflict.”

• Date Taken: 06.25.2012
• Date Posted: 06.27.2012 09:04
• Story ID: 90662
• Location: FORT GORDON, GA, US