Photo By Spc. Andrew Orillion | Staff Sgt. Brian Gonterman, an instructor with the 91st Training Division, Charlie...... read more read more
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - Everyone remembers their first time. Their first kiss, first car, first deployment, first promotion. For Staff Sgts. Brian Gonterman and Ben Mendaville, instructors with the 91st Training Division, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, Small Arms Readiness Group, Base Camp Tusi is a first time as well.
Command Support Training Exercise-91 is Gonterman’s first time as a Base Camp Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCIOC) and Mendaville’s first time as an NCOIC of Personnel (S1).
Gonterman began his military career as an active duty recon infantry Soldier at Fort Drum, New York. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, left active duty in 2009 and is now a Reserve solider out of San Jose, Calif.
As Base Camp NCOIC, Gonterman’s main role is to make sure everything runs smoothly. From generators, to AC units, to laundry; if it can break, it’s his job to make sure someone fixes it.
“At least one thing is coming up to me everyday. I’m getting calls at five in the morning that the pump to the showers just went out so no one has hot water,” said Gonterman. “There have been a couple days where everything ran smoothly”.
One of the toughest challenges, so far, has been a handful of discipline issues Gonterman said.
“There have been a couple of disciplinary actions we’ve had to take care of. We’ve had to remove a few soldiers from the Base Camp, and I’ve never had to deal with that before,” said Gonterman.
A major issue, recently, was the heat. With temperatures in the triple digits in early July, soldier safety was a serious concern.
“We were having radio checks with range control every hour so that we can get the heat category of the day,” said Gonterman. “We were constantly reinforcing drinking water. During one of the heat waves we had to do a mission for our actual jobs and after the group was done shooting every time, we told them to drink water.”
Gonterman has been the acting Base Camp Tusi NCOIC since July 6. He was originally supposed to turn over the reigns to Master Sgt. Ryan Randall, master instructor with the 91st Training Division, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, Small Arms Readiness Group.
“He explained to me that I was supposed to take his place once I got here,” said Randall. “I made the command decision to let him roll with it. From all accounts, talking to Major Turner (Mayor for the Mayor’s Cell) and the other leadership here, he’s doing an exceptional job.”
Gonterman credits his team, including Safety NCIOC Staff Sgt. Corchado, with the success he’s had running the Base Camp. He said the team does an exceptional job keeping everyone in the loop.
“I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on how well the Base Camp is running,” said Gonterman. “It’s because the team members that we have are working so well together that I don’t have to worry about anything else so I can focus on what needs to get done for the Base Camp.”
Another Base Camp Tusi first timer, and an integral part of the team, according to Gonterman, is Staff Sgt. Mendaville, the Base Camp S1.
Mendaville began his Army career as a radio operator for the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry, Fort Campbell, Ky. Like Gonterman, he left active duty and joined the Army Reserve out of Santa Rosa, Calif.
As the acting Base Camp S1, Mendaville keeps track of all the soldiers and support staff on Tusi. With over 600 personnel, this is a major responsibility. Randall has been very impressed with the work Mendaville has done.
“He’s responsible for the number of soldiers going in and out during the day. Keeping the numbers squared away so we have 100 percent accountability of everybody and what they’re doing,” said Randall. “He’s doing an excellent job with it. I’ve got nothing but glowing reports. He’s set the standard for what needs to be done.”
For Mendaville, the major challenge is communication between the different areas and cells of Base Camp Tusi.
“The fact that you have multiple people who you don’t ever see or talk to, you just get an email saying, ‘This is what I want,’” said Mendaville. “Everyone wants their own thing and it’s not really flowing right now.”
Another challenge, not just for Mendaville, but also for other members of the Base Camp staff is the change from their normal Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).
“None of our MOSs are what our actual jobs are, here. As a SARG unit, we’re weapons instructors. So having to come here, we’ve had to quickly learn and adapt to whatever the job is,” said Mendaville. “Like Staff Sgt. Corchado, he’s an infantry guy, Staff Sgt. Gonterman, he’s an infantry guy. So, we were basically handed this job and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Although this is Mendaville’s first time as an S1, he credits his previous experience as a shop foreman (S6) for battalion communications giving him the necessary skills.
“Being the NCIOC of a unit, you have to keep in mind the accountability of your soldiers. Especially, because I had guys that were down at line companies and other FOBs (Forward Operating Bases). I had to make sure that they were accounted for and make sure that they had everything they needed,“ said Mendaville.
He also praised the work of his team and their infantry background.
“Since we all come from an infantry style background, there’s a different mentality,” said Mendaville. “This is the mission so let’s just get it done. So, that’s what you see in Staff Sgt. Gonterman with his job as the FOB NCOIC, and Staff Sgt. Corchado as the safety NCOIC. They never say, ‘Oh, that’s not my job’.
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2012 00:07 |
| Story ID: | 91867 |
| Location: | CA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN JOSE, CA, US |
| Hometown: | SANTA CLARITA, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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