Photo By Master Sgt. Gary Witte | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Derek Q. Adams of Romulus, Mich., transportation supervisor for...... read more read more
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Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. – If you think keeping tabs on 1,000 people staying in your house would be tough, consider keeping track every time one of them leaves or arrives.
The 858th Movement Control Team, a U.S. Army Reserve unit from Bay City, Mich., spent much of March accomplishing a similar, if more complicated, mission during a joint training operation in Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. The Warrior Exercise lasted several weeks and drew more than 3,500 soldiers, sailors and irmen.
Camp Schoonover, where the 858th MCT was stationed, saw constant convoys, cargo movements and traffic. And every time someone wanted to depart or enter the camp, they had to have the proper permissions, U.S. Army Spc. Cara M. Bolton of Grand Blanc, Mich., a movement specialist, said.
“In order for anyone to move, they have to see us,” she said. “It’s a lot of people.”
During the first couple of weeks, vehicles came through the gates in ones and twos, yet hauling a couple of hundred people a day, she said. When the exercise shifted to 24-hour operations, convoys had to have three or more vehicles with tactical support. This still meant almost a hundred vehicles rolling in and out each day.
U.S. Army Capt. Joseph A. Mounts of Bay City, Mich., commander of the 858th MCT, said monitoring and coordinating all of this is an important job, especially during a real-world deployment where leaders have to know the location of all their assets at all times. The unit even tracks flights in and out of bases.
“We’re the eyes and ears of the theatre commander,” he said.
Not only was the March exercise good training for soldiers of the 858th, it also helped teach the other units the importance of planning and notifying movement control teams about their plans during a deployment, Mounts said.
When soldiers leave a base on patrol or cargo is shipped from one location to another, the movement control teams have to know, he said.
“They can’t just move whenever they see fit,” Mounts said. “Nobody would have an understanding of where they are. And chaos can result.”
U.S. Army Spc. Andrew W. Van Scyoc of Dearborn Heights, Mich., a transportation management coordinator, said the exercise gave him a different perspective on his previous training, where they used computer programs to track convoys and other movements.
“It was more of a hands-on approach,” he said of the Warrior Exercise. “You get to see all that first hand rather than sitting behind a desk.”
Requests for movement had to be made more than 24 hours prior and if a convoy was scheduled to travel on California state roads, they had to get clearance from the state. Then the unit’s paperwork had to be approved by the MCT at staging lanes prior to rolling out.
Bolton and Van Scyoc were on the advance party for the unit and were present almost a week before any of the life support, such as field showers, water buffaloes or hot meals, were available.
“We’re first in, last out,” Van Scyoc said.
Mounts said the unit will have spent the maximum amount of time allowed for annual training – 29 days – working for the exercise. He said there was no negativity among his soldiers, no one got hurt and he was extremely satisfied with the job they did.
“Really, there’s not much more you can ask for,” he said.
The exercise included tactical training for members of the unit, including convoy movements, dealing with improvised explosive devices and base defense. This training, along with duties such as gate guard and kitchen work, had to be done even with the constant work of movement control.
Bolton, who missed some of the training because of the movement mission, said the exercise gave her first-hand experience establishing standard operating procedures with higher command and helped her learn to delegate. She expressed pride in being on the forefront of the mission.
“You look at everything and say, ‘We set this up,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2013 19:58 |
| Story ID: | 104433 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Hometown: | BAY CITY, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 251 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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