Photo By Sgt. Michael Uribe | Michigan Guardsman Staff Sgt. Shelia Teeple, SLCR operations noncommissioned officer...... read more read more
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CAMP RAPID, S.D. – Over the last few weeks, Metter-based Georgia Army National Guardsmen of the 265th Regional Support Group assembled at Camp Rapid, South Dakota, to provide reception, staging, onward movement and integration support, commonly known as RSOI, to more than 4,000 Soldiers participating in the South Dakota National Guard’s Golden Coyote training exercise.
Now in its 30th year, Golden Coyote is claimed to be the largest U.S. sponsored international exercise for the National Guard with military outfits representing 50 multi-service, international units from 15 states and foreign national military including the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark and Suriname.
The exercise provides training opportunities in support of overseas contingency operations and homeland defense. Units will have the opportunity to train in their respective specialties both individually and collectively.
Coordinating administrative and logistic functions behind the scenes has been the primary mission of the approximate 70 Georgia Guardsmen, who are the first-line-of-contact for personnel.
“We act as the unit that will RSOI units going out to affected areas,” said Maj. Cortney Hawkins, administrative officer, for the 265th RSG. “Our mission is to in-process those units and start taking accountability for them, providing them with any resources that are mission essential down range.”
Making sure Soldiers are up-to-date administratively throughout their training experience at Golden Coyote is a paramount theme for the 265th.
“On the real-world side, we are looking to make sure all the Soldiers have their paperwork (family contact, insurance paperwork), and dog tags, those things that will make it easier for unit response in emergencies, such as injury,” said Hawkins. “From the situational standpoint, we are accounting for every Soldier, making sure personnel reports are updated daily and any medical resources and/or information is funneled to the higher command.”
Not only has the 265th RSG provided valuable administrative support during Golden Coyote, but also received realistic training according to the commander, Col. Lanita Kuhn, who is the Georgia DOD human resource director and knows first-hand the importance of personnel assets.
“Our mission is also to hone our Mission Essential Task List, which directly impacts the mission of units training Golden Coyote, so they, too, can exercise their METL tasks depending on the unit discipline.”
It is the first time the 265th RSG has been primary admin support for an exercise the scale of Golden Coyote. The responsibility, history and prestige could have added pressure on the group’s performance.
“Well actually, we were a little nervous; However, I know that my staff has done all of our homework to prepare,” said Kuhn eyeing the activity inside the 265th’s bustling Camp Rapid administration and logistics center. “Probably the most educational part for us has been integrating with all geographic units including foreign forces.”
Golden Coyote draws in domestically and international, but the Metter group has impressed our allies with professionalism peppered with good-ol'e Southern charm.
“Over here, we have to do a lot of coordination beforehand, and we need to adjust and adapt to your way of doing things,” said Capt. Sune Salicath, a liaison with the Danish Army Engineers. “That alone is actually quite a task, and it’s also one of our main training objectives in this exercise. Just working with you guys we are learning a lot all of the time.”
The positivity and cohesiveness during Golden Coyote generated an upbeat, energetic atmosphere that connected all forces.
“Once we managed the nuts and bolts of the mission flow it all worked well for us,” Kuhn said “The way forward will be to focus on where we need to improve for our RSOI functions and fine-tune those METL tasks. “That is what we came here to do and that is what we accomplished.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2014 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 133932 |
| Location: | CAMP RAPID, SD, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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