Photo By Eric Lucero | Maj. Gregory Dunbar, 377th TSC support operations distribution management chief,...... read more read more
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - A year of training and coordination at the 377th Theater Sustainment Command peaked with PANAMAX 14. For the first time, the U.S. Army Reserve unit’s Operational Command Post traveled to Fort Sam Houston to participate in the joint U.S. Southern Command sponsored exercise that focuses on protecting the Panama Canal with partner nations.
The OCP is the 377th TSC’s quick reaction team designed to deploy within 96 hours to a contingency operation in support of its regionally aligned partners, U.S. Army South and SOUTHCOM. During PANAMAX, the team oversaw all U.S. logistics forces responsible for sustainment operations within SOUTHCOM’s area of operation.
Logistics plays a critical role in any operation, but understanding how to get supplies to where they are needed is the part that most often needs training emphasis.
“Nobody really understands logistics,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Beason, 377th TSC OCP Operations Chief. “You really don’t understand how important it is until you do not have it. You think it’s just there.”
The 377th TSC contains 46 percent of the Army’s total sustainment capability making it an indispensable part of the total force. While the unit provides the sustainment capacity for Army South, according to Sgt. Maj. Jefferey Bishop, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the OCP, achieving trust and integration with its partners were the main goals during this first-time engagement. “I think we gained a lot of headway with our relevance.”
Members of Army South's deployment command post traveled to Camp Shelby, Miss. last November to observe the OCP during its first full-scale deployment exercise but it didn’t involve continuous interaction with their partners. Lt. Col. Daniel Robinson, Army South officer-in-charge of sustainment for its Exercise Command Post, said working with the team at PANAMAX increased confidence. “That interoperability and having the opportunity to see each other interact built trust among both commands.”
That integration involved learning and synching processes in a joint, multi-national environment that included 16 partner nations. The 377th TSC conducted a mission rehearsal exercise in June ahead of PANAMAX 14 with the 75th Training Division. The MRX helped the members of the unit prepare for their mission at Fort Sam Houston as well as appreciate the opportunity to build relationships with Army South and SOUTHCOM.
“They did great,” said 377th TSC Civil Affairs Officer Robert Kemna speaking about the 75th. “But to actually work for the people you really would be working for in the event of a deployment—there’s no simulation that can get you there.”
Liaisons from the Logistics Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) enhanced the 377th TSC’s effectiveness in getting commodities like fuel, water and other supplies to soldiers on the ground.
“I think it went very well,” said Maj. Gregory Dunbar, 377th TSC Support Operations Distribution Management Chief. “Using all those representatives to leverage those strategic enablers allowed the 377th to provide the link from strategic to operational and from operational to tactical.”
Maj. Gen. Peter S. Lennon, deputy-commanding general at U.S. Army Reserve Command and former commanding general of the 377th TSC, oversaw the OCP’s transformation. It began as an early entry command post before transitioning to its current name and 51-soldier configuration consisting of both full-time and reserve soldiers.
The civilian experiences reservists bring combined with military know-how are strengths that Lennon says benefit the whole team.
“The thought processes and the business processes and the logistical sustainment processes that they can quickly apply to a unique situation really is the power of the Army Reserve.”
With PANAMAX 14 now history, 377th TSC leaders plan to continue training and refining procedures within the OCP as well as working with Army South leaders to coordinate more closely with the unit's support operations in the future. “Not only for exercises,” said Robinson. “But as a regionally aligned force working with them for other opportunities where we can utilize their specialties.”
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2014 13:34 |
| Story ID: | 143911 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 284 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 377th TSC debuts Operational Command Post at PANAMAX 14, by Angele Ringo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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