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MALABAR, Fla. – When Army Col. Donald B. Absher took command of the 641st Regional Sustainment Group in September 2013, no one on his staff could recall the last time the entire command mobilized on U.S. soil.
Less than a year later, those nonexistent recollections became crystal clear revelations.
Approximately 950 Army Reserve Soldiers from the 641st RSG, a logistics organization based in St. Petersburg, Florida, mobilized to Florida’s Space Coast Jan. 22-25 to participate in Operation Responsive Sentinel, a multi-echelon training exercise designed to test the command’s readiness and capabilities from the RSG to the individual Soldier level.
“Our primary mission was to alert and mobilize all 18 of our downtrace units scattered throughout Florida, then establish a headquarters in the field to synchronize mission command,” said Absher, a native of Melbourne, Florida. “Our secondary mission was to give our battalions and companies ample opportunities to sharpen their basic soldiering skills as well as enhance their ability to respond to a natural disaster or overseas contingency.”
Companies and detachments traveled as far as Miami to deliver Soldiers, supplies, vehicles and heavy equipment to selected sites at Port Canaveral, Patrick Air Force Base and Malabar Transmitter Annex. For four days, the units concentrated on enhancing their respective logistical capabilities through various field exercises.
“People enlist in the Army Reserve so they can go out to the field and do what Soldiers do,” said Army Lt. Col.. Kenneth G. Harris, a Boca Raton, Florida, native serving as deputy commander of the 641st RSG. “This was a fantastic opportunity to get our Soldiers out of their Reserve Centers and get their boots in the dirt.”
“A military unit cannot accurately identify its capabilities without realistic training in the field,” added Absher. “The 641st RSG is not exception. Unlike a standard battle assembly, this exercise permitted my staff and me to work side-by-side with our battalion commanders, who, in turn, had face-to-face interactions with their company commanders.”
Although Operation Responsive Sentinel did not match the intensity of an actual combat operation or federal emergency, the preparations, challenges and opportunities shared many similarities with these real-world scenarios.
“Planning for this exercise started in earnest about a year ago,” said Harris. “We secured our training sites throughout Brevard County months in advance thanks in part to [Absher’s] connections with military and civilian officials in the area. ... His vision ultimately served the Army Reserve’s vision of using local resources that facilitate large-scale operations.”
The numerous meetings, phone calls and site visits reminded commanders that an exercise of this magnitude inevitably brings its fair share of obstacles.
“Just because the 641st RSG primarily consists of logistics units doesn’t mean we’re immune to logistical challenges,” said Absher. “It takes constant communication and collaboration among officers, noncommissioned officers, junior Soldiers and even civilian contractors to streamline operations evolving simultaneously in three locations.”
“Take food, for example,” Harris added. “It takes more than just cooks to feed 950 Soldiers two hot meals a day while training in the field. It’s a collaborative effort among our planners, drivers, technicians and logisticians to set up and supply adequate dining facilities. Throw in gate keys, building access codes, refueling requirements, digging restrictions and radio frequency authorizations, and this seemingly simple task becomes very complex.”
To alleviate these logistical dilemmas, the 641st RSG turned to the training grounds’ property owner: The United States Air Force.
“The [641st RSG] came to us many months before its first convoy arrived at our installations,” said Air Force 2nd Lt. Giles R. Gonnsen, a Savannah, Georgia, native serving as the liaison officer from the 45th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 45th Mission Support Group, 45th Space Wing. “From providing fuel and buses to contracting showers and portable toilets, our squadron helped coordinate many logistical tasks so the [Army Reserve] could focus on its training objectives.”
The size and scope of Operation Responsive Sentinel attracted the attention of Army Maj. Gen. Les Carroll, commanding general of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, and Army Brig. Gen. Francisco A. Espaillat, commanding general of the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). The two senior leaders toured the Malabar Annex Jan. 25 to assess the 641st RSG’s activities and performance. In addition to listening to briefings from Absher and his command staff, Carroll and Espaillat spoke with individual Soldiers engaged in practical skills tests from rifle qualification and driver’s training.
“Your commanders have given you the time and tools to conduct realistic training in a deployed-like environment,” Carroll said to a group of Soldiers learning how to use tow straps to pull heavy vehicles to safety. “Use them to their potential. What you learn here today may save your life and the lives of your battle buddies tomorrow.”
While most of the brigade’s Soldiers trained together to enhance their respective military occupation specialties, a small fraction pitted their physical and mental skills against one another in the 641st RSG’s Best Warrior Competition.
“A Best Warrior Competition presents a series of stressful challenges to Soldiers who want to master their warrior tasks and drills,” said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mary K. Burnham, a St. Petersburg, Florida, native serving as the command sergeant major of the 641st RSG. “We intentionally scheduled it to coincide with [Operation Responsive Sentinel] to gain maximum exposure among Soldiers who may become inspired to compete in future competitions.”
A majority of the Best Warrior Competition events took place at Patrick Air Force Base. There, the six competitors tested their marksmanship with the M16 rifle and M9 pistol at the base’s $8.5 million Combat Arms Training Facility. The next day, the remaining four competitors (two could no longer compete due to injuries) and their mentors donned 45-pound ruck sacks and marched six miles through the base’s campgrounds and nature trails.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a Best Warrior Competition conducted on an Air Force installation,” said Burnham. “[Patrick AFB]’s state-of-the-art facilities alleviated many of the logistical challenges typically endured by units organizing Best Warrior Competitions in remote areas.”
“The Air Force was happy to share its facilities to the Army,” said Gonnsen. “The Army and Air Force work closely together while deployed, so it’s imperative that we extend that cooperation and expand our partnership while training at home.”
Army Sgt. Joshua M. Gibson, a Clearwater, Florida, native serving as a military police noncommissioned officer assigned to the 641st RSG, won the competition. Gibson will represent the 641st RSG when he travels to Camp Blanding, Florida, in March to compete against other group/brigade-level champions at the 143rd ESC’s Best Warrior Competition.
While specialists and sergeants shot, sang, ran and marched their way to the finish line, scores of junior officers — including Gonnsen, the exercise’s sole Air Force liaison — formed at Patrick AFB's Education and Training Center to test their strength, dexterity, memory and morale in the 641st RSG's officer challenge. Teams of five officers competed at six unique stations spread along a six-mile route. The challenge began with map reading and rank recognition events, continued with a casualty evacuation scenario and ethical dilemma, and concluded with a physical challenge and rifle marksmanship.
As the sun set behind the Banana River, victory belonged to Team Funk, a lively group of young officers led by Army Capt. Ryan C. Hobert, a Clearwater, Florida, native serving as an intelligence officer in the 641st RSG.
Before the sun rose again Jan. 25, the 641st RSG command team conducted an awards ceremony before releasing its troops to tear down tents, disassemble equipment and line their trucks and Humvees toward the Malabar Annex’s main gate. After four days of mobilizing, training and competing, Operation Responsive Sentinel had come to a close.
“I’m immensely proud of my Soldiers,” said Asher. “In one day they alerted their respective units, mobilized them to at least one of three locations, established communications and commenced completing their training objectives. We may have not completed every objective perfectly, but we know what right looks like thanks to Responsive Sentinel.”
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2015 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 154326 |
| Location: | MALABAR, FL, US |
| Hometown: | BOCA RATON, FL, US |
| Hometown: | CLEARWATER, FL, US |
| Hometown: | MELBOURNE, FL, US |
| Hometown: | SAVANNAH, GA, US |
| Hometown: | ST. PETERSBURG, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 795 |
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