The NEW gateway to the Rock

Photo By Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley | Col. Mike Calvin, commander, Home Detachment, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, does the honors of cutting the ribbon during a ribbon cutting ceremony held here at the Soldier Readiness Center, March 4. The ceremony marks a significant change in the way the SRC does business. The SRC is the place Soldiers go to ensure they are prepared administratively and logistically to either deploy or redeploy. Previously the center had been run by civilian personnel, however in an attempt to reduce budgetary demands, senior leadership at Fort Stewart decided to use qualified Soldiers within the Marne Reception Center to administer and facilitate this service. This change is a change in the way the Marne Reception Center process works. In fact, there have been many changes made to the MRC process recently, which has allowed the MRC and the 3rd ID to more effectively provide a valuable service for all newcomers to Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 3rd ID, Public Affairs NCO)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

03.05.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley 

3rd Infantry Division

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Can you smell what the Gateway to the Rock is Cookin’?!?!

That’s what the folks over at the Marne Reception Center are wondering.

Today marked a momentous day, as the Soldiers with the MRC, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, held a ribbon cutting ceremony here at the Soldier Readiness Center, March 4.

The ceremony marks a significant change in the way the SRC does business. The SRC is the place Soldiers go to ensure they are prepared administratively and logistically to either deploy or redeploy.

Previously the center had been run by civilian personnel, however in an attempt to reduce budgetary demands, senior leadership at Fort Stewart decided to use qualified Soldiers to administer and facilitate this service, explained 1st Sgt. Robert Franz, the senior enlisted leader for the MRC.

This is a huge change for how the MRC operates. However, it is not the only change, as there have been some additional major changes that have been made to the MRC process in the recent months.

The above-mentioned changes were essentially put into place so that the 3rd ID could more effectively provide a quality service for all newcomers to Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field.

What the MRC has done is they have taken their previous seven-day schedule, and expanded it to encompass ten days. While this is only the difference of three days, the value that’s been added is quite astonishing.

The MRC now offers a newcomer’s fair which allows all incoming personnel and their families to meet and hear from Division and Garrison command leadership, meet with their gaining units Family Readiness Group leaders, and meet with representatives of all the major directorate and Soldier and Family services.

The MRC also integrated eight hours of financial planning counseling, previously not offered in the seven-day process.

On top of this change, the MRC underwent some self assessment, and realized that as part of the process, Soldiers were getting their bus tour of the post so late that it was rendered pointless. In order to fix this, they move it up and it’s now the first thing a new Soldier will do when they get to the installation and start the ten day process, Capt. Christy Nichols, commander, MRC, explained.

One of the biggest changes the MRC made is that they have now integrated Bystander Intervention Training into their program. According to division staff, they attribute this change to have already reduced suicides at Fort Stewart by approximately 40% said, Franz relayed.
“The purpose of the [Bystander Intervention Program] is to eradicate sexual assault from the army…the program is designed to empower Soldiers to intervene in critical situations in order to prevent incidents before they occur,” said Nichols.

While Bystander Intervention does indeed shed light on sexual harassment, sexual assault, response, and prevention related incidents, at a base level, it extends across the force, and focuses on the decision making process of an individual during critical moments in their life.

This training is really an invaluable tool considering that the Soldiers and Family members going through the MRC are dealing with what can be categorized as one of the most stressful aspects of the Army, moving to a new duty station.

“This equips the Soldiers with the tools to identify critical problems to their left and right, and empowers them with the knowledge that its their job to step forward and help those in need,” Franz further explained.

While critically important in the Army and at Fort Stewart, the Bystander Intervention Training is not the only new training the MRC is offering. They have also begun introducing all incoming personnel to Fort Stewart’s and Hunter Army Air Field’s Female-to-Female mentorship program.

At the MRC, a councilor sits down with the incoming Soldiers, and discusses challenges and expectations unique to female Soldiering. They also ensure the Soldiers know who their Female-to-Female Mentor is at their gaining organization, explained Nichols.

According to division staff members, starting the Female-to-Female mentorship as soon as Soldiers get to The Rock has lead to a direct increase in the number of female participants in the program at the unit level across the division, Nichols relayed.

“The important part of having [the Female-to-Female program] at the reception center is that many of the first-term Soldiers coming here to Fort Stewart may never have been exposed to Female-to-Female mentorship in the Army,” explained Franz. “Also there are those tenant units and smaller units that haven’t indoctrinated this program into their battle-rhythm yet, so exposing them to it right off the bat is a real combat-multiplier because when the Soldiers get to their gaining unit, it may be a few months before they are able to get Female-to-Female mentorship at the unit level.”

All in all, the MRC has become a value-added experience for Soldiers and Families newly arriving to the Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field footprint. This value to the new program has real purpose as well.

“The end state here at MRC is that when they leave out of our formation and get to their unit, all they need to do is pick up their rifle to go to war,” said Franz. “We don’t just in-process the Soldiers, but we care for, and educate them.”

“The bottom line is: we are the one stop shop for Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield; incoming Soldiers will get everything they need to be successful here, … they will not get lost, they will not be left wondering what to do, or where to go -- we truly are THE gateway to the Rock,” said Nichols.

• Date Taken: 03.05.2015
• Date Posted: 03.05.2015 14:19
• Story ID: 156083
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US