Photo By Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke | Sgt. Hannelori Cespedes and Staff Sgt. Charles Rooker, who work with civil affairs for...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Active Army, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers trained together as a Total Force during Warfighter Exercise 15-04 at the Mission Training Complex here April 7-15.
I Corps hosted the multi-level training scenario designed to prepare Soldiers for future deployments and further integrate the active Army, Reserve and National Guard in support of the Army Total Force Policy.
Nearly 850 Soldiers from I Corps, 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 17th Sustainment Brigade, 420th Engineer Brigade, 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, 362nd Psychological Operations Company and 8th Theater Sustainment Command trained together during the exercise.
Over the 13-day exercise, Soldiers from the different components worked on improving their battle drills, building relationships and learning from one another.
“The Total Force training perspective is invaluable,” said Col. Vernon Scarbrough, the commander of the 17th Sustainment Brigade, part of the Nevada Army National Guard based out of Las Vegas. “When we deploy, you can’t tell whether a unit is National Guard, Reserve or active duty. We all have to perform at an equal level.”
Throughout the exercise, Soldiers in tactical operations centers rehearsed battle tracking and operational planning. The Soldiers worked on ensuring clear communication between the units, regardless of component, by performing operations as they would during a deployment.
“This Warfighter exercise is providing us an opportunity in a training environment to practice the exact roles, missions and responsibilities that we will be performing on our deployment,” said Scarbrough.
Sergeant Hannelori Cespedes, part of the civil affairs section for the 17th Sustainment Brigade, said that communication has been the biggest asset in working collectively with the Army components.
“We all need to work together,” said Cespedes. “Overall in this exercise, we’re Army, so you work as a team no matter what unit you’re in.”
Scarbrough stressed the importance of having shared reporting formats, a common operating picture and a common language between the Army components so there is fluidity during deployments.
“Interoperability between the Army components is critical,” said Scarbrough. “It is absolutely critical for a shared understanding of what is taking place by all.”
In addition to providing logistical support to the exercise, Soldiers from Headquarters, Headquarters Battalion, I Corps, set to work and trained alongside their Reserve and National Guard counterparts.
“We’re all soldiers, we all have one common goal,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Swanson, command sergeant major of the 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based out of San Antonio. “I look at the NCO Creed: accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. We all follow the same creed.”
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2015 17:05 |
| Story ID: | 160606 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 319 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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