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    310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) conducts first time DEPEX training on EECP capability

    310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Early Entry Command Post

    Photo By Maj. Sean Delpech | Soldiers of the 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) prepare for the morning...... read more read more

    FORT EUSTIS, VA, UNITED STATES

    04.07.2015

    Story by Capt. Sean Delpech 

    310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

    FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, Ind. – The 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) teamed up with the Ohio Air National Guard to test the 310th ESC’s capability to deploy and redeploy the Early Entry Command Post (EECP) from Indianapolis to Fort Eustis, Virginia, on board a C-130 Hercules aircraft, back to home station in Indianapolis and then to Camp Atterbury, Indiana, recently.

    The mission for the 34 Soldiers of the 310th ESC was to deploy the EECP within a 96 hour period and set up operations within eight hours of hitting the ground.

    “The most important factor here is that we can be here at home involved in normal operations, and within a 96-hour deployment call up, can be the Early Entry Control Team for any part of the world we are assigned to,” said Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Tillison, Jr., 310th ESC G3 Operations sergeant major.

    The EECP gives the 310th ESC the capability to provide Mission Command of assigned joint logistical operations in the event of a worldwide contingency such as a natural disaster. The EECP is capable of self-sustaining operations for up to 30 days.

    “We can put this whole thing up in about six to eight hours, and it adds to the flexibility and speed of our reaction time because we can have the whole EECP operational within that time,” continued Tillison.

    The EECP kit is composed of a trailer with a tent, sets of flooring, air compressors and communications gear. The entire system is comprised of compact units that are easily packaged and can be shipped to any location in need of support.

    “Many of these Soldiers have never seen the EECP system,” said Tillison. This is the first time that we as an ESC have ever used this concept.”

    Once the Sustainers landed at Langley Air Force Base and downloaded the C-130, the advance party hooked up the EECP tent trailer to an LMTV and convoyed to the selected training site at Fort Eustis. There, the Soldiers of the 310th ESC situated the trailer and began the process of unloading.

    Using the tools and support equipment provided with the kit, the structure of the EECP was up and complete with flooring laid out within three hours.

    Maximizing the field exercise as a training opportunity, the Soldiers who had been trained in the operation of the setup equipment for the EECP ensured that the other members of the group received instruction on different stages of the EECP construction.

    “We had a couple of junior Soldiers who had completed some training events with the EECP equipment, that were able to show the senior people from different sections what goes where,” said Master Sgt. Barton Land, Senior Logistics noncommissioned officer for the 310th ESC.

    “I think it’s a good start on the knowledge and experience,” continued Land, “some of the junior soldiers have this down and they’re ready for more.”

    The EECP provides an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for material and distribution management, enabling a Joint Task Force (JTF) to have asset visibility throughout an area of operations.

    “The most likely situation for the 310th ESC is a humanitarian assistance mission, but it can be anything in the full spectrum of operations,” said 310th ESC Chief of Staff, G2, Lt. Col. David R. Herrin.

    IOC is reached when the structure is completed and communications are linked with the 310th ESC Main Command Post (MCP).

    “We now have the capability with this system to deploy into an austere environment, and actually setup and be self-sufficient and self-contained in that 96 hour period,” continued Herrin, “in order to then assume Mission Command.”

    After the EECP tent was complete and while the tables and chairs were being installed, Signal Soldiers began installation of the communications equipment necessary to bring the EECP into operational status.

    By the time setup was completed, connectivity and communication had been achieved within an additional two hours after completion of the EECP structure.

    The bridge between tactical and strategic logistics operations, the EECP staff are tasked with making an assessment of requirements and communicating the assessment to the unit MCP.

    “This kind of training is excellent for our Soldiers,” continued Herrin, “this particular exercise allowed us to actually plan out movement operations and air operations with the Ohio Guard C-130 involved.”

    The EECP acts as the 310th ESC’s arm to direct initial reception, staging and onward movement operations, establishing accountability of personnel, equipment and material that flow into the area of logistical operations.
    Additionally, the EECP is tasked with conducting logistical support to assigned forces in the area of operations.

    This includes the establishment of the initial distribution plan for contingency operations and managing distribution operations.

    The EECP will also act as liaison between military and civilian organizations during a crisis.

    “Not only was it great individual Soldier training, but it helped us develop that collective capability for the ESC to execute this mission when called upon,” said Herrin.

    In the end, the EECP is designed to enable Joint Task Force (JTF) missions and to set conditions for follow-on elements of the main organization.

    After Initial Operating Capability was reached and tested with bridging communications with the 310th ESC MCP in Indianapolis, the order was given to break down the EECP and prepare for redeployment back to home station.

    The EECP was quickly dismantled and stowed back on the trailer it came with, the training site cleared, and the group left by convoy for Langley Air Force Base to load all the equipment onto the C-130 for the return trip to Indianapolis.

    After disembarking from the Indianapolis International Airport and returning to Fort Ben Harrison, the EECP party staged their vehicles for convoy to the next training area in line for the follow-on exercise, taking the equipment used for the EECP and setting up a Main Command Post at Camp Atterbury, Ind., 43 miles away.

    The vehicles left Fort Ben Harrison on the trip to Camp Atterbury. Once there, the command post was moved to the field site chosen for the second phase of setup, only to find that it had been flooded.

    Even after having to select another appropriate location for the field site, the CP was completed within an eight hour period, using the original core of trained Soldiers from the first phase of the exercise to instruct new personnel.

    Additional side tents were constructed for each of the four major operational staff sections and the command post reached IOC on the same night the second field site was selected.

    “This training gave the Soldiers the chance to see what it was like to rapidly complete a mission without the slow movement you see in so much of the training we do,” said Land. “We went out, popped the tent up, set up the IT, and practiced our field craft; it gave a lot of hands on experience to Soldiers who haven’t had the chance to go out and do real world missions.”

    At the completion of the multiple site movement, the operational leaders of the 310th ESC plan to refine the through further training and optimization of standing operating procedures and battle drills with the end goal of perfecting the use of the command post as a tool to extend the reach of the 310th ESC to any needed area.

    “We plan on getting the setup time from site layout to Initial Operating Capability to four hours or under in the near future,” said Land.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.07.2015
    Date Posted: 05.05.2015 19:03
    Story ID: 162343
    Location: FORT EUSTIS, VA, US
    Hometown: INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US

    Web Views: 375
    Downloads: 0

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