Photo By Sgt. Marco Gutierrez | Army Reserve water purification Spc. Rafael Gonzalez, from the 971st Quartermaster...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. - Water is vital for human survival, and often getting it from point A to point B may not be as simple as it sounds, but for Army Reserve Soldiers of the 971st Quartermaster Detachment out of Rio Grande, Texas, participating in CSTX Global Lightning, that is exactly what they have to do.
Soldiers of the 971st QM Detachment had to set up a Tactical Water Distribution System (TWDS) during the Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) and the Quartermaster Liquid Logistic Exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
The CSTX is the largest ever Army sustainment training exercise, and includes units, such as the 971st QM Detachment, that are participating in the QLLEX, with overall mission command of the CSTX resting with the 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). Over 6,000 Soldiers of the Army Reserve will come together for combat support training and tactical transportation training, so getting all those Soldiers clean, drinkable water is extremely important.
They’ve set up about two miles of water distribution hose, which connects to two 20,000 gallon water bags that provide a little under 60,000 gallons of potable water to support both the tactical CSTX and the real-world QLLEX missions of Exercise Global Lightning, said Army Reserve Sgt. Sergio Cortez, a water purification specialist with the 971st QM Detachment.
Cortez also added that it’s been great to see their subordinates teach leaders in the unit how to do the job correctly, since many of them are new to this military occupation specialty (MOS).
The Army Reserve Soldiers of the 971st QM Detachment had a lot of obstacles to overcome during this training exercise, but it was a good learning experience for the new Soldiers, who have not had much training other than their Advance Individual Training (AIT), said Army Reserve Spc. Daniel Silva, a water purification specialist with the 971st QM Detachment.
The job of water purification does have its challenges; the terrain dictates how the Soldiers of the detachment will lay the hose line from the clean water source to the different locations around the area of operations, so flexibility is key.
The Soldiers constantly work hard to be flexible with the layout of the hose, often forced to plan alternate routes with the final goal to improve the service they provide for the mission, and get the job done, according to Sgt. 1st Class Mike Beckham, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 971st QM Detachment.
“You really have to be able to think on your feet, and be able to have a positive attitude to go in their knowing that what you planed might not work, and you might have to plan for something different,” said Silvia.
He also added that the best part of the job is the camaraderie of his team, working hard, and having a little fun while working together.
Water purification is an important mission for the 971st QM Detachment. Because they are not a stand-alone unit, and they are a low density, uncommon MOS, they need to borrow a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) so they can practice the real-world mission of water purification, something they don’t get to do often as Army Reserve Soldiers, according to Beckham.
Yet learning to work together and communicate under stress is also vital for this job since plans are constantly changing and stress can build up from the relentless work they have to do.
“You have to learn to calm yourself down, take a deep breath, and talk to each other like fellow Soldiers and not talk down to each other,” said Silva.
He also explained that they have to take care of each other, making sure everyone is drinking water, eating, all part of keeping accountability.
When asked about what Silva thought of his job he said, “I don’t consider what I do any more important than what any other Soldier does, we are all cogs in a machine, and without one or the other the mission doesn’t get done.”
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2015 18:19 |
| Story ID: | 166607 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | LAREDO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | RIO GRANDE CITY, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 205 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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