Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels | Members of the North Carolina National Guard’s 230th Brigade Support Battalion color...... read more read more
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DURHAM. N.C. – “Sustinendum Victoriam,” Latin for “Sustaining Victory,” is the driving force behind the Army logistician in the North Carolina National Guard bringing Guardsmen from across the state together to celebrate their inaugural sustainment ball at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, here, Sept. 26, 2015.
“We are very proud to support our combat arms brethren,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Keith Rapp, 230th Brigade Support Battalion commander. “At the end of the day logistics wins wars, if you go back in historical reference, what has happened over time, World War II, World War I, [wining] was an organization’s ability to leverage logistics, and we should celebrate that.”
The Logistics Corps develops and executes processes, resources, and systems involved in generating, transporting, sustaining, and redeploying or reallocating materiel and personnel. It makes up one third of NCNG’s workforce and is comprised of the 113th Sustainment Brigade, the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, the 630th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, and the 690th Brigade Support Battalion.
“These [Soldiers] have met every expectation and not only met it but exceeded it,” said Rapp. “As an organization we logisticians are 3,000 strong, that is a third of this force, yet we’re the only ones that don’t have a ball … all it takes is for somebody to do a little work and coordinating.”
These organizations were honored at the ball by identifying Saint Samuel Sharpe known as the “Master Gunner of Ordinance”, Saint Christopher, the patron Saint of the Transportation Corps, and Saint Martin known as the patron Saint of the Quartermaster Regiment collectively making the three branches of logistics: transportation, ordinance, and maintenance.
“I think this is one of the things that rounds our Soldiers out, not just officers but enlisted as well,” said U.S. Army Brig Gen. Kenneth Beard, North Carolina National Guard Sustainment Assistant Adjutant General.
The Guest speaker for the event was U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Austin, Assistant Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, Army Material Command, whose roots spawned in the North Carolina National Guard. Austin spoke about past duty positions that prepared her for her current position. Austin also spoke about the significance of the NCNG fielding the Global Combat Support System – Army (GCSS-Army) program, how it plays a role at AMC, and the future Army logistics.
“I want to thank the North Carolina Army National Guard sustainment community for inviting [me] back to be a part of this first ever sustainment ball,” said Austin. “I cherished my time commanding at all levels in the North Carolina National Guard and of course I also enjoyed being North Carolina’s J-4 for many years. One of my greatest honors was being selected to serve as the North Carolina National Guard’s first female general officer.”
North Carolina is the first National Guard state to field the GCSS – Army, a tactical unit / installation logistics and financial system that is an Enterprise Resource Planning solution that tracks supplies, spare parts, organizational equipment, unit maintenance, total cost of ownership, and other financial transactions related to logistics for all Army units. This system is designed for the Active Army component but is quickly transitioning to training National Guard in relation to overall readiness.
“We can say that we have trained our full time force to be able to utilize [GCSS – Army],” expressed Rapp. We have a number of issues that we are working through that we are taking back to the fielding team to get them to make [GCSS – Army] more proficient for those national guard units that will follow us and it’s part of the reason why we were the perfect state to be able to be the proponent state for [GCSS – Army] because we have a [regional training institute], an aviation element, and a [brigade combat team].”
NCNG hosts an annual week-long sustainment conference prior to the ball that gathers military leaders of the logistics realm to highlight and recognize all of the accomplishments the workforce has done. This ball is a celebration of those accomplishments and also gives leaders an opportunity to speak to Austin and other NCNG leaders spread across North Carolina.
“I think it is important that like type individuals with similar interests, similar responsibilities and similar requirements get together on more than just a mission driven focus,” said Beard. “It’s important to develop those professional and social relationship skills as well. The Guard is a family; balls like this give you an opportunity to do that.”
Twelve members of the logistics community were recognized during the ball and received coins from Austin for their outstanding performance in support of logistics operations.
“I challenge you to continue to adapt, to learn, perfect your craft. Stay informed and connected. Understand what our senior leaders are addressing at the strategic level,” concluded Austin. “Communicate the shared vision throughout our formations so that we ensure a flexible state of readiness for the war fighter, whatever challenge they might face.”
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2015 10:08 |
| Story ID: | 177619 |
| Location: | NC, US |
| Web Views: | 325 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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