Photo By 1st Lt. Hailey Quinlan | A soldier from Detachment 10, 335th Signal Command, receives a vaccination during...... read more read more
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ATLANTA - Soldiers from the 335th Signal Command (Theater) traveled to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, to take part in a two-day health and readiness screening in preparation for an upcoming deployment.
The soldiers are part of Detachment 10, a temporary, company-sized element that falls under the 335th SC (T) and will be deploying to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in early 2016 in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.
The event, called Soldier Readiness Processing, includes health screenings for height, weight, hearing, vision, immunizations, dental, mental health and more.
“It’s going to flag those soldiers that are not prepared to deploy, either physically or mentally,” said Jennifer Kelley, the SRP event oversight administrator.
The event also allows soldiers to update personal and administrative information and meet with experts from the legal office to update wills and assign power of attorney rights to family members.
“There is a checklist we have to go through. The command wants to make sure your family is taken care of and the soldier is taken care of,” said 1st Lt. Dong Vue, an officer scheduled to deploy with Det. 10.
The soldiers that make up Det. 10 come from all over the nation and include both volunteers and soldiers who were involuntarily mobilized.
“Approximately 40 percent of the roster has been filled with volunteers,” said Master Sgt. John Burt, the Det. 10 first sergeant.
Soldiers coming from units as far away as Hawaii and California have filled positions.
“Based on the needs of the mission, the positions and the experience, you may not be able to draw from your local area. You’re going to have to pull folks in,” said Capt. Michael Porter, the commander of Det. 10.
Once the unit arrives in Kuwait, Det. 10 soldiers will fill positions throughout the command. Det. 10 will provide reliable communications for voice, data and email, which encompass information management services in support of coalition partners in Southwest Asia.
“Every soldier comes with a different skill set. Wherever our skill set is needed, that’s where we will be going in order to provide maximum support,” said Vue.
Events like the SRP are critical to improving readiness before sending soldiers overseas. Some health issues, such as hearing loss, are serious enough to keep a soldier from being deployed. Pre-deployment medical exams help identify those conditions that may not seem significant in day to day routines but may disqualify a soldier for overseas deployments.
“It’s important to ensure there are no major issues prior to that soldier getting into theater,” said Porter.
Master Sgt. Burt says he desires a strong team and is confident that soldiers of Det. 10 will accomplish the mission, regardless of what challenges face them.
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2015 14:10 |
| Story ID: | 181322 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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