Photo By 1st Lt. Hailey Quinlan | Army Reserve soldiers from Bravo Company, 392nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion (ESB)...... read more read more
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ATLANTA – Soldiers from Bravo Company, 392nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion tested their leadership and teamwork skills on a Leadership Reaction Course at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Oct. 21, as part of preparations for their upcoming deployment to the Middle East.
Bravo Company soldiers gathered at Fort Indiantown Gap for the week to complete Soldier Readiness Processing, a medical and personal readiness program that prepares Army Reserve soldiers to deploy.
The Bravo Company commander, Capt. Steven Perzia, along with his company first sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Leandrew Williams, decided to use extra time during the SRP event to have soldiers train on the LRC.
“I wanted to do something that got away from the boredom of the SRP. I wanted to give the soldiers a chance to get out there and work together and really build them for deployment because it’s all about communicating and problem-solving,” said Perzia.
In order to maximize the training value of the LRC, soldiers from separate parts of the company were mixed together and given the opportunity to work with new teammates.
“It builds a lot of unit cohesion,” Williams said. “A lot of time we get very cliquey. So we take the [platoons] and split them and we force them to work together.”
Most soldiers who participated in the LRC are members of the company’s lower enlisted ranks.
“We take all the key leaders out. We take out the big E6s and E7s and we leave the lower enlisted,” Williams said. “We don’t tell them how to do it. We give them a chance to think outside the box.”
Perzia and Williams agree that their soldiers performed very well during the LRC.
“What’s crazy is we can get four or five groups to do the same task and they’ll do it four or five ways. It really gets them to think outside the box and it really builds unit cohesion. With soldiers that’s very important,” Williams said.
“When you are given a task with limited tools to get it done there is always some cross communication involved on what would be the fastest and most efficient way to reach the goal,” said Spc. Gregory Morales, a Bravo Company soldier who participated in the LRC training. “We were very humble in listening to others’ solutions. I learned a lot about the people in my new unit.”
The 392nd ESB will be deploying in early 2016 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Spartan Shield and will send soldiers to multiple locations throughout the Middle East to provide communications support.
"We can support anyone who needs additional signal support. It doesn’t matter if we’re supporting aviation or medical. I can kick a team of six to eight soldiers out and they’ll bring up a satellite and anywhere around the world, can provide communications," Perzia said.
An important aspect of the deployment, particularly for lower enlisted soldiers, is the opportunity it provides them to sharpen their communications skills.
“For the younger soldiers, just coming to drill every month isn’t enough to keep those IT skills fresh so, by doing a deployment and working every day in the network administrator jobs and the system administrator jobs, they’ll be able to have a year’s worth of experience to put on their resume,” Perzia said.
Soldiers will also have time during pre-deployment training to complete industry certifications, such as CompTIA Security+, which will be additional resume boosters when they return home.
“That’s a huge advantage that a lot of folks don’t get,” Perzia said.
Perzia and Williams are also looking to lower enlisted ranks for soldiers that demonstrate leadership potential.
“A lot of soldiers have really shown interest in being promoted. We also have a few who are stepping up and we’re excited to start building the NCO ranks as we get ready for the deployment,” Perzia said.
Perzia and Williams confirm that attitudes are positive and excitement is high as their mobilization date approaches.
“From my perspective, it’s what every officer wants to do as a commander is lead troops forward. It gives you the opportunity to really put yourself and the company to the test,” Perzia said. “I know a lot of the guys are excited to get out there and do this. That’s why they signed up - they want to do something.”
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2015 16:14 |
| Story ID: | 181336 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 257 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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