Photo By Staff Sgt. LeAnne Withrow | Lt. Col. Todd M. Bookless, the deputy J3 director and Sgt. Maj. Nathan J. Hawker, the...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - They did not have a change of command attended by the who’s who of Joint Task Force Guantanamo. No one jumped off the pier at Ferry Landing wishing them bon voyage. Hopefully, you have not even noticed that they have been replaced at all.
Recently, approximately 50 members of the 42nd Infantry Division, out of New York, departed GTMO and were seamlessly replaced by nearly 60 members of the 38th Infantry Division from Indiana. Neither of these divisions has a sole responsibility for any one directorate within the JTF; they have personnel in almost every shop, forming the backbone of the JTF headquarters.
“Looking back now, after a week and a half on my own, that was probably the most professional (relief in place) I’ve ever been through,” said Army Sgt. Maj. John W. Folbrecht, the J3 operations sergeant major, who took over for outgoing Army Sgt. Maj. Nathan J. Hawker. “From my vantage point, I can’t say enough about what the 42nd did to set us up to take over from them.”
The planning and preparation set in motion by the 42nd ID immediately came into play with the incoming J3 section, as they were called to action within days of arriving on the island.
“We just concluded a very intense time period of (operations),” said Army Col. Adolphus Weems, the J3 operations director for the JTF. “From what we know it’s the most concentrated number of detainee operations that we have done under the current president. They immediately picked up the ball and moved it forward in order to execute the mission assigned to the JTF.”
Weems was referring to the spate of detainees moved off the island over the last few weeks.
“They immediately picked up the ball and moved it forward in order to execute the missions assigned to the JTF,” said Weems. “I couldn’t be more excited for them.”
The new Joint Visitors Bureau staff also had a baptism by fire, during their first weekend as they escorted upwards of 50 senior command sergeants major, who are going through the National Defense University’s Keystone Course, in preparation for future senior level assignments at joint task forces.
Army Staff Sgt. Brian Schafer, the JVB noncommissioned officer-in-charge, said he initially thought controlling such a large group of senior enlisted staff would be very challenging; but with the help of Army Sgt. 1st Class Frank Vazquez, the previous JVB NCOIC and member of the 42nd ID, things went smoothly and Schafer said the day was a rewarding experience.
Schafer said the JVB has the opportunity to do interesting things and meet people most service members would not ordinarily get to meet. He looks forward to an exciting deployment, filled with hard work and exciting extracurricular activities.
“We had a ton of extracurricular activities that kept us well occupied and out of trouble,” said Army Cpt. Charles J. Sanders, the former J3 future operation officer, who completed the 30-kilometer Norwegian Foot March in September, logged numerous scuba dives and coordinated multiple beach cleanup activities.
Aside from working hard and exploring the island, everyone had advice for members of the new unit, as much is expected of them going forward.
“Primarily, I want them to be able to facilitate the coordination of resources and requirements and missions on behalf of the JTF commander,” said Weems about the new J3 staff, who also had specific advice for them. “My goal is to make sure that they are operating at a high level of efficiency. The J3 shop is prepared to transition without any hiccups between me and the incoming J3 (director), this summer, and the goal is for everything to be seamless.”
In order to achieve this goal and accomplish the other challenging tasks that are sure to arise, Sanders had some very clear advice for all new member of the JTF.
“Work long hours when necessary. Ask a lot of questions,” said Sanders. “If you are going to do this mission you have to be willing to take risks and work hard.”
This advice may come in handy as the new team looks ahead to future missions.
Weems said the new unit will have several opportunities to show off their skills as the members of the J3 operations staff work on updating the destructive weather plan, providing support for the commissions, support detainee movement operations and respond to the directives from both U.S. Southern Command and the JTF commander.
As the senior enlisted leader of the new division staff, Folbrecht was briefed on some of the pitfalls troopers can get ensnared in while here.
“Coming from combat arms, we always say that boredom is the root of all evil,” said Folbrecht. “Broaden your education, have fun and meet new people.”
He encourages his Soldiers to use their free time constructively with Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities such as diving, softball, or work on knocking out the Army’s Structured Self Development training modules. He also said leadership involvement with their troopers is key to ensuring the successful execution of the mission over the next nine months.
| Date Taken: | 01.29.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2016 10:42 |
| Story ID: | 190619 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Seamless: 42nd ID’S handoff to 38th, by SFC Ann Marie Slosser, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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