U.S. Army water treatment specialists from as far away as Florida participated in the inaugural 4th Infantry Division Water Expo July 5-8, 2016, at Haymes Reservoir on Fort Carson.
Sponsored by the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Mountain Post units with water purification and distribution capabilities demonstrated different types of liquid logistics abilities while using the opportunity to train Soldiers.
A Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit Rodeo is typically held annually for water treatment specialists across the Army to train and compete in water treatment skills, said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Byrd, NCO in charge of the expo.
Due to inconsistencies in recent years, Byrd said he wanted to hold a rodeo locally to host a competition and training event.
“So we brought our equipment out to exercise our (military occupational specialty) tasks and skills, improve our proficiency in our jobs and provide some cross-training.”
Made up primarily of water treatment specialists who are responsible for supervising or performing water purification, the event also invited petroleum supply and shower/laundry specialists in order to train them in the use of water purification equipment.
Joining water treatment specialists from the 247th Composite Supply Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, were Soldiers from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; 10th SFG (A); the 4th Inf. Div.’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team and 4th Combat Aviation Brigade; and the 4th Engineer Battalion from Fort Carson.
The expo relied on junior NCOs and lower enlisted Soldiers as the primary instructors and demonstrators which provided an opportunity for additional mentorship, leadership and professional growth.
Junior Soldiers demonstrated equipment and explained to media and leaders how they were able to turn dirty or contaminated reservoir or lake water into drinkable water.
“We’re sharing our knowledge and expertise (with the other units) and hopefully everybody will learn a little bit more then they knew previously,” said Spc. Shredia Tucker-Johnson, water treatment specialist, 247th CSC.
“It’s important because you want to stay sharp with your occupational skills because you never know when you’ll have to deploy. You want to be ready because in a real-life situation you won’t have time to wait to try and figure out your job; they’re depending on you to have water ready,” said Tucker-Johnson.
Equipment on display included a water tank rack, lightweight water purifier, tactical water purification system, water quality analysis sets and a forward area water point supply system.
“I believe that if the younger Soldiers are trained and proficient in their job then they are the ones who will be hands-on with the equipment,” said Byrd.
“We believe our sergeants make strong Soldiers so if our Soldiers can operate and function on their own, then we’ve become an effective team and multiplied our force and our fight,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2016 17:59 |
| Story ID: | 204288 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Water expo improves proficiency, by SGT Benjamin Kullman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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