NORTH FORT HOOD, Texas -- Thirty miles north of the famed Fort Hood military reservation, just outside the town of Gatesville, lies North Fort Hood, home to the little-known 4th Battalion, 393rd Infantry Regiment.
Located at one of only two Mobilization Training Centers in the United States, Soldiers of the 4-393rd, under the direction of the 120th Multifunctional Training Brigade and its higher headquarters, First Army Division West, serve as the sole observer coach/trainers for all mobilized Army Reserve and Army National Guard medical formations.
"The 120th MFTB's mission is to validate USAR/ARNG force capability to execute operations in support of United States Army Forces Command-approved and combatant commander-defined mission requirements," said Lt. Col. Mike Franco, commander of the 4-393rd.
The 4-393rd is also charged with partnering with reserve-component medical units before they arrive at North Fort Hood for training, Franco added.
"We build the training audience's readiness during premobilization touch points and events, followed by a validation of the unit's readiness to conduct their deployed mission during a postmobilization [Mission Readiness Exercise]," Franco said.
The battalion trains and validates medical units that span the spectrum from Veterinary and Blood Detachments to Forward Surgical Teams and Echelons Above Brigade Combat Support Hospitals. But they're not limited to Reserve and National Guard formations.
"We also train active-component medical formations," said Maj. Joseph W. Walker, the 4-393rd executive officer. "[Active-component] units frequently seek us out to help them prepare for deployments, as well. The process is pretty much the same for both AC and RC, so it makes sense."
As the last stop before deploying in support of contingency operations to areas such as Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, the 4-393rd's primary focus is on evaluating deploying units' duties, roles, responsibilities, systems, processes and staff synchronizations.
"Providers train at designated trauma locations throughout the United States, but the technicians, nurses and medics need that training, too," said Maj. Christopher Carpenter, training and operations officer for the 4-393rd.
"They need to know what works best under fire, so that's what we do. We stress them where they need it and give them the chance to make their mistakes here, before they get downrange where lives are on the line," Carpenter said. "We give them the chance to see what works and what doesn't and to make those adjustments before they get in theater."
Whether active- or reserve-component, the training audience seems to agree that the training is well worth the trip and the sometimes oppressive heat of Central Texas.
"It has given us the hands-on experience and the confidence we need to help treat patients better when we get hands-on downrange," said Sgt. Brian Johnson, a medic assigned to the 710th Area Support Medical Company, Illinois Army National Guard.
"If the providers have that confidence, it gives the patient the confidence and trust and provides a better outcome for the patient," Johnson added.
Maj. Alhaja Giwasalana, commander of the 710th ASMC, said the unit's time training with the 4-393rd will help minimize the initial "shock" they may experience when they get to theater.
"The training was spot-on and just what we needed," Giwasalana said. "A lot of the scenarios we were given are the same thing we will see in theater, so it really helped prepare us.
"A lot of the training we see is one weekend a month, so to come here and do it every day adds to muscle memory and prepares us for what we will be doing downrange."
Whether they're training active- or reserve-component units, OC/Ts of the 4-393rd take their task very seriously and strive to do the best job they can to see units succeed, Franco said.
"We are a means to an end, and that end is that the deploying command team has the ability to visualize their unit and identify and resolve gaps prior to deploying."
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2016 15:40 |
| Story ID: | 213865 |
| Location: | NORTH FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Division West medical battalion is sole trainer for deploying Guard, Reserve units, by Thomas Wheeler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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