Air Defense Relief in Place, Transfer of Authority

Photo By Staff Sgt. Johnathan Hoover | Soldiers of Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, welcome the advanced party of Alpha Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th ADA, to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Dec. 14, 2017.  

QATAR

01.21.2018

Courtesy Story

11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade

By 2nd Lt. Jasmine Greinke
A/2-43 ADA Crew Blue Tactical Control Officer

MIDDLE EAST ─ The Soldiers of “Team Ares” Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade executed a seamless relief in place/transfer of authority (RIP/TOA) with Alpha Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th ADA, Dec. 17, 2017- Jan. 8, 2018.
The RIP/TOA is a multifaceted process that requires every Soldier to play a pivotal role in making the passing of the theater-specific mission a success. As part of the RIP process the A/2-43 ADA conducted their end of tour awards ceremony Jan. 6 at their Patriot Site. The ceremony was held to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of each Soldier who successfully defended the critical assets in the PAT Central area of responsibility (AOR).
At the end of the ceremony, Lt. Col. James Kavanaugh, commander of 2-43 ADA, congratulated the Soldiers on their achievements throughout the deployment and RIP/TOA process. He encouraged the Soldiers to finish out the deployment strong and to uphold the level of teamwork and training that has made the unit so prosperous thus far.

One major aspect of the RIP/TOA process is the “right-seat, left-seat” training and observation that both units go through to help adjust the relieving unit to the battlespace.
The redeploying unit begins by having the relieving unit sit in the “right-seat” to observe how daily tasks are accomplished in order to maintain combat readiness and resilient force. Once they have been trained and are ready to take over, the relieving unit will take control with the redeploying unit in the “left-seat.”
1st Sgt. Christopher Barber, first sergeant of A/2-43 ADA, acknowledged the Soldiers of A/2-43 ADA for their discipline initiative and preparedness which set the conditions for a smooth transition between the two outstanding units.
“Soldiers of the Ares Battery worked diligently over the course of last two months building continuity books and training plan to certify A/5-52 AMD crews to assume the PAT Central mission” said Barber.
A/5-52 ADA will take over the mission after the transfer of authority ceremony. Once the transfer of authority ceremony is complete, the relieving unit, A/5-52 ADA, will have sole responsibility of the mission and property in value of $500 million which was transferred during the RIP process.
“To get them proficiently trained, we used theater specific tactics, techniques, and procedures to help acclimate their Air Missile Defense crews to the day-to-day mission here in PAT Central,” said 1st Lt. Michael Davis, the executive officer of A/2-43 ADA.
The two batteries worked together to follow a rigorous crew certification verification training plan to make sure each crew was competent in the theater specific standard. The training paid off heavily as A/5-52 went beyond 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command guidelines for assuming the mission by certifying all three AMD crews prior to the TOA ceremony.
“Our Soldiers are excited to take over this mission and hit the ground running,” said 1st Sgt. Thomas Tucker, first sergeant of A/5-52 ADA.
The advance crew for A/5-52 ADA arrived on Dec. 14, 2017 and has not looked back since. They trained hard for crew certification verifications and assumed “left-seat” operations on Jan. 5, 2018.
They continue to learn daily Patriot site operations and pull 24 hour shifts along with an A/2-43 crew.

• Date Taken: 01.21.2018
• Date Posted: 01.21.2018 02:52
• Story ID: 262694
• Location: QA