Photo By Maj. Long Pham | The 1st Mission Support Command hosted a special celebration here on Fort Buchanan,...... read more read more
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FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico - The 1st Mission Support Command hosted a special celebration at the Community Club on Fort Buchanan, February 3, 2018.
The purpose of the event was to "Honor the Garita Warrior Spirit." Brig. Gen. Dustin A. Shultz, commander of the 1st MSC, took time to reflect on the accomplishments of the command and to celebrate not only the beginning of a new chapter for the 1st MSC, but for all U.S. Army Reserve forces stationed in the Caribbean.
“Last year we were tested on our resiliency and we surpassed all expectations out there,” said Shultz. “I would ask Soldiers how they were doing and they would say they were great. I had to ask them how they were great despite not having power or water.”
The Soldiers responded that they were great because their families were safe, they had a roof over their head, and their families were together.
During her speech, Shultz highlighted the different work America’s Army Reserve Soldiers did while on mission assignment. The process started when the 1st MSC had to mobilize and demobilize themselves.
On regular deployments, Army Reserve Soldiers would depart their home stations to a mobilization site, complete any required training and continue on to their assignments. However, during hurricane relief efforts, the 1st MSC handled all of these functions.
For the first time, the Army Reserve was mobilized past the normal 72 hours of Immediate Response Authority for Defense Support of Civil Authorities and each unit contributed greatly to the overall success of the command.
“The 448th Engineer Battalion cleared over a 125 miles of road,” said Shultz. “The 49th Multifunctional Medial Battalion (MMB) saw more patients than the USS Comfort.”
“Our transporters, logisticians and quartermasters moved fuel to hospitals, clinics and Reserve Centers, food and water to many different municipalities, provided shower and laundry services, and purified hundreds of thousands of gallons of water for local citizens,” continued Shultz.
She also emphasized how important families were to mission success. “Our families are our strength and we could not have accomplished what we have over the last year without their unwavering support,” said Shultz.
As a result of the outstanding accomplishments during the course of hurricane relief efforts, all Army Reserve units located within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will transition under the 1st MSC to become VIPR (Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) Command beginning October 1, 2018.
It will be another historic event in an already history-making year for the 1st MSC.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2018 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 264889 |
| Location: | PR |
| Web Views: | 200 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Celebrating the Garita Warrior Spirit, by LTC Ruth Castro, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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