Photo By Maj. Chase Spears | Commander of the 76th Operational Response Command Brig. Gen. Doug Cherry and Command...... read more read more
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas – The final members of the Mission Command Training Program’s (MCTP) support team for U.S. Army North’s COVID response mission are returning to Fort Leavenworth. Approximately 100 leaders from MCTP served in mission planning staffs around the nation as part of U.S. Army North’s COVID-19 response, in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local governments.
MCTP’s forces usually mentor and coach brigade, division and corps staffs on how to plan for combat operations. “This [mission] differed in that it was not a planned exercise focused on improving staff proficiency,” said Chief of Operations Group Alpha, Col. Bob Molinari. “This mission was a real-world operation where MCTP leaders were participants vice observer, controllers, and trainers.”
As part of MCTP’s support to U.S. Army North, the Fort Leavenworth-based training advisors bolstered COVID response task force planning staffs around the nation to help manage the staging of medical and mortuary care assets in population centers that were expected to suffer high rates of pandemic effects. According to Lt. Col. Nancy Harris, a signals training advisor from Operations Group Bravo, this homeland deployment was like a capstone on her time spent advising Army units at warfighter exercises, as she prepares for her next assignment at the Pentagon.
Operations Group Alpha worked with Joint Task Force Civil Support from Fort Eustis, Va. to enable Title 10 medical support to New England, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission planners assisted with prioritizing control of medical and mortuary affairs units in New York and New Jersey, due to the high number of COVID cases in both states, said Molinari.
A team from Operations Group Sierra integrated into the 377th Theater Sustainment Command’s “Task Force Theater Sustainment Command” (TSC) in New Orleans, which was responsible for logistical support to federal virus response efforts nationwide.
Operations Group Delta deployed a team to Fort Douglass near Salt Lake City as part of the 76th Operational Response Command’s Task Force 76 headquarters.
In Battle Creek, Mich, training advisors from Operations Group Charlie integrated into the 46th Military Police Command’s “Task Force Center,” which was responsible for supporting virus response efforts across 15 states in the central US, from Mich. to Texas. According to Lt. Col. John Wanja, a civil-military planner with Operations Group Charlie and future battalion commander of 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, this 20-member team of advisors set up a civil-military operations planning cell to support medical service locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, La., and Detroit.
A team from Fort Leavenworth that included leaders from MCTP’s Operations Group Bravo, the Center for Army Lessons Learned, and the Center for Army Doctrine traveled to Joint Base San Antonio to support the U.S. Army North Staff’s Joint Forces Land Component Command (JFLCC) as part of the Army’s national efforts to support FEMA and local authorities. These leaders were spread across the JFLCC to bolster planning and analysis capabilities of the office of Chief of Staff, Command Action Group, J1 (personnel), J3 (operations) and J5 (civil-military relations). MCTP personnel ensured that the commanders of U.S. Army North and U.S. Northern Command had access to real-time information from medical workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, and predictive analysis to inform priorities of support across the nation.
For some of these soldiers who are accustomed to operating overseas, the mission to support a homeland emergency brought a unique sense of personal urgency. Harris noted it was reassuring to see the level of medical support being put into the New York area, given that she has family in the region. Maj. Anthony Marquez, a training advisor from Operations Group Alpha, provided analysis on COVID expansion modeling in FEMA Region 1 (New England), which is where his wife and children are currently living. “I’m very proud of the dedication and selfless service of the 20 leaders that assisted in the COVID-19 response with the great support of their families to handle the stress of the pandemic unknown and stay at home restrictions,” said Molinari of his team members.
As with combat deployments, this mission to enable medical support across the nation came with personal sacrifice. Lt. Col. Ian Ginty, a training advisor with Operations Group Charlie and future commander of 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry, had planned a promotion celebration at Fort Leavenworth, which had to be conducted as a less formal event while he served as the G3/5 officer for Task Force Center in Battle Creek.
This mission carried strategic importance. However, according to Harris, the in-depth tactical-level experience of MCTP’s training advisors played a meaningful role in this mission. Team members brought knowledge from the tactical level to provide feedback on decisions with potentially national implications, said Harris. “Knowing what they had to do at the tactical level helped to guide processes at the strategic level.”
Most of MCTP’s COVID response teams have returned and are completing a 14-day quarantine period. With this mission nearly complete, leaders across the unit are returning their focus to preparation for the remaining warfighter exercises scheduled for 2020.
Pandemic response is unlike what most military units train for. Harris credits the experience of being a training advisor for helping with the rapid shift of mission and mindset that was required for supporting a high-visibility, national effort. “It was working at MCTP that prepared me for this.”
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2020 12:41 |
| Story ID: | 370834 |
| Location: | LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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