Training opportunities highlighted during First Army conference

Photo By Warren Marlow | Col. Timothy Sulzner, First Army chief of training, addresses the outlying stations during the virtual First Army Training Support and Synchronization Working Group in First Army headquarters on Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.  

UNITED STATES

09.04.2020

Story by Warren Marlow 

First Army

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. - The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated that First Army holds its biannual Training Support and Synchronization Working Group virtually from Sept. 1-3. But while the surroundings were different, the focus remained the same: Highlighting crucial training opportunities for Reserve Component units and the assistance First Army can offer them.

While the information was presented through Video Teleconferences and Microsoft Teams rather than in person and in breakout rooms, participants still worked to set Army National Guard and Army Reserve units up for success, regardless of their place in the training and deployment cycles.

Col. Timothy Sulzner, First Army chief of training, told participants, “Over the next couple of days we’re going to develop a shared consciousness across First Army teams and with our partners to build readiness and identify support requirements. We are trying to nail down these partnered events at the collective level.”

Further, the TSSWG synchronized training support resources needed to maintain readiness for the next two fiscal years, while also looking several more years down the road.

“We’re going to review 2021, forecast 2022, de-conflict 2023 and plan 2024 and 2025,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas James Jr., First Army commanding general. “We need to get our headlights out and anticipate concerns so that we can manage them appropriately and protect those who are at the point of contact.”

He highlighted the important role First Army and its partnered units play in having trained and ready units ready to deploy and win.

“We are in a mobilization and readiness generating arena and we are fighting against time and aligning resources to achieve mobilization and readiness objectives,” James said. “We have to build these relationships and get the planning done and objectives identified. Higher headquarters exist to prioritize, to resource, and to empower supported units to be able to get after it, and this is what the TSSWG does.”

And doing it virtually represents another instance of First Army carrying on with its mission despite a pandemic.

“We never stopped collective training when COVID hit,” James said. “We had active MFGIs that never stopped. We had to figure out cohort control monitoring on the move. We protected the formation and the integrity of units so that they would be available and ready to deploy across the world.”

The TSSWG built on Army Total Force Policy, which ensures that members and units in all components are trained and held to the same standard.
One way this is achieved is through integrated training at the tactical level, which the TSSWG also helps to facilitate. Units go through a multi-year training cycle and the TSSWG helps ensure that cycle is successfully completed. The TSSWG is about finding the best fit and laying the groundwork for success.

Rick Fink, First Army G3/5/7 deputy, explained, “Both our divisions are here and all our brigades, are so is the Reserve Component. A unit will say, ‘Here’s the schedules and here’s what I’ve got, will any of this line up with what you need or help you achieve your readiness goals?’ The focus is on improving the readiness of the Reserve Component.”

• Date Taken: 09.04.2020
• Date Posted: 11.06.2020 15:47
• Story ID: 377497
• Location: US