316th ESC Company Commander Creates Collective Training Event in the Wake of COVID-19

Photo By Maj. Marvin Baker | As an Army officer, you need to adapt to your changing environment and do what is best for your Soldiers. Since March of this year, First Lt. Kaitlyn Gorgone of the 14th Quartermaster Company, 316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), displayed a tremendous amount of patience despite beginning her company command in March of this year.  

CONEMAUGH, PA, UNITED STATES

12.04.2020

Story by Officer Candidate Evia Nelson 

316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

When COVID-19 led our country to declare a national emergency this summer, it forever changed our lives. Special events have been postponed, vacations have been canceled, and even traveling has been partially banned. Everyone must cope with the change—especially military officers whose troops look to them for stability and leadership. As an Army officer, you need to adapt to your changing environment and do what is best for your Soldiers. Since March of this year, First Lt. Kaitlyn Gorgone of the 14th Quartermaster Company, 316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), displayed a tremendous amount of patience despite beginning her company command in March of this year.

Every year, Army Reserve units must complete collective and individual training to maintain and improve the skills they need to perform well during a contingency operation. U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers usually get this training in a collective multi-echelon and large-scale exercise. The 316th ESC scheduled the 14th Quartermaster Company to support Guardian Response in Muscatatuck, Indiana. Guardian Response is an annual combined Command Post Exercise and Field Training Exercise that validates an Army unit's ability to support Defense Support of Civil Authorities operations in the event of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear catastrophe. The 14th Quartermaster Company is a water purification unit whose mission is to decontaminate water used to sustain Soldiers and American citizens' lives in the instance of a disaster. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the company was unable to go to Indiana. That left Gorgone in a situation where she had to find an alternative way to train her Soldiers. Acting swiftly, Gorgone reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers at Conemaugh River Lake and found a new site for her company's annual training.

"We had to come up with a quick alternative Annual Training plan in place of what we were supposed to be doing because we still have to do our mission." With teamwork and some quick thinking, the company successfully trained their soldiers for the upcoming year by collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

First Lt. Gorgone's initiative is not out of the ordinary in the Army Reserve—it is the norm. What makes her training plan unique is how she developed it despite her limitations due to the COVID pandemic. The Army Reserve trains junior leaders like Gorgone and expects them to show the kind of resourcefulness she marshaled to get her mission done.
Gorgone said it could be a very daunting task to lead a company of nearly 200 Soldiers. Remembering that you are always a part of a team can help you to fulfill your duties.

"Being the commander of a unit always has its challenges,” she suggested. Gorgone also suggested new leaders should get good advice and work towards a defined goal. While some try to ignore a challenge, leaders like Gorgone face them and develop ways to overcome them.
"I could not have done it all alone. The credit goes to the amazing help and support of the troops in the unit," she concluded.

• Date Taken: 12.04.2020
• Date Posted: 12.04.2020 10:40
• Story ID: 384208
• Location: CONEMAUGH, PA, US