181st Brigade Support Battalion gets back to basics during Annual Training

Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Guard members from the 181st Brigade Support Battalion take part in a medical evacuation and field hospital exercise during their annual training on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. July 20, 2022. Nearly 240 Guard members from the 181st are supporting Officer Candidate School Phase III while also training on field craft and strengthen their MOS skill sets. (U.S. National Guard photo by Joseph Siemandel)  

CAMP MURRAY, WA, UNITED STATES

07.22.2022

Story by Joseph Siemandel  

Joint Force Headquarters - Washington National Guard

The global pandemic, and the number and duration of missions related to the state response, left little time for Washington National Guard units to train on their military occupations.

“Last year we had a lot of soldiers still supporting the state’s COVID mission,” said Lt. Col. Carly Galvan, commander of the 181st Brigade Support Battalion. “This year they are able to come back to the field and get integrated into the mix.”

For annual training, the BSB is supporting the 2nd Battalion, 205th Regimental Training Institute’s Officer Candidate School Phase III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. The unit is providing the medical and logistical support, as well as providing opposing force role players.

“This is a great opportunity to re-establish our field craft, get back to the basics of the squad and platoon level tasks and rebuilding the confidence in our teams so our leaders can learn to lead again,” said Galvan. “Most of them haven’t been to the field in nearly two and a half years.”

For a unit like the BSB, leading at the lowest level is critical to completing its mission, which is to provide logistical and medical support to the units of the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. That often means a junior non-commissioned officer needs to be able to lead their team of soldiers efficiently to complete the mission. Leaders within the lower ranks are also important with the BSB’s secondary mission, providing Forward Support Companies (FSC) to the rest of the battalions in the 81st SBCT.

“We have a pretty unique relationship with the FSC. From a command-and-control element they belong to that battalion, but we have to try to ensure that the training on support and logistics is on track and that we rotate our individuals so they get time here in the battalion and with the FSC,” said Galvan.

In 2021, soldiers with the FSC attached to the 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment deployed to Poland as part of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence – Poland mission. The soldiers provided logistical, maintenance and medical support to Task Force Dark Rifles.

“With the FSC we really do a lot of looking at personnel, identifying who needs leadership time, who needs additional time training and work with the other battalions to ensure we are helping the soldiers,” said Galvan. “There is a lot of talent management between the battalion and the FSCs.”

While the last two years have been busy for the BSB, this annual training was the perfect chance to begin rebuilding and placing a renewed focus on those soldier skills.

“We are doing really cool stuff. This is real life stuff, everyone is having a great time out here. Drivers are driving, mechanics are fixing trucks and medics are helping patients, so everyone is getting a chance to do what they want to do,” said Galvan. “We are rebuilding the team and that is what everyone wanted to do and I am pretty excited about that.”

• Date Taken: 07.22.2022
• Date Posted: 07.22.2022 14:13
• Story ID: 425579
• Location: CAMP MURRAY, WA, US