Photo By Jon Connor | Garry Carter, a Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Unmanned Aircraft Systems...... read more read more
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ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – There’s dedication and then there’s dedication.
One such person who works for the U.S. Army Sustainment Command who goes above and beyond the call of duty is Garry Carter. He first started serving his country 54 years ago.
Carter joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1970 and was immediately put in a “through ticket” drill sergeant program to go directly to basic training, 11B (Infantry) advance training, Professional Leadership Development Course, followed by Drill Sergeant School and graduated as an E-5 drill sergeant.
Then-Drill Sgt. Carter rose through ranks to command sergeant major. Highlights from his career include winning Training and Doctrine Command’s Drill Sergeant of the Year, being handpicked to serve general officers, and even serving as the senior enlisted advisor to the U.S. Ambassador with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
In 2011, Carter retired from the active-duty Army after 32 years. Like many veterans, he continued to serve his country as an Army Civilian after hanging up his uniform.
Since shortly after his retirement, 2011, Carter has worked for LOGCAP/ASC as a federal employee.
Now, Carter works as an unmanned aircraft manager and serves as a Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Army Corps of Engineer officer within the LOGCAP directorate.
This directorate is one of three under the Acquisition Integration and Management Center at ASC. LOGCAP is the Army’s premier capability to support global contingencies mainly through a contracted workforce.
ASC’s mission is to deliver logistical capabilities and enablers at the operational and tactical points of need around the world allowing Soldiers and other military personnel to operate and succeed in their missions whether are military exercises, operations, warfare, or humanitarian assistance.
Whether it’s cooked meals with a variety of beverages and desserts, decent living accommodations in the middle of nowhere, or being able to get a hot shower daily, LOGCAP and Carter provide such amenities that meet the necessities so personnel can focus on doing their missions.
It was during a deployment as a Soldier to Iraq during combat operations that Carter grasped the full benefits of LOGCAP.
“Every time I rolled outside the wire into the direct combat areas, I looked in the eyes of my Soldiers to see if they were attentive to details, eyes were clear, had gotten a good night’s rest in the desert heat in contractor-provided billeting, two-plus hot meals in a LOGCAP-provided dining facility, clean uniforms, and were able to communicate with their families back home regularly and had a place to work off the stress and tension of being in a war zone at a LOGCAP-provided contracted Morale, Welfare and Recreation [site]. There were always fuel for our vehicles and the maintenance to sustain our operational requirements,” Carter explained.
Carter said he needed every Soldier’s 100% focus on securing their 180-degrees surveillance perimeter during convoy movements and protecting people during combat operations to ensure the mission was successful and personnel would return home after deployment to their loved ones alive and healthy.
Carter has worn many hats as a Civilian with LOGCAP – director, Quality Assurance Directorate; deputy program director-Afghanistan; deputy program director-Africa Command; and Northern Command-Southern Command planner, to name a few. The LOGCAP UAS aviation manager is a relatively new position as AIM started this late last year.
With 50 years as a fixed wing pilot and with experience using drones to support land management on his Texas ranch, it was logical to have Carter lead this new initiative in ASC to find suitable locations for base camps in very short time in far-flung locations.
Afterall, he has performed site assessments in both in the U.S. and overseas for 20 years at over 300 locations, and is usually the first person on the ground for LOGCAP to assess the real estate to support construction of basecamps under the LOGCAP.
“The UAS provides a bird’s eye view of the site which is usually covered in foliage and low/high areas or not always visible,” he explained. “Additionally, the UAS will provide a better picture of the various phases of construction to include -- as built -- to be utilized by contracting for compliance and for training LOGCAP professionals.”
The LOGCAP Expeditionary Standardization initiative began in late 2022 with USACE to bring the program in line with doctrine and regulatory requirements. Carter is collaborating with the USACE’s Army Facility Components System team to develop 20 standardized base construction projects and three base camp complexes for future operations.
Colleague Brian Almonrode, director of Operations, LOGCAP, praised Carter for his expertise and sacrifices.
These sacrifices include spending several years away from his family serving in temporary duty assignments in Afghanistan, in Africa, hurricane recovery operations in Puerto Rico, New York and New Jersey in support of COVID hospital construction, and Ukraine assistance in Poland and Romania.
“Garry is what we refer to as someone that runs to the sound of the guns. He’s the quick reaction force of AIM. If there’s a need anywhere, Garry is likely already on the way there,” Almonrode said.
He added that Carter’s “encyclopedic knowledge of contingency basing and construction” is invaluable.
“Given the complex nature of contingency and military construction, Garry has practically all of the regulations and requirements to quickly build safe, secure base camps anywhere in the world. He’s worked on dozens of projects from Afghanistan to Iraq to Poland,” Almonrode said.
“Most of my deployments are high OPTEMPO (operations tempo) and requires 100-plus hours, seven-day weeks,” Carter pointed out. “During my career prior to mobilizing in 2003 I owned, partnered and managed multiple for profit companies at the same time, in addition to 120 to 160 days of duty a year as a reservist.”
For Carter, he was born to serve his country. Although retirement looms in the future, Carter is too busy with work to give it much thought.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2024 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 481838 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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