Photo By Spc. Armani Wilson | Iowa Army National Guard High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) convoy...... read more read more
Military Logistics: Building Combat Power
June 9, 2025
Fort Johnson, Louisiana
Maj. Samuel Rollins
The main task of the 734th Regional Support Group (RSG) is to operate as the logistical backbone of the Iowa Army National Guard, during Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) rotation 25-08 at Fort Johnson, Louisiana. The 734th RSG provided oversight and accountability of Soldiers on the ground, coordinated rail and freight transport of military vehicles, barracks, food service and support of a medical aid station for possible real-world injuries and treatment during the exercise.
Col. Tony Smithhart, commander of the 734th RSG said, “The key mission for the 734th RSG is to build combat power for forces to flow into an assigned mission. In order to do that, we really need to manage all aspects of their personnel and equipment arrival. In this instance, we've received about 6,000 soldiers for the exercise and over 2,500 pieces of equipment that have been pre-planned, transported and moved into staging yards for the forces that are deploying to the exercise to be ready to do their mission.”
Building combat power requires synchronization and planning across multiple lines of effort and begins with selecting the right leaders in each of these distinct functional and simultaneously operating logistics nodes. OICs and NCOICs with relevant experience and leadership ability to safely and effectively manage the work in those logistical centers are a critical piece to a successful execution. These front-line leaders need to be able to keep their Soldiers motivated, organized, safe and productive.
“The leaders assigned to manage those logistics nodes are experts in their respective areas, and have taken ownership of those nodes,” said Smithhart. “To this point, the 734th RSG has successfully prepared the 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry Division to move into their training rotation with the maximum amount of combat power possible.”
The 734th RSG began its planning process 18 months prior to the start of the exercise. Intent from higher was received, the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) was initiated, the exercise Operations Order was painstakingly reviewed and dissected. Every fact, assumption and requests for information was noted and reviewed with senior leadership. This is all done in order to develop a comprehensive operating picture and shared understanding that drives the rest of the planning process.
“Synchronization, planning and rehearsals are all crucial to a successful execution,” said Smithhart.“The critical planning steps that we put into building this rotation were very deliberate in nature. It's taken months of planning and rehearsals. It's taken many people becoming fully invested in making this successful. In order to make that all happen, we built the framework for the support of this rotation to make 2nd Brigade 34th Infantry Division successful.”
Training of this size and scope is conducted at the JRTC at Fort Johnson, LA for several reasons. The training area is large and spread out, suitable for large scale movements and maneuvers in the field. The base area itself can house more than 7,000 Soldiers, space needed for arrival, staging and preparation. There are multiple logistical access points facilitating multiple methods of equipment delivery, effectively reducing the amount of traffic and throughput on highways. Finally, the terrain and weather is challenging to operate in.
“The scale of this operation is critical to the development of our soldiers,” said Smithhart. “Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) change sustainment operations sheerly in the magnitude of what occurs. When you're talking about LSCO, you're talking about large numbers of Soldiers and equipment. A JRTC rotation is a great way to test not just the second Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, but also the 734th RSG, who typically is a corps level asset that is designed to support anywhere between 20,000 and 35,000 Soldiers.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2025 16:54 |
| Story ID: | 500122 |
| Location: | ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA, US |
| Hometown: | JOHNSTON, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Logistical Readiness, Building Combat Power, by MAJ Samuel Rollins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
