FORT EUSTIS, Va. - Lt. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, deputy commanding general, and chief of staff, Forces Command spent Oct. 19 with leaders of the 7th Sustainment Brigade (Provisional), Fort Eustis, Va., to discuss an Army hot topic: how to decrease the number of soldiers deemed medically unfit to deploy.
Bromberg and representatives of Medical Command met with Col. Steve Cherry, the brigade’s provisional commander, and key leaders to discuss the unit’s number of medically non-deployable soldiers, and to provide guidance on how to rectify the situation.
“Having the opportunity to meet with Lt. Gen. Bromberg today to discuss the challenges of properly caring for our MND soldiers proved invaluable,” said Lt. Col. Marc Spencer, deputy commanding officer, 7th Sust. Bde. (Provisional). “Hearing first-hand about the challenges and possible solutions based on his observations from across FORSCOM gives us a new perspective,” he said. “We can move forward with vigor, employing some of the best practices shared by Lt. Gen. Bromberg.”
Insight from a medical point of view was provided by Col. Michael Hershman, and Lt. Col. George Goodwin, of MEDCOM.
“We were pleased that we could discuss this critical issue side-by-side with our MEDCOM counterparts,” said Spencer. “In doing so, we were able to examine our challenges from both the patients’ and providers’ points of view; bringing balance to the discussions, and assuring Lt. Gen. Bromberg of our shared sense of purpose.”
In an article published Oct. 11 on the Army’s Website, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, who recently led a discussion panel of senior medical officials at the 2011 Association of the United States Army Institute for Land Warfare annual meeting and exposition in Washington D.C., is quoted as saying, “Every soldier that’s added to the pool of medically non-ready soldiers taps into the availability of soldiers to deploy and be part of the force, and this has begun to erode the readiness of the Army as a whole,” he said. “It’s an issue the leadership of the Army has identified as a major problem for us, and turned to us and the personnel community, and all commanders in the force to come up with a solution.”
A key component of the brigade’s strategy to combat the MND issue is to focus on those difficult cases that require an above-average amount of interest to settle.
“Leader’s will actively address those MND cases which require more attention,” said Spencer. “This attention will assist in resolving the needs of the soldier while at the same time improving the brigade’s mission readiness.”
After the MND meeting Bromberg met with battalion commanders and command sergeants major for a working lunch to address soldier issues unique to FORSCOM.
The 7th Sust. Bde. provides logistical support anywhere, at any time, in any environment. Elements of the brigade’s six battalions and their companies are deployed at any given time supporting a number of global missions to include Kuwait, U.S. Army South, Iraq and Afghanistan.
| Date Taken: | 10.19.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2011 11:20 |
| Story ID: | 79383 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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