Human resource leaders, Soldiers come together at Bragg for training

1st Theater Sustainment Command
Story by Staff Sgt. Josephine Pride

Date: 05.22.2014
Posted: 06.03.2014 10:47
News ID: 131914
Human resource leaders, Soldiers come together at Bragg for training

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Soldiers from as far as Fort Hood, Texas, joined their human resource counterparts for a personnel training exercise May 13 to 22 at the Mission Training Complex here.

Hosted by the 14th Human Resource Sustainment Center, 1st Sustainment Command (Theater), the exercise challenged the knowledge of participants and enhanced their capability to execute their HR deployed and garrison functions, said Col. Ralph E. Williams, Director, 14th HRSC.

Soldiers from 14th HRSC, 82nd Sustainment Brigade’s 18th Human Resource Company, and Fort Hood-based 502nd Human Resource Company, 4th Sustainment Brigade, learned new skills and received refresher training on basic personnel management functions. While deployed, the Soldiers will work together and assume responsibility for personnel accountability and strength reporting, casualty operations, postal operations, and reception staging, and onward movement tracking and analysis.

Pfc. Jennie N. Armstrong, Human Resource Specialist, 14th HRSC, said the exercise was a welcomed change from previous training she and her fellow Soldiers had previously received and she felt better prepared for what to expect during deployments.

From shift changes to working on the systems creating casualty and personnel reports, the training was an opportunity for the group to validate and build on what they already know and identify areas open for improvement.

For Armstong and many other Soldiers, the training was their first opportunity since joining the Army to learn and practice their job in an operational environment.

“It was a lot of information for me because I have never been deployed. Knowing the things I now know will give me a heads up. I learned so much that I can now take back with me to pass on to my platoon,” said Cpl. Sequoia E. Winfield, Postal Specialist, 502nd HRC, 4th SB.

The hands-on, realistic HR training was also an opportunity for the HR Soldiers to learn from senior noncommissioned officers and officers in their field. Instructors from 1st TSC’s G3 and Support Operations Office, Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, Joint Military Postal Activity in Chicago, Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Inter-Service Postal Training Activity at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and 138th Theater Gateway from Indianapolis, shared valuable lessons learned and best practices.

For the trainees and instructors, the exercise was an opportunity to network and meet fellow HR professions in the field.

“I learned a lot about building relationships and having the relationship with the other sections. We need that to be able to maneuver … The training really opened my eyes to a lot of things,” said Pfc. Keya N. Artis, Human Resource Specialist, 14th HRSC. “I actually didn’t think it would be this fun - I enjoyed coming every day.”

(The 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) provides command and control of Army deployment and sustainment operations conducted in support of joint and multinational operations across the range of military operations. With its headquarters at Fort Bragg, the 1st TSC provides and manages sustainment operations at bases in Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Afghanistan. For more information go to: http://www.bragg.army.mil/1stTSC/Pages/default.aspx, or visit us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/1stTheaterSustainmentCommand )