BAUMHOLDER, Germany – The 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element hosted an after action review for the regionally allocated forces supporting Atlantic Resolve in Baumholder, Germany, Dec. 7-8, 2015.
Participants of the working groups included representatives from the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, U.S. Army Europe headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, 16th Sustainment Brigade, Joint NATO Multinational Corps-Northeast, NATO Force Integration Units and many other organizations. The working groups focused on discussions and idea exchanges to build a standard operating procedure for a reception, staging, onward movement and integration process that transitions personnel and equipment arriving into the European theater supporting Atlantic Resolve.
Maj. Matthew Dawson, executive officer, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said the goal of the working groups was to codify some of the lessons learned from the last RAF rotation in a RSOI SOP to improve RSOI for future brigades so they can use as they arrive into theater.
“It was really good for us to have a conversation when we presented our AAR with representatives of all of the organizations,” Dawson, a native of Milwaukee, said. “I think the other organizations were able to see what areas a brigade struggled in, and they were able to see how they could better support the brigade as it flows into theater and integrates into the [European Command area of responsibility].”
“Even more beneficial in the process is the discussions, the shared understanding developed during the process of making that SOP,” Dawson said. “The cross-talk and the relationship building that occurred during the RSOI working groups is going to be very beneficial to the entire theater.”
“The process in itself is a learning experience because putting together an SOP requires talking to a lot of people and gathering the right inputs,” Maj. Jared Britz, 4ID MCE chief of operations said. “This SOP is a mechanism to create a better understanding of what it takes to bring a unit into Atlantic Resolve. This SOP has furthered the conversation throughout Europe with all the key stake holders on the best way to work with regionally allocated forces coming into Europe.”
“The end-state of all this is a hardcopy SOP,” Britz, a native of Harrisonville, Missouri, said. “When the next unit comes over and conducts Atlantic Resolve we are going to their home station with this SOP in hand and provide it to them as a way to enable planning for a more effective process.”
NATO allies from Germany, Poland and Czech Republic also attended the working groups.
Polish Col. Jaroslav Jiru, assistant chief of staff, Joint Logistical Support Group, Core Staff Element, said the meeting and working groups were a great way to share information to compare roles and tasks.
“For us it was an opportunity to share common understanding about assurance measures with the U.S. Army and NATO forces in the northeast part of Europe and together we share responsibilities,” Jiru said. “We exchanged information about the NATO Force Integration Unit and how we will host supporting [foreign] nation units. We will work together [in the future] and share information to de-conflict our tasks.”
The nearly 100 Soldiers who make up the MCE serve as an intermediate headquarters for U.S. Army Europe under the Army's Regionally Allocated Forces concept. The 4ID, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado, is the first division-level headquarters to deploy to Europe as part of the RAF concept.