AMMAN, Jordan (Sep. 18, 2017) - The 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC), Mobile Training Team (MTT), met with Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) leaders at the Royal Jordanian Supply and Transportation School in Amman, Jordan for a two-week culminating exercise, which ended Sep. 21, 2017.
This is the final phase of the training that focused on logistical sustainment operations. The intent of the course is aimed at strengthening U.S and Jordanian military-to-military strategic partnership through logistics training and building a shared understanding of how the U.S. Army provides the essential supplies, personnel, and equipment readiness to sustain the warfighter in the U.S. Army Central Command.
“The U.S. and Jordanian friendship has been around for a long time,” said the school commandant, a colonel with the JAF. “This course not only helped build on that relationship but also allowed us to exchange skills improving knowledge of the sustainment field on both sides.”
The recently completed Phase III portion of the training is taught in a classroom environment by a team of U.S. Army logisticians who each specialize in specific fields of U.S. Army logistics.
Whenever the U.S. works with another country it's important to understand how that country performs their operations, explained Lt. Col. Timothy Reed, the Theater Security Cooperation Program Chief with the 1st TSC. This way both countries can plan accordingly and work more efficiently.
“It’s very important to our people to build interoperability,” said the Joint Training Center’s chief of collective training, a colonel with the JAF. “We believe the future lies in joint operations and the better we know each other and how we operate the better off we’ll be.”
Phase III was successful in meeting its goals said the school commandant; the soldiers involved had good interactions with the instructors and there was noticeable improvement.
In Phase III the participants executed a proof of principle exercise under observation of instructors and the school commandant. The staff planners implemented the tasks necessary to maintain sustainment operations in response to carefully chosen obstacles and problem sets commanders may face during field operations.
“We learned many things about planning and logistics and gained many advantages. Training is always good but I believe the practical exercises really helped improve our skillset,” said a JAF MTT student, a colonel and a supply and transport battalion commander.
The instructors for the exercise are from the 1st TSC, an active duty unit from Fort Knox, Ky., as well as the 135th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), a U.S. Army National Guard unit from Birmingham, Al.
“Phase III of the JAF MTT was perfect; it covered all the areas of sustainment,” said a JAF MTT student, a captain in the mechanical royal maintenance force. “Failure to understand logistics and sustainment can have catastrophic effects on operations. As officers, the better we’re trained the better our armies will perform.”
Participating in this phase of the training were JAF officers who received direct instruction on the principles of Army logistics.
“We’re glad the U.S. conducted this training," said the chief of collective training. “The U.S. Army is a worldwide force whereas the JAF is regional so there are key differences in how we operate at the logistics level. However, despite the differences there are similarities and the best way for all of us to learn is to work and train with each other.”