Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Widemond | Sgt. 1st Class Agaiotupu Tuiolemotu and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Diaz ensure they are...... read more read more
FORT STEWART, Ga. – The Army is in transition to meet the needs of our nation. As part of the change, the 188th Infantry Brigade partners with Reserve and National Guard leadership to advise, assist, and train their formations during post- and pre-mobilization through multi-component integrated collective training. The focus is making sure reserve components are ready for the next contingency by shifting focus to pre-mobilization training.
“The post-mobilization training mission requirements have decreased, and we are re-organizing to better meet the training objectives of our reserve component partners in the upcoming years,” explained Maj. Jason Zdunich, 188th’s plans officer.
“We are getting a BEB and a BSB as well as other units to make us more combat effective and gives us more capability in the upcoming fiscal year so we don’t always have to reach back to the same formations to provide O-C/T capabilities.”
The Brigade Engineer Battalion and the Brigade Support Battalion are just two of the new units that will fall under the Battle Ready Brigade. Currently, the unit relies heavily it’s the infantry and field artillery battalions to provide observer-coach/trainer support to the training units.
The past summer took the brigade to Camp Grayling, Mi., in support of the 197th Field Artillery Battalion; Camp Blanding, Fl., in support of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and their annual training; as well as to Camp Pickett, Va., in support of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. These missions ran parallel with planning and exercise preparation for other training support missions that will occur in 2015.
The intent of the transition, known as Operation Bold Shift, is to better align the brigade with similar task organization to the training units. For example, the new engineer battalion will have O-C/Ts that are trained and knowledgeable on the doctrine needed to assess a reserve and national guard engineersformations.
“We will now have the occupational skill sets in house, allowing us to focus on training at the appropriate echelon,” said Lt. Col. Greg Cannata, commander of the 1-306th Infantry Battalion. His battalion is involved in OBS planning; ensuring that momentum continues and that leaders are managing the transition.
“Our training units will receive a more focused, team approach because we will reduce our requirement to rely on sister Brigades to provide OC/T augmentation to support training events. We will be one team with one focus, with the shared goal of increasing training readiness.”
The execution of Operation Bold Shift will continue for the 188th through fiscal year 2016; once the transition is complete, the multi-component brigade will have eleven total battalions, providing the brigade with a self-sustaining capability.
“As a tenant unit of Fort Stewart, we will become larger. This requires a location change from our current facilities to something large enough to support this growth, which 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart are doing for and with us.”
With all the changes taking place, it is important that something remains constant.
“Our mission remains unchanged – to provide trained and ready forces to our geographic combatant commanders,” said Col. Chris Ramsey, commander of the 188th. He said that the best way to do this is for the O-C/Ts to remain rooted in doctrine and continue to train to a high standard.
“Doctrine is the way we operate,” said Maj. John Williams, executive officer for 2nd Battalion, 306th Field Artillery Regiment.
“We use doctrine as a reference point so that when we train units, we can properly communicate, provide advice that is doctrinally based and enable their leaders to see themselves better and use self-discovery to get better.”
This Army doctrine is provided by way of short publications, offering the O-C/Ts clear, concise, current and easily accessible information that can be shared with anyone. Topics covered include “ADP 3-09 Fires” and “ADP 3-90 Offense and Defense” which are used by the brigade’s field artillery and infantry battalions.
This common foundation allows the brigade to focus on the requirements of Operation Bold Shift.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Tucker, First Army commanding general.
The challenge is not increasing the size of First Army, but re-structuring the personnel assets and managing talent effectively. This is a collaborative effort to make sure Reserve and National Guard units remained trained and ready to deploy in support of the next contingency.
With the transition from combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of deployed forces is reducing, but reserve component forces continue to remain relevant and a critical component of the total Army. The re-structuring and re-alignment of formations enables First Army and the 188th Infantry Brigade to help Reserve and National Guard units remain “Battle Ready."
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2014 11:23 |
| Story ID: | 144999 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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