Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gen. Leslie Purser Purser, 108th Training Command (IET) commanding general, and...... read more read more
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SANTIAGO, Chile - At the request of the Chilean Army Commander- in-Chief, Gen. Humberto Oviedo, 108th Training Command (IET) leadership traveled to Chile to discuss cooperation building and talk about education, training, and benefits and incentives as it applies to the Army Reserve.
Maj. Gen. Leslie Purser, 108th Training Command (IET) commanding general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas, command sergeant major of the Army Reserve, visited Santiago, Chile, Jan. 11-14, 2015, and met with Oviedo and other Chilean army leadership providing insight and lessons learned on the Army Reserve structure.
“This international engagement gave us an opportunity to showcase our capabilities as well as better understand their needs. Right now Chile doesn’t have a truly structured Reserve component; they have more of a militia type organization.
Individual Reserve Soldiers don’t receive a pay check and they must pay for their own equipment and uniforms. While the United States has three components in the active component Army, Army Reserve and National Guard, Chile only has one of these, it’s active component,” Purser said.
During the trip, Purser and Thomas briefed approximately 150 of the Chilean army leadership on the basics of the Army Reserve in a briefing titled Army Reserve 101. Afterwards the briefing was opened up for discussion from various members of the Chilean staff. The questions covered a wide range of topics from age requirements in the Army Reserve to the role of the Army Career counselor.
“They are looking for best practices in how we established our own Army Reserve. Although they cannot conform to our tactics, techniques and procedures, they are searching for a way to better formally establish their own Reserve force in support of their Army missions. They are primarily a homeland defense force although they do participate with the U.S. Southern Command in joint exercises and have provided assistance to other countries within the Southern Command area of responsibility,” Purser added.
In addition to the briefings and a formal roundtable discussion, Purser and Thomas were afforded the opportunity to tour some of the Reserve facilities and speak with different Soldiers in both the active and reserve components.
Purser said, “I was amazed at their selfless service and sense of duty. Given there is no funding to pay them and they buy there their own equipment, they struck me as being totally loyal and dedicated to their mission and their country.”
Among the many reasons for establishing a Reserve component by Chile was cost effectiveness. The U.S. Army Reserve is credited for providing 20 percent of the Army’s force for a cost of about 6 percent of the budget. Oviedo, whose tenure as Chilean Army Commander-in-Chief ends in 2018, plans to double his current reserve force to right at 5,000 Soldiers.
In all both Purser and Thomas agreed it was a very productive encounter. Thomas said he took away from the visit that the Chilean Army would like to build a stronger and more capable Reserve force.
“They want to learn how the U.S. Army Reserve mans, trains, equips and deploys. They want the best understanding possible of our capabilities and just what makes us the best in the world,” Thomas said.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2015 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 153401 |
| Location: | SANTIAGO, CL |
| Web Views: | 677 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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