Photo By Capt. Fernando Ochoa | Capt. Scott L. Ford, 650th Regional Support Group Headquarters and Headquarters...... read more read more
FORT MCCOY, Wis. – Capt. Scott L. Ford, 650th Regional Support Group Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, served as the Forward Operating Base Liberty’s mayor during the Combat Support Training Exercise at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, June 2 -15.
The CSTX is a multi-component, joint, integrated training event that is conducted over six forward operating bases and served more than 4,000 Soldiers from U.S. Army Reserve units from around the country.
The FOB mayor is not only responsible for all of the personnel that reside, they also ensure everyone has power, water for latrines and showers, housing that includes rooms for Soldiers, office spaces for workers and the maintenance for all these structures.
“As mayor, my responsibilities were to establish and maintain key essential life support for the tenants on FOB Liberty,” said Ford. “Once in place, units could successfully conduct their METL training in a safe environment.”
The mayor's cell also deals with handling the disposal of trash, tracking the population on the FOB and various other duties, including working with Morale, Welfare and Recreation center.
FOB Liberty is a well-established base with permanent tent barracks and a fully functioning dining facility. Many of the Soldiers that will attend CSTX will be processed through this hub and those persons are the also the responsibility of the FOB major.
“CSTX was a valuable learning experience because it placed us in both notational and real-world situations,” said Ford. “Although my Mayor duties were “taxing” at times and entailed many 18 hour days, the satisfaction of knowing each Soldier gained valuable experience made it well worth it!”
During this year’s CSTX, some Soldiers needed medical attention and others had Red Cross messages, where they needed to go home to family. All these issues fall to the shoulders of the mayor who must address them immediately.
During the Relieve in Place/Transfer of Authority (RIP/TOA) process, the 645th Regional Support Group assumed responsibility of FOB Liberty. This is an ongoing, continuous process that the U.S. Army uses to ensure that an area of operation is fully manned.
Ford successfully operated FOB Liberty for his tenure and joked, “I’m just glad I didn’t get re-elected.”
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2015 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 167438 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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