Photo By Maj. Sean Delpech | Volunteer members of the Indy Metropolitan Military Honor Guard post the colors during...... read more read more
INDIANAPOLIS – The 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) partnered with the Indianapolis Army Recruiting Battalion to open the doors of the SPC Luke P. Frist Army Reserve Center and show off the outstanding work of the Soldiers to the local public for an Open House here, July 18, 2015.
The goal of the Open House was to provide a date in which the Army Reserve could showcase both the new Reserve Center and some of the logistics capabilities of the 310th ESC to the local community.
The Open House included tours of the training facility, static military displays of Army heavy equipment, a special operation interactive simulator and a SWAT vehicle used by the police department of Lawrence, Indiana. Interactive games were also included, and the day was topped off by an enlistment ceremony for approximately 75 new recruits.
But the first event of the day for the Soldiers of the 310th ESC was to provide training and mentorship to the new recruits brought along by the Indianapolis Army Recruiting Battalion in a Future Leaders Relay Course.
“We were on hand to show the recruits how effective using a compass is, terrain features and some of the things they will learn in their basic training,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin T. McKnight, G8 noncommissioned officer in charge for the 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and a finance officer at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Indianapolis in his civilian career.
The course was developed to train future Soldiers in simple land navigation techniques, but also to provide career guidance and answer questions from the new recruits about life in the Army Reserve.
“The recruits all had different MOS's that they were going into. Some were going active component and some were going reserve component,” continued McKnight. “a lot of them didn’t know what basic training would be like or what would it would be like after.”
“It’s important to let these new Soldiers know that the military gives them not only the pathway to learn a new skillset and become a leader, but also opportunities to further career advancement,” said McKnight. "A lot of them think they chose the Army over college without realizing that the Army wants them to carry their education further. I let them know that my civilian job is the same career field that I had from my MOS training, and the Army helped me get my degree.”
After the completion of the Future Leaders Relay Course, the Soldiers and recruits moved to the recruiting ceremony.
The Oath of Enlistment was given to a mixture of new recruits, the Soldiers of the 310th ESC and the Soldiers of the Indianapolis Recruiting Battalion in a mass formation.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Doug Gibbens, Army Reserve ambassador emeritus for Indiana and state president of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), and Dean Jessup, mayor of Lawrence, Indiana, spoke to the Soldiers and gathered members of the community during the enlistment ceremony.
After the ceremony was held, the Reserve Center was opened for tours of the building, showcasing services provided to Soldiers and family members, along with training and operational capabilities.
“I think it’s very important that there be buy-in from the civilian community to the mission not just of the Army Reserve, but that we in the Army Reserve represent to the community the Army as a whole,” said Gibbens.
“It’s important for community leaders to see what training goes on here and have some exposure to the Army Reserve mission,” continued Gibbens. “I think it was particularly great to see the enlistment ceremony today; I think that was very important for people to see in their city.”
The new center is a 125,597-square-foot training facility and is home to Soldiers of over 10 units, but is capable of serving up to 18 different units. The 27-acre complex is used primarily for unit administration, classroom training, vehicle maintenance, and storage. The construction of the center is a direct result of Base Realignment and Closure recommendations made in 2005.
The center was memorialized May 2015 in the name of Spc. Luke P. Frist, who was a member of the 209th Quartermaster Company from Lafayette, Indiana, and deployed to Iraq from 2003-2004. He worked as petroleum specialist, refueling Humvees and other military vehicles.
Frist died on Jan. 5, 2004, from wounds sustained when his convoy came under attack Jan. 2, 2004, near the city of Ar Ramadi.
The Spc. Luke P. Frist Army Reserve Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison is located at 9851 E 59th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46216.
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2015 12:30 |
| Story ID: | 171034 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | LAWRENCE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 555 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SPC Luke P. Frist Army Reserve Center Open House, by MAJ Sean Delpech, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
