Photo By Staff Sgt. Victor Everhart | Command Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Kelley, the U.S. Army Central senior enlisted adviser along...... read more read more
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CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – U.S Army Central recently deployed its contingency command post here for a command post exercise to establish standard operating procedures as well as familiarity of equipment and problems to be solved before validating in a few months.
A CCP is a rapidly deployable headquarters capable of providing Joint Task Force leadership that is capable of planning and conducting small-scale contingency and humanitarian operations.
The USARCENT contingency command post has deployed several times in the last decade, most recently in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and remained in place until relieved by III Corps earlier this year.
U.S. Army Central’s CCP consists of approximately 100 Soldiers from the USARCENT headquarters, with most of the organic directorates represented as well as the inclusion of enabler units to assist the staff.
The CCP could be deployed in response to any number of contingencies including the requirement to defeat an emerging threat, conducting humanitarian assistance in response to a natural disaster or any other situation that requires a military force.
“This exercise is one of several steps toward reconstituting our theater Army’s CCP. During this process, we’ve integrated lessons learned from the last 15 months as we established the Joint Operations Center for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and now we’ve integrated these lessons into this exercise to better see ourselves as we develop and improve the capabilities of this organization,” said Col. Justin Hadley, USARCENT chief of operations and the contingency command post officer-in-charge.
The goal is to create an organization that can deploy and integrate a diverse joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational team that can effectively provide mission command in response to a real-world crisis, support theater security cooperation exercises, and also refine and validate existing contingency plans, said Hadley.
Soldiers on different levels gain different knowledge and experiences during these exercises, which all help the production and competence level of the CCP.
“This experience has broadened my horizons,” said Sgt. Andrew Cortez, a San Antonio native assigned to Operations Company, USARCENT “I’m a wheel mechanic, so being put in a situation where I was part of the team that installed and managed the power grid that kept all operations going. I had no prior training or knowledge as to what went into creating a power grid or the amount of units needed to facilitate our operations.”
Cortez said he lots of pointers and a new skill set that he will be able use in order to help the CCP prosper.
“The best moment for me was being asked to prepare a brief for a real-world situation,” said Sgt. Kathryn Qualls, an all source intelligence analyst assigned to the 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade.
Enlisted and officers alike were put in positions they aren’t accustomed to, which builds skills across the board making the CCP an adaptable organization.
“I’ve never been assigned as a battle captain,” said Capt. Douglas Bazil, a military police officer assigned to USARCENT. “I have a lot of learning to do, but this exercise has helped me recognize where I can improve and become a more valuable asset to the CCP.”
“We may not know exactly what we may be asked to do, but with the right people and the right equipment we will be well prepared to solve a complex problem in a challenging region of the world,” said Hadley.
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2015 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 184980 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 198 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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