Photo By Angela Wallace | Army Medical Department Professional Management Command (APMC) located in Atlanta,...... read more read more
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Maj. Randy Derr, a critical care nurse in the U.S. Army Reserve, patiently moves from station to station armed with his favorite electronic reading device and all of his necessary paperwork to ensure he and his Family will be ready for his upcoming mission.
Derr, a member of the 7453rd Medical Backfill Bn. located in Mesa, Arizona, is preparing for his fifth mobilization and his checklist began long before his unit attended the Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) level 2 hosted by Army Medical Department Professional Management Command (APMC) located in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Open and transparent communication has been the key for me with my family and my civilian employer,” said Derr.
SRP is a program within the Army to ensure readiness at the Soldier level prior to their mobilization or deployment. The process is broken down into two areas, administrative and medical, and when combined, can take a couple of days to complete depending on the information and advanced specialized testing that an individual Soldier may require. The objective of the process is for Soldiers to be administratively, financially, legally, spiritually, logistically and medically ready to be mobilized after they have completed an SRP.
For those new to the mobilization process, Derr recommended giving Family and employers “as much information as you are able to give to them, as it becomes available to you. It’s ok to say you don’t know, but at least they have something to start planning for.”
Maj. Michael Ruffin, the officer-in-charge for the SRP, worked with a combined team to process more than 225 military personnel from four separate medical units during the APMC hosted event held 8-12 Jan. On average, APMC hosts four SRP’s each year and ensures over 400 medical professionals are medically and administratively ready to support the Army’s missions all over the world.
What makes the SRP process at APMC different from SRPs with other units?
“We have way more moving parts than a standard SRP site because those resources are normally at a single location that you send your Soldiers to. At APMC, we coordinate to bring in all the needed capabilities and we bring the Soldiers here as well. It’s seamless for the Soldiers – they see a consolidated front, but in reality we are a number of different entities who come together for the same purpose – to get Soldiers ready for mobilization,” said Ruffin.
Planning and accuracy is necessary at every level.
“I’m really hard on these units to ensure their personnel rosters are accurate, because that information drives this process. If we’re tracking 70 personnel based on the unit’s information and then only 65 actually show up, that changes what we arranged with the hotel and for bus transportation and can negatively impact the cost associated with these capabilities. It’s really important we keep our lines of communication open to ensure we are able to set up contracts in a professional manner and get the Soldiers here and through the process so they have the best experience possible,” Ruffin said.
Not only should Soldiers prepare prior to attending an SRP, Family should also be included in that preparation.
“Soldiers need to discuss a communication plan with their Family members and explain when they are going to be available throughout the entire mobilization process,” said Peggy Pelfrey, the Family readiness support assistant for Southeastern Medical Area Readiness Support Group.
“This is the opportunity to ensure everything is where it needs to be so everyone is confident, both the Soldier and Family, that everything is ready to go,” said Pelfrey.
Pelfrey explained the need to have those hard discussions ahead of the readiness process, ensuring Family members are part of the dialogue for wills, a power of attorney, and especially finances.
“Family isn’t just about your husband or wife. It’s also about those other Family members who worry about you and ensuring they have the information they need during your absence.
“We love you and we love your Family, and we want to make sure that you and your Family are taken care of throughout this whole process,” Pelfrey said.
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.20.2017 09:41 |
| Story ID: | 220769 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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