Photo By Lt. Col. Brandon Mace | U.S Army Reserve Pvt. 1st Class Diego Garcia, a Paralegal Specialist with 211th...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. – When a U.S. Army Reserve unit is called to action, they don’t respond by themselves or as individual service members, they integrate with other units and sister services to create a total force prepared for any mission in any environment. Every year, U.S. Army Reserve units participate in large scale exercises that ensure they remain capable, combat-ready and lethal.
Members of the 211th Regional Support Group, based in Corpus Christi, Texas, participated in one such event, Warrior Exercise 86-17-02, Apr. 29 to May 13, 2017, here.
WAREX 86-17-02, provided training opportunities to nearly 6,200 Army Reserve Soldiers from 70 units from across the U.S. in an exercise that simulated real-world operational missions and environments.
“WAREX 17-02 is designed to train our units in an austere environment, making sure we can still use our mission command systems and continue to operate,” said U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Kevin Meisler, commander of the 211th RSG. “It provides a realistic avenue as opposed to sitting in a drill hall trying to pretend. This provides that realism that the Soldiers need to move to the next level.”
Meisler was the senior logistician participating in the exercise, and took on an additional leadership role as the Senior Tactical Assembly Area Commander. He said the participating units did not fall in on any existing structures or resources. They started the exercise with the equipment they brought and a large empty field.
“This is completely austere, just a field. When we come out to an environment like this, first we have to build a defensive position, then we need to create the operational TOC (tactical operations center), so we can actually do our job, and when we finally get that done, then we can look at our creature comforts.” Meisler said. “It’s defiantly a mindset change for a lot of folks.”
U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Jason Brownling, also a member of the 211th RSG, was the commander of TAA 5. He said that setting up in this kind environment was eye opening for him and his Soldiers.
“Falling in on facilities that are already set up makes life a lot easier and that’s how we have practiced up to this point,” said Brownling. “When you have to do everything yourself and make everything work together you realize how much extra effort and how much longer it takes to get your systems in place. This exercise really taught us to go back and get into our soldier skills so that it’s not hanging us up out here.”
The 211th RSG crest displays the unit’s motto, “Relentless Support,” a sentiment the unit took to heart as they executed their mission at WAREX despite challenges.
“Soldiers are not used to this weather, especially since we come from South Texas,” said U.S. Army Reserve 1st Lt. Jose Nava-Lopez, commander of the 597th Transportation Detachment in Rio Grande City, Texas. “It was cold and rainy, but Soldiers were still out there, energized, getting things done, transporting supplies and any other equipment we needed out there.”
“I am always impressed with these Soldiers,” said Meisler. “They have the ingenuity, they have the know-how, and they will get things done.”
This exercise is just one of many that the 211th RSG will use to maintain their combat readiness. Meisler said the unit will take everything they practiced and learned to prepare for future training and real world missions.
“The next big question is how can we do this more rapidly, how do we continue to improve, because in the fight of the future we may not have three days to set up,” said Meisler. “We took some pretty good steps forward, and that’s what I like to see, continuing progress. We will take all the lessons learned and spend our next battle assembly reviewing the AARs (after action reviews), developing a plan and a way ahead, so we are ready for the next fight.”
The 211th Regional Support Group is a part of the 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). The command is made up of Soldiers, civilians and their families in units headquartered throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. As part of America’s Army Reserve, these units are trained, combat-ready and equipped to provide military and logistical support in any corner of the globe.
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2017 13:44 |
| Story ID: | 235098 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 181 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Relentless Support: More Than a Motto, the 211th RSG Demonstrates its Commitment, by LTC Brandon Mace, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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