Photo By Staff Sgt. Leia Tascarini | Florida National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Eric Steen, 153rd Financial Management Support...... read more read more
Miami – When Sgt. 1st Class Eric Steen, detachment sergeant with the 3153rd Financial Management Support Detachment (FMSD) from Saint Augustine, Fla., gets activated for a state emergency response mission, his main concern is his team’s access to the supplies they need to purchase, and having reliable wi-fi and cell phone service for their mission.
“During hurricanes, we are always in the front lines with the units assigned to the recovery area and connectivity is always a big problem,” Steen said. “During the current COVID-19 response, connectivity has not been an issue. However, having access to the supplies our units need to stay in the fight has been. Everyone is chasing the same things.”
During defense support of civil authorities’ missions, most often hurricane response operations, the Florida Guard’s three finance detachments of the 153rd Financial Management Support Unit (FMSU) become mobile payment teams (MPT) and are attached to the state’s Quartermaster’s (SQM) Office. Together, MPTs and Quartermasters, move together to disaster areas to help responding units efficiently obtain mission-critical supplies.
“When the state’s COVID-19 response got started, we mobilized our MPT under state active duty orders to South Florida to assist the units setting up the testing sites,” Steen said. “But now that we have transitioned to Title 32 orders, our role has changed.”
Under Title 32, Steen’s MPT no longer has purchasing authority, and it has been re-designated as a logistical support teams (LST). Now, their mission is to assist unit supply sections across the area of operations to ensure that mission-related documents are routed correctly, so reimbursements can be processed.
“The role of the 153rd FMSU’s detachments during this unfortunate pandemic is to serve as force multipliers for commanders at all echelons,” said Capt. Roy Locklear, 153rd FMSU commander. “Whether it’s the purchasing authority our soldiers need for critical supplies or assisting with sustainment efforts during Title 32 operations as an LST, our soldiers bring unique skill sets to support a variety of missions.”
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2020 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 367689 |
| Location: | MIAMI, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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