Photo By Sgt. Brayton Daniel | As part of Operation Pegasus Harvest, a line of Humvees (HMMWV) wait for departure in...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas – Army Materiel Command (AMC) Commanding General, General Edward M. Daly, visited Wagonmaster Troopers with 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade as they begin Operation Pegasus Harvest on base, July 30.
The operation started in June, this year, and focuses on reducing excess equipment from across the 1st Cavalry Division to improve unit readiness and posture the First Team for modernization.
“We had to shock the system,” said 1st Cav. Div. Sus. Bde. Commander, COL Patrick A. Disney. “This is about saving resources, money and Troopers time to make a more ready and lethal force.”
Gen. Daly’s visit comes as AMC is making great strides in improving supply availability, managing excess and increasing supply chain efficiencies, bringing much needed breath, depth, and velocity into the supply chain – Operation Pegasus Harvest is on track to bring this readiness effort to the First Team. Disney says it’s a top down effort.
“They have been with us from day one of planning up to current operations,” Disney said. “What we’ve put together is a team of teams for the First Team. We have experts from every brigade, the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and the 407th Army Field Support Brigade … they are working hard to make this happen; I’m very proud of this team.”
Team Harvest is that “team of teams for the First Team,” led by Capt. Miguel Denis, operation officer in charge, who has transformed a motor pool into the operation’s headquarters. The Wagonmaster Brigade is trailblazing this readiness model that Denis says could change the way the force manages the issue of excess resources.
“The whole goal is to take away the excess from the brigades so that they can focus on organization, get ready for training for future deployments,” said Denis. “They don’t have to worry … it all falls down on sustainment brigade to turn in all the equipment for them.”
The exchange readies units and enables them to receive new modernized equipment. Denis added that the excess issue isn’t just a Fort Hood issue, but a total Army issue and seen across other installations.
“There’s been a culture of excess being built up and not being able to get rid of it because there’s so much of it,” Denis said. “The goal would be that they get the excess off [the units] hands and they maintain their current equipment.”
In the first few weeks of the operation, Team Harvest has processed more than four hundred pieces of equipment and the number keeps growing. It’s expected that tens of thousands of pieces will be processed and recycled by the time the operation is complete, which Disney says has the potential to save money, Troopers time and get the excess equipment to units that need it—or get it reset for future modernization efforts.
“We must be good stewards of the taxpayer’s dollar,” Disney said. “This takes out unnecessary maintenance costs for equipment not being used, saves time, space and improves unit readiness.”
Disney explained, while the operation is being looked at as a model for managing excess resources, and possibly applied throughout the Army, the goal would be to develop a sustainable system that keeps up with the pace of modernization efforts for years to come.
“Where can we gain velocity?” Disney asked. Adding, “The Army is always modernizing. There will always be a need to manage excess and help company commanders maintain their equipment and readiness.”
Disney and Denis have total flexibility to develop the process that could innovate the way the Army manages excess and enhances readiness and modernization for the entire force.
“Pegasus Harvest can come up with a formula to solve that issue across the Army,” said Denis. “AMC is helping me out with this, so they’re a part of the operation, and they can mimic that type of operation to all the other bases and expedite the process.”
Operation Pegasus Harvest is the “shock to the system,” and focused on results so the force can focus on the mission.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2020 14:37 |
| Story ID: | 375617 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | KILLEEN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A shock to the system: How 1CDSB turns excess to readiness, by SFC Ashleigh Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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