Photo By Master Sgt. Jessica Espinosa | Task Force McCoy engineers under the 416th Theater Engineer Command take one final...... read more read more
By Capt. Sean Jordan
Greetings from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin!
As of February, we have wrapped up our portion of the Operation Allies Welcome mission at Fort McCoy and everything went well. Our mission as part of Task Force McCoy was to support Afghan Humanitarian guests as they navigated the Assured Departure (AD) process.
Our support ranged from managing requests for information, to managing linguists, to partnering with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to consumable supply distribution (e.g., diapers, deodorant, razors, shampoo, etc.). We facilitated the guests’ needs.
While at Fort McCoy, we supported the AD, which is a six-step process including accommodations and community support as part of their resettlement into the United States.
Here is the six-step AD process:
1.) Meeting with International Rescue Committee (IRC) for demographic data;
2.) Biometric data collection;
3.) Medical data collection/review;
4.) Medical services (as-needed);
5.) Meeting with International Organization for Migration (IOM);
6.) Travel
Guests “normally” flowed through this six-step process in sequential order with our primary mission to facilitate attendance through each step of the process. After their meeting with the IOM in the fifth step, they receive accommodations in a host community (e.g., Chicago, Minneapolis, Wausau, etc.) and travel is booked for them to leave Fort McCoy.
Governmental agencies and NGOs facilitated many of the required processes. IRC handled the self-departure process and physically moved the guests out of Fort McCoy. IOM worked with a system to connect guests at Fort McCoy with one of the nine domestic resettlement agencies. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services assisted with the citizenship process to attain their application(s), employment authorization documents and Green Cards. Team Rubicon and Save Our Allies provided logistical support and fulfilment through donated goods for the guests (such as clothes, baby food, medical appliances, shampoo, etc.). AmeriCorps and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provided volunteers and teachers who enhanced their quality of life with activities, cultural trainings and education. Lastly, the Department of Homeland Security oversaw the whole operation.
We had six native Afghan linguists attached to our formation to support communication; each having worked as a linguist in Afghanistan and a current U.S. citizen. Many of our guests speak English. However, the linguists are helpful with translation for non-English speakers and are particularly useful to understand cultural nuances.
Looking back, our biggest challenge was managing multiple stakeholders and requirements. We execute by breaking silos to allocate the proper resources to the identified requirement. Stakeholder-management and task-prioritization have been critical to our mission’s success. Because we have the appearance of three-to-five different bosses with a perceived priority, both the first sergeant and I spend much of our time working to understand root problems (requirements), so we can develop the means to execute the best solution.
At any given time, 95 percent of our stakeholders assume their request is always both urgent and important.; and, though it is, we still must prioritize.
For example, we recently juggled competing priorities such as a barracks quarantine due to a COVID outbreak; a call from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to go building-to-building to track down a guest; and a request to conduct a block-wide “police call” because of a VIP visit, all at the same time. Immediacy can only be placed on one request at a time, so we have learned to prioritize the most urgent and important problems first, then the rest in small bites.
As a team, we executed at a very high level. We leveraged the Equipment Consolidation Site 67 Draw Yard to enhance our Driver’s Training Program, executed the Junior Leader Certification Program/This is My Squad initiatives to empower/engage our junior enlisted leaders, and coordinated with our rear detachment for collective training opportunities. Our mission was exciting and fulfilling and happy for the opportunity to serve.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2022 14:55 |
| Story ID: | 415255 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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