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Former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson once said, “Water is the lifeblood of our bodies, our economy, our nation and our well-being.”
To ensure the well-being of the Soldiers within the 3rd Infantry Division, Army water treatment specialists assigned to Alpha Company, 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted a three-day water purification training event March 22 through 24 on Fort Stewart, Georgia.
“Alpha Company's water platoon are conducting water purification training in order to enhance Soldiers proficiency in the 92W (water treatment specialist) MOS (military occupational specialty),” said 1st Lt. Bailey Pollack, the executive officer of Alpha Co. “The training validates the mission essential task list, equipment and ensures Soldiers are ready to execute water operations at a moment's notice.”
Water purification training assists in the unit’s garrison mission for potential upcoming missions and prepares Soldiers for field or expeditionary logistic support.
“This training will allow Alpha Co. to rapidly provide quality bulk water storage and distribution,” said Pollack. “When Soldiers are qualified on water equipment they will be able to rapidly set up in any situation presented to the platoon.”
The ability to purify water is a unique function to Alpha Co., the 3rd DSB and the Division.
“It will be the first time in several years that this company has been able to purify water for consumption,” said Pollack.
Alpha Co. uses unique equipment while conducting water purification operations to allow the unit to draw from a variety of water sources and provide clean drinking water for Soldiers or in a humanitarian assistance role.
“The unit will be using a tactical water purification system (TWPS),” said Pollack. “The TWPS provides a rapidly deployable water purification system capable of producing at least 1500 gallons of potable water from a fresh water source and 1200 gallons from a seawater source.”
Normal day-to-day operations for the water platoon includes training on various equipment to ensure the Soldiers in the platoon are always ready to perform their mission.
“The water platoon normally conducts training on the TWPs, lightweight water purifiers (LWP), load handling system compatible water tanks and LADs (Laundry Advanced Systems) in order to be proficient and trained managing shower and laundry operations and conducting bulk water storage and distribution,” said Pollack.
The purification equipment within the platoon allows for modularity, scalability and ease of transportation on a variety of platforms to ensure the Alpha Co. Soldiers are always able to perform their mission.
“LWP is at squad or platoon level equipment,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Handy, the 3rd DSB fuel and water noncommissioned officer in charge. “With that being said it is not a large-scale system to support a garrison, but it makes up for it in its diversity in transportation. You can pack it into the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or even a Tricon container. Operational flexibility can be achieved with the addition of Extended Capability Modules (ECMs).”
In the future, Alpha Co. plans to have additional training to build on the skills the Soldiers learned during the water purification training.
“The unit will continue to incorporate real life scenarios into future training to allow Soldiers to constantly build on their skills and ensure the unit is ready at a moment's notice,” said Pollack.
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| Date Taken: | 03.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2022 16:54 |
| Story ID: | 417103 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, From dirty to clean Provider Soldiers train to bring fresh water, by SGT Laurissa Hodges, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
