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Shaw AFB, SC – General George Patton once said, “I am a Soldier. I fight where I am told and I win where I fight.” In mid-May, U.S. Army Central conducted exercise “Lucky Strike 22.1” at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina in the spirit of that mantra.
The exercise, named after General Patton’s call sign “Lucky” which USARCENT still uses, brought staff and supporting organizations together to ensure the organization is ready to respond to any crisis in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
The region overseen by USCENTCOM is the most dynamic combatant command in the U.S. military, covering an area from the Nile River to the Himalayan Mountains. With several ongoing conflicts, regional instability, and an incredibly diverse ethnic and religious makeup in the region, USARCENT maintains its ability to deploy quickly to a multitude of possible situations. The goal is to assure partners and deter conflict through military readiness. To do this, the organization must be ready to respond quickly to a variety of security concerns.
The CCP staff built its infrastructure and capabilities over a three day period. With the critical help of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, the staff assumed the role of controlling daily operations for a Theater Army to demonstrate its potential capability should a crisis arise. “Lucky Strike” was the result of a series of smaller exercises, called “Warrior Torch”, which HHBN used to train on how to rapidly deploy the CCP.
“Exercise Lucky Strike provides an outstanding opportunity for HHBN to put our preparation and training from the last six months into action,” said Lt. Col. Todd Harkrader, the HHBN Commander. “We are demonstrating and refining our ability to rapidly deploy the Contingency Command Post into an austere environment anywhere in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility.”
The 513th Military Intelligence Brigade was critical to enabling the success of the exercise. The brigade provided analysts and information collection capabilities from Fort Gordon, Georgia that increased the staff’s command and control capacity. “USARCENT and the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade have a strong relationship,” said Capt. Ryan Hoskinson, a unit representative. “After exercise Lucky Strike, I believe our team is ready to deploy and assist our partners anywhere we are needed.”
To make an exercise of this scale successful, the team relied on the experience and abilities of its non-commissioned officers. NCOs led planning efforts, coordinated real world sustainment operations, and made impactful decisions in an austere location.
"Our NCOs were absolutely essential in building and running the Contingency Command Post and ensuring the organization is capable of rapidly deploying anywhere in the region,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Evans, the HHBN Command Sgt. Maj. “USARCENT’s strong sergeants are our greatest advantage over any potential future adversary.”
By the conclusion of the exercise, the CCP staff demonstrated their ability to expeditiously establish command and control in austere environments anywhere in the Middle East. "USARCENT is ready to go tonight, if necessary, to oversee operations and win," said Command Sgt. Maj. J. Garza, the USARCENT Command Sgt. Maj., "and winning absolutely matters."
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| Date Taken: | 05.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.18.2022 16:12 |
| Story ID: | 421007 |
| Location: | SHAW AFB, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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