Photo By Antoine Aaron | Congressional staff delegates observe the various medical capabilities of Bayne-Jones...... read more read more
FORT JOHNSON, La. — Twelve Secretary of the Army staff delegates visited the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson July 16-19. Delegates, both local and regional, observed the entire scope of the installation, ranging from garrison operations to JRTC Rotational Training Unit capabilities.
Delegates started their tour the morning of July 17 by meeting with Fort Johnson leadership for a command brief.
Present leadership included commanding general of JRTC and Fort Johnson Brig. Gen. Jason A. Curl, garrison commander Col. CJ Lopez, garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Braden K. Sickles and JRTC Operations Group commander Col. Matthew J. Hardman.
Upon completion of the briefing, delegates spent the day observing Fort Johnson’s quality of life initiatives, facilities and directorates.
One of the key highlights was the group’s housing installation tour engagement. Betty Beinkemper, director for Army housing at Fort Johnson, briefed the delegates at one of the installation’s newest Palmetto Terrace homes while explaining amenities for Soldiers, Families and civilians who live on post.
The importance of Soldiers’ quality of life was also a topic of discussion during the housing section of the tour.
As the group toured a two-story house for junior enlisted Soldiers, Beinkemper discussed a $77 million housing project which focuses on more than 1,000 homes.
The homes, Beinkemper said, have a Basic Allowance for Housing rate of $970 a month, with costs covering a variety of amenities including utilities, ground maintenance, work orders and use of community centers, gyms and pools.
The delegates last stop on the garrison tour was Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, where personnel observed medical capabilities both inside and outside the facility. The group was greeted with an outdoor demonstration of emergency care for Soldiers, including medical evacuation procedures and first aid care.
“Our initiative was to demonstrate the important role Army Medicine plays in the lives of Soldiers, Families and their support to rotational units and the JRTC mission,” said Jean Clavette Graves, BJACH public affairs officer.
After a short welcome from Col. Alisa Wilma, hospital commander, and a video depicting the processes a Soldier goes through from the point of injury to recovery, staffers viewed a tactical combat casualty care trauma lane.
To illustrate, the team evacuated a casualty to a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter staged at the BJACH emergency department’s helipad. The helicopter lifted off and set back down where members of the emergency department retrieved the casualty to perform higher-level care.
Once inside, the group learned more about BJACH emergency, radiology, and pathology capabilities and toured the facilities. Delegates also visited the labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum ward where they observed training simulators used to ensure staff preparedness.
The visitors engaged in their final tour July 18 at Peason Ridge training area, where they were able to get a first-hand look at how Soldiers train at the JRTC and Fort Johnson. Two Rotational Training Units, 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment and 186th Infantry Regiment conducted live fire exercises including simulated defensive and counter-defensive attacks. The training demonstrated JRTC and Fort Johnson weapons capabilities, logistics, combat readiness and task organization for large-scale operations.
Capt. Brendan C. Waldrop, who served as a tour guide during the visit, reminisced about some of his favorite parts.
“It was great having staff members from Congress down here at Fort Johnson,” said Waldrop. “We showed them the unique things we do here and how we take care of Soldiers and their Families.”
The biggest highlights from the visit, Waldrop said, were the live fire exercises. Staff members observed one of the infantry companies conduct an explosive breach and an aerial tour of Fort Johnson.
“The aerial tour was great because it gave a few of the members the first chance to ride in a rotary wing aircraft and see all of Fort Johnson and the Fullerton training area,” Waldrop said.
An additional highlight was the group’s visit to the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment headquarters. The 1st Bn, 509th Inf Reg, also known as “Geronimo,” is the JRTC opposing force which serves as the “enemy” for RTUs during their rotations.
“I think it was great for the staff members to see firsthand what training Soldiers go through during the live fire portion of a JRTC rotation,” Waldrop said. “The delegates were interested in the Geronimo brief and learning how to introduce problems for the rotational training unit to prepare them for their next fight.”
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2024 16:22 |
| Story ID: | 477261 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
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