Photo By Staff Sgt. Karen Sampson | Louisiana’s staff delegate, Jules “Jay” Hurst, legislative director and defense...... read more read more
ROMANIA — Soon after accepting mission responsibility at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, on July 15, 2024, Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, hosted a visit from Louisiana’s Staff Delegate.
Jules “Jay” Hurst, legislative director and defense advisor to Speaker Mike Johnson, 56th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of Republican Congress serving Louisiana’s Fourth District.
“We take great pride in working on behalf of the Soldiers and military Families stationed at Fort Johnson,” said Johnson. “It was a privilege to have our team visit the Patriot Brigade in Romania, meet with Soldiers, and see where they will live and train for the next eight months.”
Hurst is also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He has served as a liaison between the U.S. Army and Congress, as a strategist on the Department of the Army Staff, and as a project manager for the Department of Defense artificial intelligence systems. His service includes four tours to Afghanistan as a senior intelligence officer for a Joint Special Operations Task Force.
“The Patriot Brigade are training with many NATO allies and partners,” Hurst said.
Hurst said they will experience real-world scenario-driven force-on-force training with 12 countries during the U.S. European Command exercise Immediate Response.
Immediate Response is a freedom of movement exercise planned for forces supporting Europe’s Eastern Flank.
Hurst was able to take time during his visit to have constructive discussions with some of the young leaders regarding friction points that may come up with other nations during training.
“Interoperability with Allies takes practice,” Hurst said.
Hurst was impressed with how the deployment provided the Patriot Brigade with opportunities to conduct training and practice tasks that, although not on their mission essential task list, multiply their capabilities and are crucial to the operational environment.
“The scope of this mission offers immense training value for the Soldiers here,” said Hurst.
“Patriot Brigade is fielding new equipment as part of the Transform in Contact Initiative.”
Gen. Randy George, 41st U.S. Army Chief of Staff, said the Transform in Contact Initiative works towards the future design of military service. Select units and task forces employ new weapons and training during deployments. This training tactic provides realistic feedback about how the military navigates areas of combat operations.
Hurst said it was a thrill to hear the Patriot Brigade staff discuss planning and see them adapt to the Eastern Flank’s battle rhythm.
He expressed Johnson’s continued support to all the Soldiers, civilians, and Families who call JRTC and Fort Johnson home.
“Our servicemembers deployed to Romania have a great opportunity to train while increasing interoperability with our European Allies. We hope they have a successful deployment rotation and look forward to welcoming them home upon their return,” Johnson said.
Col. Joshua Glonek, commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, expressed the Patriot Brigade’s gratitude.
“Mr. Hurst stressed the importance of learning about our mission here and took time to engage with our deployed Soldiers,” Glonek said.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2024 11:51 |
| Story ID: | 478479 |
| Location: | LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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