Photo By Carlos Cuebas | Col. John D. Samples, Fort Buchanan's commanding officer, hosted Puerto Rico's...... read more read more
FORT BUCHANAN, PUERTO RICO- Col. John D. Samples, Fort Buchanan's commanding officer, hosted Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner Hon. Pablo José Hernández at the installation's headquarters Feb. 21, as part of the U.S. Army's stakeholders outreach initiatives across the island. Concurrently, a congressional staff delegation visited the installation and the 1st Mission Support Command.
During the encounter, Samples explained Fort Buchanan's mission and relevance as the only U.S. Army installation in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
"At Fort Buchanan, we enable the readiness and lethality of our warfighters, their training, and their ability to deploy anytime, anywhere around the world," said Samples, who was accompanied by the Deputy to the Garrison Commander Ulises Marrero and Command Sgt. Maj. Kimberly D. Bergman-Gándara, the installation’s senior non-commissioned officer.
Samples went on to explain one way the installation enables the readiness of the troops while saving the taxpayer money.
"We recently acquired two Marksmanship Mobile Training Team System (MMTS), a portable training packet to assist soldiers in improving their marksmanship skills. This is a system that we can deploy to different units around the island, maximizing training time and reducing travel costs for the troops," added Samples.
Hernández, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, expressed his availability to assist Fort Buchanan in accomplishing its mission.
"I am here to serve you. Let me know if there is anything we can assist with, and we will bring it to Congress. We would like to see if we can bring some House Armed Services Committee members so they can see the great things our soldiers are doing at Fort Buchanan," said Hernández.
After the meeting, Samples met with members of the staff delegation at the installation's Training Support Center to facilitate a hands-on experience with the MMTS and other training simulators. Wilbin Colón from the U.S. Army's Transition Assistance Program briefed the staff delegation about the program.
One of the staff delegation members was Zach Huff, the Military Legislative Advisor for Congressman Abraham J. Hamadeh, Arizona's eighth district.
"I didn't know much about Fort Buchanan before. Now I can see that the installation has great facilities and capabilities. This is above what I expected," said Huff, who visited the island for the first time.
Huff went on to explain the message he would deliver to the congressman upon his return to Washington, D.C.
"I will bring back the message that the units at Fort Buchanan have honed in the capability to train and be prepared for the worst possible disasters in a way that maybe we're not always as prepared on the mainland, "added Huff.
Another staff delegation member was Michael MacHarg, who works for Congressman Joe Wilson's office in South Carolina's second district.
"It's been a wonderful visit so far. It's very hospitable, and we've seen many exciting things and good work being done here at Fort Buchanan. There's been a lot of positive energy and a lot of good training that we're seeing here," said MacHarg.
Fort Buchanan serves a diverse military community of approximately 15,000 active-duty Reserve, National Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, and Navy Reserve personnel. Fort Buchanan's mission is to serve as a readiness enhancement platform and facilitate the deployment of military personnel to any place at any time.
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2025 14:26 |
| Story ID: | 491255 |
| Location: | PR |
| Web Views: | 419 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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