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Division West, others help prepare Silver Knights for deployment
By Capt. Marvin J. Baker, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West, Public Affairs
Oct 31, 2011 - 6:04:20 PM
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Master Sgt. Clarence Thomas, Chief Operations Non-commissioned Officer of Task Force Medical Afghanistan (right) who briefly returned from Afghanistan to assist Division West with its 1st Medical Brigade training program talks with a member of the brigade staff during the unit's 12-day training program on North Fort Hood. The program is the first time Division West developed and executed a training regimen for an active duty medical brigade. (Photo by Capt. Marvin J. Baker, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West, Public Affairs) |
FORT HOOD, Texas - Soldiers of Fort Hood's Division West, the 120th Infantry Brigade, and the 85th Civil Affairs Brigade worked together to develop and execute a 12-day training program focused on preparing the 1st Medical Brigade for its upcoming mission to Afghanistan.
The training event ended Oct. 29 after nearly two weeks of 24-hour operations and real-world scenarios designed to replicate the daily and complex responsibilities the 1st Med. Bde. will face as the primary controller of medical assets in Afghanistan.
Division West has trained thousands of Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers for deployment, but the 1st Med. Bde. is the first active duty medical brigade to complete the training and assessment regimen.
"This came about after years of watching medical units train themselves and go to war. In 2010, we were doing the same thing until a recent conversation with now-retired Major General (Charles A.) Anderson of Division West. Because of his vision this training became a reality. This training has been a true benefit and something akin to what we would see at a combat training center rotation," said Col. Bruce McVeigh, commander of the 1st Med. Bde.
Division West created nearly all of the higher, lower, and adjacent unit relationships that the 1st Med. Bde. encountered during the training. "The relationships required 1st Med. Bde.'s staff to integrate and screen data from subordinate units and to pass along usable information so the commander could make informed decisions. This is called knowledge management," said Lt. Col. Chris Moon, Division West surgeon. "Data leads to situational awareness, which leads to situational understanding, also common operating picture," added Moon.
The benefit of having a unit like Division West role-play these working relationships is the external feedback and nudging the unit toward an effective response. If the training is deemed successful, Division West may continue to train future active duty medical units, said Moon.
Knowledge management helps units continuously improve their decision-making process and share lessons learned, and it is necessary for all staff sections. The staff has to be synchronized and operate like clockwork, said Moon.
Maj. Tracy Coffman of the 1st Med. Bde. spent most of the training developing skills she will need as the unit's liaison officer.
"I am the commander's eyes and ears for what's going on in the joint commands and NATO Training Mission Afghanistan. He wants to know how he can support units on the ground. I will feed him information as quickly as possible to help him have predictability about what's going on in theater as we draw down," said Coffman.
Master Sgt. Michele Johnson, the unit's security manager, also collects data for the commander and found the training useful. She was introduced to an information exchange database, which will make her job easier when she deploys.
"I was able to conduct trend analysis to find out what's going on with the enemy and what to expect with regard to causalities," she said.
Capt. Sean Allen, the brigade's comptroller, is in charge of financial resources for the brigade and was able to practice some of the skills he will need and get valuable feedback from his trainers. "During this exercise I got a chance to really test my ability to do the job I will do in Afghanistan. The finance system is the same, but the scenarios in Afghanistan will be a little different. For example, I got a chance to use the commander's emergency response plan, which is also known as CERP, to extend funding into a health management plan for Afghanistan's population," said Allen.
McVeigh said, "My goal was to make my staff a better battle staff, and they did a great job. They know and understand the complexities of the operating environment and how to provide a common operational picture."
Forces Command also wanted to ensure that 1st Med. Bde. was ready to go to war. The FORSCOM Surgeon visited the unit during the culminating training event to view first-hand the progress of the brigade staff.
Brig. Gen. Brian Lein, FORSCOM Surgeon said, "My job is to make sure all medical assets are ready to go downrange. I think the training has gone well, and the work Division West has done is phenomenal. The 1st Med. Bde. has clearly done a lot of work to be ready for everything asked of them."
The work assessed each staff section including the special staff like the public affairs office, chaplain, and the civil military affairs section.
Capt. Shane Salyer, a civil affairs officer with the 81st Civil Affairs Battalion, 85th Civil Affairs Brigade acted as the trainer for 1st Med. Bde's civil affairs section and tested the unit on its response to local information operations. He said the unit did well.
"Civil Affairs is important because over the course of their rotation, 1st Med. Bde will likely be asked to provide medical and veterinary care to support the local national population. They provide medical care to U.S. Soldiers and support the Afghans with medical training and assessment in their own medical centers," said Salyer.
Master Sgt. Clarence Thomas of Task Force 44th Medical Command briefly returned from Afghanistan to give the 1st Med. Bde. operations section a real-world personal view of the day-to-day work in the medical operations cell.
"I wanted to show the unit how to focus on the computer systems, how to create information management documents, and how important it will be to build relationships with other organizations that the unit will work for and with," Thomas said.
Col. Gary Brito, commander of the 120th Infantry Brigade and whose unit had primary responsibility for delivering the training said, "In the past, medical brigades train and assess internally. That makes the training difficult because the unit has to pull all the trainers out of their own unit. We used eight different organizations and more than 120 people to train and asses the 1st Medical Brigade and worked diligently to meet their commander's training objectives and prepare them for their mission in Afghanistan.
The 1st Medical Brigade will depart Fort Hood early next year for a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan.
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