|
Blackanthem Military News
|
Last Updated:
Feb 9, 2012 - 5:06:14 PM |
|
|
Blackanthem Military News
 |
| Leaders of the eight divisions in the National Guard listen to briefings at Fort Indiantown Gap, Jan. 30, to talk about issues common to the division commands and the way ahead for the future. |
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA - Leaders of the U.S. Army's eight National Guard divisions gathered at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., Saturday, Jan. 30 to discuss the way ahead for the citizen-soldier force as it balances the dual missions of state emergency preparedness and committing troops to the Global War on Terrorism.
Commanders also reviewed the scheduling of recurring Guard training exercises in foreign countries during the 2010 Division Commanders Conference, hosted by Pennsylvania's 28th Infantry Division. The semi-annual get together allows commanding generals to build inter-state cooperation by sharing insight into Guard capabilities.
"The purpose is to continue the positive relationship between the eight divisions so we have unity of effort," Maj. Gen. Randall Marchi, 28th ID commander, said. "Each state and each division has been very busy over the last year,"
DART
National Guard Bureau officials talked at length with Guard commanders about the new Domestic All-Hazards Response Team mission. The DART mission designates two Guard divisions, every two years, as planners and command and control in the event of an emergency in the United States.
DART planning helps Guard leaders know what military resources are available in one state to assist with emergency relief in another. Marchi said a state's adjutant general decides what state resources are available.
"The adjutants general of the affected states request the assistance," Marchi said, adding that the AG of the state receiving the request for aid would sign off on the movement of resources.
As one of the first divisions to take on the DART mission, the 28th and 35th divisions will have the task of building standard operating procedures and force packages that succeeding DART mission holders will use.
New York State's 42nd Infantry Division is slated to take over the DART mission in October in the east and California's 40th in the west. The East mission encompasses 26 states and two U.S. territories and the west, 24 states and one territory.
Guard Bureau has already stood up the east and west, 22-man DART planning teams, comprised of Army and Air Guard personnel.
"If an event happens east of the Mississippi the primary division is the 28th," said Col. Hank Amato, Army National Guard chief of operations division. "Our intent is to have a primary division east and west of the Mississippi."
"When it's needed, we have access sooner because we know who is available sooner," said Brig. Gen. Daniel Nelan, Special Assistant to the Department of Defense (ARNG).
Officials said DART would impact the planning of state level emergency management agency officials in a positive way.
Nelan told the gathering of general officers that it's important to remember "what DART is and what it is not."
"It isn't something that's going to come into your state uninvited," Nelan said.
Maj. Gen. Wayne Pierson, commander, 35th ID, Kansas National Guard, concurred, saying a state's AG is the one "to pull the trigger" on DART.
"The DART does not come in to your state and take over," he said. "The DART comes in to say ‘OK adjutant general, you asked for help, we're available.'"
"If you have a robust state with robust assets, that's fine; this is just another asset," Marchi said.
DART was a major focus the conference, but the meeting also provided a chance to synchronize the availability of divisional assets across the Army National Guard.
Personnel & Equipment
Officials discussed a need to fill warrant officer slots in Military Intelligence units and aviation units but said much progress has been made in updating equipment.
"Although modernization of specific equipment, such as truck and helicopter fleets, remains a long-term challenge, for the past two fiscal years the Army National Guard has received $10 billion of new equipment," Col. Michael Fortune, Guard Bureau's chief of the material programs division, said.
Colonel Mark Strong, the Chief of Force Management Division at the National Guard Bureau presented an overview of the new Division Headquarters structure that was approved by the Headquarters Department of the Army on Jan. 11, 2010.
"The Army did a complete relook of every single organization type to gain efficiencies and "pay down some personnel bills in the process," said Strong.
The new Division 9.1 design headquarters will convert from a three-unit organization with three separate Unit Identifier Codes (UICs) including the Division Tactical Action Center (TAC) and Special Troops Battalion (DSTB) to one with only one UIC, the Division Headquarters. Although there will be 50 percent fewer tactical wheeled vehicles, the new division headquarters will maintain its full mobility and will modernize much of its communications equipment, Strong said. The new division HQ will also lose about 100 personnel spaces but will gain 31 new Military Occupational Specialties (MOS).
"So there may be a need for about 128 of the 730 total division soldiers to reclassify or retrain for new MOSs," Strong said.
Additional division capabilities will include Knowledge Management, Electronic Warfare, Information Operations, Civil Affairs, Personnel Recovery and others.
The 35th ID is working its conversion while the 34th and 40th Divisions take effect in FY 10, the 28th, the 38th and 42nd Divisions take effect in FY 11 and the 29th and 36th Division's conversions will occur in FY 12, said Strong.
Deployments
Deployments of Division headquarters were also discussed at the Council meeting. Nelan presented the current deployment plan or "Patch Chart" to the Commanders, describing the availability of Division Headquarters to deploy to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Kosovo Force (KFOR) support and also potentially to support the humanitarian assistance operation in Haiti, Operation Unified Response.
Unit deployment selections are determined based on a variety of factors including their "dwell time" or time they have been at home station between deployments, their personnel availability based on current Unit Status Reporting (USR), and training and equipment levels.
Division headquarters will not normally be deployable, said Nelan, if their dwell time is less than 24 months, if they have a brigade combat team or if more than 50 percent of the state's forces are deployed. Nelan was quick to point out that there are exceptions to these rules that are made on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, units currently assigned the Division All-Hazard Response Team (DART) mission will not be deployable to enable them to respond if needed. The Patch Chart showed the deployment needs over the next five fiscal years and that all of the Division Headquarters are either already slated or are available for some type of deployment in their futures.
Fort Indiantown Gap
Fort Indiantown Gap Installation Commander Lt. Col. Samuel Hayes briefed the visiting generals and command sergeants major on the training assets of the central Pennsylvania post.
Hayes reported that 2,100 soldiers, technicians, state employers and contractors work at the post on a daily basis. FIG's National Guard Training Center is one of the busiest in the country and boasts over 137,000 all-service users in fiscal year 08.
Hayes described the installation's many ranges, training sites and very busy airfield - the heliport is the second largest in the nation, behind Fort Rucker's flight school - and made a pitch to entice the divisions to use the Gap training center.
"It's convenient for you to come to FIG for training," said Hayes. "You'll find we are a very unit-friendly training center. If you need it, you can get it here."
The Gap's new 1,500 meter machine gun and .50 caliber sniper ranges, the very challenging Infantry Squad Battle Course and the soon to open Live Fire Breech Facility offering dynamic entry using explosives, shotguns and other breeching tools are among many of the facility's state of the art training sites on post. The post also provides numerous simulations including a Connex Village that will be converted for sub-munitions live fire and a large Battle Command Training Center that supported the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team's Warfighter exercise just prior to their deployment to Iraq last year.
"Fort Indiantown Gap was the fourth busiest National Guard Training center in training year 2009," Hayes said, adding that the Gap's Muir Airfield is the sixth busiest airfield in the state.
New facilities at Indiantown Gap include a combined arms collective training facility, an urban assault course, a live-fire shoot house and two new machine gun ranges.
The all day conference seemed productive to commanders, providing the chance to exchange ideas and build vision on what the way ahead will look like.
"We were very proud to host this conference," Marchi said. "This conference has enabled us all to exchange ideas, identify challenges, and discuss resolutions we face as division commanders in the National Guard. It helps to see the perspective and experience of leaders from eight great Divisions as we move forward and better serve our states and our nation."
The next Commanders' Council Meeting will take place in late May in New York City and will be hosted by the 42nd Infantry Division.
ADDITIONAL PHOTO:
 |
| Brig. Gen. Daniel Nelan, Special Assistant to the Department of Defense (ARNG), talks to division leaders about the issues they face in their commands. |
|
Comments
NO Soliciting.
Comments with links to websites or soliciting services will be removed.
Please read our Terms of use for more information.
|
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
