Army Sustainment VOLUME 46, ISSUE 5 | Page 52

developed a possible method for future sustainment brigade-level HR training. Planning the Exercise The STB commander was no stranger to deploying HR units. Having attended two Silver Scim- erational issues to incorporate into the MSEL and provide the most effective training possible. A realistic gateway mock-up and SMEs fresh from operations downrange lent a powerful dynamic to the exercise, but equally important was ensuring the physical layout of the gateway We need a force structure at the battalion level that properly retains and uses expertise, provides upward command opportunities for experienced HR leaders, and trains modular units to support the sustainment community. itar exercises to assess HR training, he knew he needed to build a realistic mock-up of the theater gateway in Kuwait and bring in outside support and resources to ensure success. His vision was to create a theater gateway replica to test all the processes, functions, and systems being used downrange. In Kuwait, most large flights arrive after midnight and rotator flights come and go over the weekend. Few senior leaders get an accurate feel for the operational and leadership challenges involved with processing hundreds of tired and disgruntled traveling personnel. So for the exercise, having the right subject matter experts (SMEs) on site with relevant master scenario event lists (MSELs) to create realistic training was critical. To gain the requisite SMEs, the STB reached out to the 138th TG PAT in the Indiana National Guard and brought in the director and his current operations integration cell noncommissioned officer-in-charge. Having just redeployed, their experience was significant as they reviewed the MSELs for relevance and provided pertinent operational feedback, guidance, and lessons learned throughout the exercise. The 138th TG PAT director reached back to the current theater gateway director for real-time op50 Army Sustainment accurately replicated operations. A shortfall identified at Silver Scimitar at Fort Devens was the lack of separation between the inbound and outbound sections and the director. So, the inbound and outbound sections were built within a motor pool bay separate from the current operations integration cell and the gateway leaders’ offices to create operational distance as a forcing mechanism for effective communication. This separation also ensured the HR platoon leaders resolved MSEL injects on their own then executed appropriate reporting procedures to engage the TG PAT leaders, who helped identify and address communication issues during the exercise. The distance between the PAT at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and the rest of the gateway necessitated bus transportation that simulated the extensive distances traveled in Kuwait by personnel arriving and departing theater through the aerial port of debarkation and Ali Al Salem. Making the Exercise Count Because of the significant number of units and organizations that influence the theater gateway mission, many roles were notional and controlled by the SMEs. Providing the expertise necessary to mitigate the artificiality of notional roles is nearly impossible without recent operational experience. These notional roles are significant to training realism because the TG PAT can manage on average more than 300 personnel from different organizations while deployed, including the HR platoons within the gateway. Because the gateway director is a director and not a commander, the HR company commander reports to the STB commander, and the gateway director reports directly to the sustainment brigade commander. It is important to note that Paragraph 3–39 of Army Techniques Publication 1–0.2, Theater-Level Human Resources Support, completely misconstrues the operational relationships of the HR platoons, the HR company, and the TG PAT in a deployed environment. The TG PAT is a headquarters element that is expected to assume operational control of whatever it finds when it arrives in theater. The new TG PAT MTOE reduces the director’s grade from a lieutenant colonel to a captain. This creates problems when it comes to addressing operational issues with senior leaders and handling challenging field-grade passengers. The captain will have to call the brigade commander to deal with them, and that simply is not realistic. The director must possess the technical expertise and sufficient rank to open a new theater gateway anywhere in the world and not just be able to fall in on a well-established operation. Information Technology One of the STB commander’s biggest concerns was the lack of gateway information technology and Single Mobility System integration with higher headquarters. The battalion had to use email to replicate changes to flight schedules and gave out hard copy flight matrices.