FORT DEVENS, Mass. –
Members of the 510th Human Resources Company, Special Troops Battalion, 7th Sustainment Brigade and 52nd Theater Gateway STB, 7th Sust. Bde. attended Silver Scimitar 2010, the largest human resources training exercise in the Army, held from March 20 through today at Fort Devens, Mass.
This is the second consecutive year this multi-component, multi-echelon, theater-level training exercise has been held at Fort Devens. The event is designed as ramp-up training on core human resources competencies for units preparing for imminent deployment.
The training breakdown consisted of the first half of the exercise in which subject matter experts train the HR Soldiers about procedures, systems and doctrinal policy. This portion of the training is invaluable for all attending components, especially the Reserve Soldiers.
"During battle assembly weekends the Reserve component doesn't have the opportunity to train on the systems such as eMILPO (Electronic Military Personnel Office) and DTAS (Deployed Theater Accountability System)," said Col. Suzanne V. Gordy, task force officer in charge and executive director Silver Scimitar, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), U.S. Army Reserve Command.
A different aspect of Silver Scimitar was both priceless and unique. This aspect was the layout of the training. For the most part, attending units worked with units they will be working with when deployed downrange.
"It gives Silver Scimitar attendees a chance to network with those units they'll be with downrange," said Gordy. "Also, some of the subject matter experts that are in the civilian sector are going to be able to develop those same relationships with the units and their Soldiers, because the civilian agencies they work for will be some of the same agencies these units will call to resolve matters stateside," Gordy added.
This is followed by the mission readiness exercise, the functional portion that allows Soldiers to put into practice the knowledge received during the first stage.
At this stage, the groups that were- a day prior- ensconced in the nuances of doctrine begin comingling and functioning with the other HR components including R5 (reception, rest and recuperation leave, return-to-duty, replacement, and redeployment) Postal, Casualty, and HR company headquarters under the guidance of the HR Operations Branch.
"The sustainment community has recognized the need to ensure their HROBs are trained," said Sgt. Maj. Willie C. Williams, plans and operations sergeant major, 14th Human Resources Sustainment Center, 1st Theater Sustainment Command. "They see this venue as a tool or asset to train their HROBs. In their customary training exercises, the HROBs don't get the focus that they are getting here. Here the main and only focus of the training is HR."
Though the exercise focused on HR nuances and intricacies, its massive logistical footprint was equally prodigious.
"Silver Scimitar has 84 subject matter experts from organizations and units like Defense Manpower Data Center, U.S. Army Forces Command, United States Army Central Command, 8th Human Resources Sustainment Command from Hawaii, 310th HRSC currently deployed and sending people here to help from theater, United States Army Combined Arms Support Command, Soldier Support Institute, U.S. Army Transportation Command, and even a lone Sailor assisting with postal training," said Sgt. Maj. Julius Prioleau, 14 HRSC, 1st Theater Sustainment Command.
"The mission has gone really great," said 2nd Lt. Robert Lindsey, plans and operations officer in charge, 510th HR Co. "We were able to meet the people we'll work with in theater. This allowed us to create and foster those working relationships to prepare us to effectively carry out our jobs when we do arrive in theater," said Lindsey.
If the assessments of attending Soldiers were any indication, the intention to prepare the HR units deploying in order to execute their wartime mission was a success.