Soldiers of the 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, prepare for an early morning movement to Logistics Support Area Santa Fe as part of their support to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., during a National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, Calif., Nov. 2015.
By Sgt. Benjamin Kullman
4th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
Elements of the 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion recently returned from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, following the monthlong “Decisive Action Rotation 16-02” training event in support of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
The rotation involving more than 4,000 Soldiers and Airmen was developed to create a complex training scenario for use throughout the Army. The mission of the 68th CSSB, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., during its time at Fort Irwin was to provide seamless sustainment support to 2nd IBCT units, support the warfighters in the form of life-sustaining materials such as water, fuel, food and ammunition, and ensure there were no shortfalls due to logistics.
Accomplishing the mission was possible with the support to the 68th CSSB by sustainers from the 25th Transportation Company, 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and the 109th Transportation Company, 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, said Lt. Col. Stephanie A. Barton, commander, 68th CSSB.
“All units attached to 68th CSSB from Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado and Georgia enabled the 68th to train in the most important tasks the battalion has: mission command, base defense and provide first-class logistics,” Barton said.
With the responsibility of supporting such a large training mission, adapting to working with the unfamiliar units quickly was essential.
“During an NTC rotation where units from all over the U.S. are quickly placed together requires the battalion leadership to quickly validate the units and their Soldiers, maintenance, training and mission readiness,” said Barton. “It also requires the battalion headquarters to trust sister battalion commands and subordinate command teams to carry out the mission with minimal mistakes or safety incidents.”
A large-scale logistical undertaking, such as the National Training Center (NTC), provided a training scenario for the sustainers of the “Stagecoach” Battalion and gave sustainment Soldiers an opportunity to strengthen their effectiveness in their real-world missions, said 68th CSSB Command Sgt. Maj. Shannon A. Caviness.
“68th’s role (was) to provide sustainment support to the warfighters. We want the warfighters to be focused on winning the fight and not anything dealing with logistics,” said Caviness. “We feel that our mission is very important and their success is based off the support that we provide them.”
The 68th CSSB participated in a similar NTC rotation last year and benefited from the experience. Returning to the training site for another assignment provided the logisticians an opportunity to improve on tactics, ideas and achievements they had experienced previously.
“I’d like to see that no mission failed due to us not providing sustainment or logistical support,” said Caviness. “That’s what we live for — to provide for the Soldiers and to do it safely.”
Occupying Logistics Support Area (LSA) Santa Fe as their battalion headquarters, the 68th was responsible for providing round-the-clock support to the tactical units in the field and coordinating multiple convoys to transport critical materials to other bases of operations. The pace of the operation required the Stagecoach staff to be organized and function as a cohesive team to insure that missions were successful while also providing for the defense and security of the LSA against simulated enemy forces.
“Some of these units will deploy in early spring, so all the NTC training and environment realism are crucial as their culminating event prior to deployment,” said Barton. “I am confident that all the 68th CSSB and down trace units will be ready and prepared to execute their wartime mission at a moment’s notice.”
By the conclusion of the exercise, Soldiers of the 68th CSSB conducted 40 convoys and delivered more than 600 pallets of food and drinking water, 90,000 gallons of fuel, nearly 3,000 decontaminating apparatuses, approximately 40,000 gallons of water and 80 pallets of repair parts and components in support of Soldiers training at NTC.
Barton said the NTC rotation was a success and the 68th CSSB ultimately accomplished what it set out to do.
“68th’s greatest accomplishment for this rotation was the ability to mission command eight different units from across the United States,” said Barton. “It takes the right leadership at all levels, a great staff that enables our units to be successful, but most of all, teamwork by all. Without a doubt, we had a great team and we all had one mission — making sure 2nd IBCT had the logistics support it needed to execute a great training event.”