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“We want to bring about speed, precision and velocity to move stuff and enhance readiness. This symposium is to (help us) get beyond how we have always done things.”
— Col. Douglas M. McBride
By Sgt. Scott J. Evans
4th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
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Col. Ronald Ragin, third from left, commander, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, briefs 4th SB procedures to Brig. Gen. Kenneth L. Kamper, left, deputy commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson, and key leaders from throughout III Corps during a sustainment symposium March 6, 2017, at Fort Carson. (Photo by Sgt. Scott J. Evans)
Key leaders from throughout III Corps assembled at Fort Carson March 6-7, 2017, to brainstorm the best way forward to improve materiel management capabilities.
The 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., hosted the III Corps Sustainment Symposium that united key division leaders from the 4th Inf. Div.; 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; 1st Cavalry Division, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and 407th Army Field Support Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas; as well as representatives from U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command, Fort Lee, Virginia.
“We have to work to lessen the bureaucracy,” said Col. Ronald Ragin, commander, 4th SB. “This meeting is about getting integrated faster.”
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Col. Douglas M. McBride, commander, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Fort Hood, Texas, addresses leaders March 6, 2017, during the III Corps Sustainment Symposium held at the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, headquarters. (Photo by Sgt. Scott J. Evans)
The group will meet again at Fort Hood in May for the III Corps Sustainment Summit to make further refinements based on the results of what was established at Fort Carson, said Col. Douglas M. McBride, commander, 13th ESC.
“Some challenges will be quick wins, while others will have to be accomplished incrementally,” he noted. “We want to bring about speed, precision and velocity to move stuff and enhance readiness. This symposium is to (help us) get beyond how we have always done things.”
The symposium’s first day centered on meetings based on the pros and cons of current operations and procedures of materiel management to better work out measures to establish synergy and collaboration throughout III Corps to make logistics operations smoother, both at their respective home stations and shipments to deployed areas.
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Brig. Gen. Kenneth L. Kamper, deputy commanding general, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, addresses leaders during the III Corps Sustainment Symposium March 6, 2017, at the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Inf, Div., headquarters. (Photo by Sgt. Scott J. Evans)
Those in attendance broke into four groups on the second day to discuss measures to enhance procedures and define roles, responsibilities, authorities, permissions and business rules in order to better integrate strategic partners to ensure an easier flow of materiel and equipment.
The collective plan for III Corps, based on the discussions, was briefed to Lt. Gen. Sean McFarland, commanding general, III Corps, as well as Maj. Gen. Ryan F. Gonsalves, commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson.
“Nothing like this event has happened at this level before. I think that this could potentially be an annual or biannual event,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Marco Torres, 13th ESC. “This is the inception, so we will see which products we develop. But we are going to have to refine what we have come up with here.”