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Food service specialists with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, feed an average of 5,000 Soldiers a day in the chow hall tent at Fort Polk, La., in preparation for the brigade’s rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke)
By Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke
2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORT POLK, La. — More than 6,000 Soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and more than 15 other attached units swarmed into the training preparation areas to participate in a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation Oct. 21 through Nov. 22, 2017.
The first step before one round can be fired, blank or live, is reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOI), which is the process of bringing Soldiers, equipment, weapons and vehicles from Colorado and other bases into the nearby Intermediate Staging Base in Alexandria, Louisiana.
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Sgt. Richard Fink, cannon crewmember and ammunition team chief, Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, installs a multiple integrated laser engagement system on a vehicle Oct. 26, 2017, to take part in Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 18-02 at Fort Polk, La. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke)
“I was involved in leading the first elements that arrived at Fort Polk, and overseeing the shipment of equipment and movement of personnel from Fort Carson, plus various places around the United States,” said Maj. Phil G. Hensel, executive officer, 2nd IBCT. “Several units are here as attachments, both Army Reserve and National Guard, and active component, managing and overseeing their onward movement to prepare for combat operations while integrating all the attachment and enabling units that have never worked with us before.”
RSOI takes effort from everyone within the “Warhorse” Brigade to ensure success.
“It’s extremely structured because there are so many moving pieces coming in and a lot of maintaining accountability to keep the flow of people and equipment,” said Hensel. “If one part of the system gets hung up, then it can grind everything to a halt, and that ends up not having the brigade prepared for combat at the right time.”
More than 4,000 Soldiers from the 2nd IBCT are joined by Army and Air Force troops from Fort Carson, 500 Soldiers from 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Fort Riley, Kansas; more than 100 infantrymen from the United Kingdom and active-duty, Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers from across the United States.
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Food service specialists with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, feed an average of 5,000 Soldiers a day in the chow hall tent at Fort Polk, La., in preparation for the brigade’s rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke)
“The smoothest part was the personnel movement by bus with only a handful of delayed Soldiers, several days before entering the combat scenario portion of JRTC. We were able to get the people that we needed to the right place at the right time,” said Hensel.
With all the Soldiers gathered in one place, new challenges arose — they all have to eat. To handle this, the brigade has about 50 food service specialists cooking to feed the troops hot breakfasts and dinners.
“On our first day, we served almost 200 people in 15 minutes,” said Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Jones, culinary management NCO, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd IBCT. “We’ve been maintaining that by feeding more than 900 people per hour … averaging about 5,000 daily. To relate it to a household kitchen, it’s like cooking for 100 people standing in your living room.”
One measure of success for feeding Soldiers is hearing their gratitude as they come through the chow line.
“I like the chow tent setup; everyone knows where everything is,” said Spc. Carlos Avila, assistant machine gunner, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd IBCT. “The cooks were very organized and serving good food; definitely edible.”
Following RSOI, the Soldiers will enter combat operations where opposing forces will test their ability to conduct offensive, defensive and security operations.
The training exercise is designed to stress and test the brigade’s Soldiers, but to reward them, the cooks have a special treat waiting on the other side.
“Our traditional ‘great meal’ at the end of any field exercise, we’re trying to take that to the next level, a steak meal as the final meal thanking the Soldiers for a job well done,” said Jones.
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Vehicles from 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are staged at Fort Polk, La., Oct. 28, 2017, in preparation for use in Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 18-02. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke)
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Soldiers with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stage vehicles at the training preparation areas of Fort Polk, La., in preparation for their Oct. 21 through Nov. 22, 2017, rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center (Photo by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke)