Reserve Units/Personnel | Army War College Foundation, INC. - Part 4

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Reserve Units/Personnel

Sue Henderson, DDE ’14

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Sue Henderson, DDE ’14

The 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) is headquartered in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The command is made up of Soldiers, Civilians, and their Families in units headquartered throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. As part of America’s Army Reserve, these units are trained, combat-ready, and equipped to provide military and logistical support in any corner of the globe. The 4th ESC’s robust logistics capability and its trained and ready team allow us to respond quickly in crisis situations like COVID-19.

We are always thinking about readiness, and this mission demonstrates why it is so important. It’s having equipment ready to roll, Soldiers trained and ready to do their jobs, and Army Families ready to have their loved ones away from home for a little while. That high level of readiness is why we were able to stand up and respond to this mission.

The 4th ESC’s personnel are providing logistical and sustainment support, the direct life support needed to keep the mission going. It is this work behind the scenes that allows the front line forces to focus on their missions. When troops on the front lines need supplies, we respond and provide that support. We bring a lot to the fight as Army Reserve Soldiers providing skill sets that make us unique for this mission.

Normally the 4th ESC would set up a shoulder-to-shoulder tactical operations center in one large room to bring the entire team together in one space, but that’s not a great idea right now. Instead, the unit has spread work-spaces throughout the reserve center and in tents and trailers around the building. Leaders are also leveraging telephonic and video conferences in place of face-to-face meetings. It can take a little adjustment at first, but that is one of attributes of an expeditionary organization, the ability to conduct operations in any environment.

It’s really incredible to see the team come together. This is a stressful time, but I see everyone working on their piece of the mission, I see how resilient they are and how much they care about getting this done right, and it really inspires me. It’s times like this that remind me why I put on the uniform.

BG Susan E. ‘Sue’ Henderson
Distance Class of 2014
Commanding General
4th Sustainment Command Expeditionary (4th ESC)
Fort Sam Houston, Texas

photos by Maj. Brandon Mace

Brian Wisniewski, RES ’18

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Brian Wisniewski, RES ’18

I’m currently serving as the dual-hatted G2/G6 for the Army Reserve Innovation Command (ARIC). The U.S. Army Reserve and ARIC, in particular, had been working to identify systems for online collaboration and workflows even prior to the pandemic response, but the social distancing guidance has helped accelerate those efforts. To that end, we’re leveraging a number of new and emerging capabilities such as the Commercial Virtual Remote environment along with other collaborative tools. The limitations of virtual private network capacity across the force and other “on the .mil network” only options have really come under scrutiny. A primary focus has been on supporting the efforts of the Army Futures Command with Tech Scouting in a variety of key geographic regions (e.g., Boston, California, Colorado, Austin, etc.) along with providing unique Subject Matter Expertise where applicable. One example is several of our Soldiers being queued up to help the Army CIO/G6 Enterprise Cloud Management Office (ECMO) with the push toward migrating many enterprise applications into Cloud environments. Many of these Soldiers, by day, are Cloud Engineers, Security Architects, or Developers with amazing backgrounds who have stepped up to assist where needed to help accelerate and amplify efforts within the Army overall. Though our focus prior to the pandemic was primarily on modernization efforts in the traditional sense (e.g. emerging technology, robotics, hardware, software, etc.), I will be curious to see how much we might begin looking at workflows, policies, and procedures as a Reserve Component (or even broader Army). Considering how we (the ARIC and the USAR at large) responded to the pandemic with new concepts like last month’s Virtual Battle Assemblies or some of the distributed Basic Training Pod Concepts I’ve read about, there may be opportunities for innovation there as well. I am optimistic this may help us refocus some effort on updating and exercising formal disaster recovery and business continuity plans going forward. On the corporate side, we made the leap to nearly 100% remote work where possible using tools like Microsoft Office 365 with Teams, Skype for Business, etc. By and large, this has been fairly seamless. A key aspect of both military and corporate efforts has been transitioning to a distributed workforce. Assignment of deliverables and tracking of productivity, whether in-person or remote, is fairly well entrenched. The biggest change has been how to lead and manage teams when you may not be able to see them. Without body language and non-verbal cues to work from, clear and open communication becomes critical. I do anticipate a lot of retrospective analysis both within the military and corporate realms as we emerge from the strictest measures. The ingenuity and flexibility demonstrated across the country was astonishing and often heart-warming. However, we need to understand where there were gaps and how to address them. A key one we’re looking at on the corporate side is supply chain risk management in the broadest sense. Many of our key suppliers and partners were disrupted or even brought to a halt by global steps to prevent the spread of the virus. We will be looking carefully at distributing that risk going forward and potentially even on-shoring some components where it makes the most sense.

COL Brian D. Wisniewski, CEH, GCIH, CISSP, ITIL
Resident Class of 2018
Cybersecurity Fundamentals Specialist

Robert ‘RL’ Penn, DDE ‘19

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As Logistics and Operations Liaison Officer for 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in the COVID-19 task organization with the 377th Theater Sustainment Command (TSC), COL Robert L. Penn advised and managed strategic sustainment operations in support of DOD Title-10 forces deployed throughout the U.S.  His efforts, and those of a fellow DDE ’19 classmate, COL Reginald T. Richardson, Assistant Chief of Staff, G37, 377th Theater Sustainment Command (TSC), ensured planning, coordination, and execution of joint reception staging onward movement and integration (JRSOI), sustainment, and distribution operations in support of all JFLCC Title-10 forces supporting the COVID-19 response efforts.  Key logistical support included personal protection equipment (PPE), Class II, and Class VIII supplies to support Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force, medical personnel, and servicemembers operating in the JOA to protect the force and prevent spread of COVID-19.  The ongoing efforts of their teams will continue through the reverse-JRSOI process of COVID-19 COMPO 1, 2 and 3 elements and the de-mobilization of COMPO 2 and 3, while planning for dual DSCA operations in support of the upcoming hurricane season.

COL Robert L. ‘RL’ Penn
Distance Class of 2019

Reggie Richardson, DDE ‘19

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As Assistant Chief of Staff, G37, 377th Theater Sustainment Command (TSC), COL Reginald T. Richardson advised and managed strategic sustainment operations in support of DOD Title-10 forces deployed throughout the U.S.  His efforts, and those of a fellow DDE ’19 classmate, COL Robert Penn, 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Logistics and Operations Liaison Officer, ensured planning, coordination, and execution of joint reception staging onward movement and integration (JRSOI), sustainment, and distribution operations in support of all JFLCC Title-10 forces supporting the COVID-19 response efforts.  Key logistical support included personal protection equipment (PPE), Class II, and Class VIII supplies to support Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force, medical personnel, and servicemembers operating in the JOA to protect the force and prevent spread of COVID-19.  The ongoing efforts of their teams will continue through the reverse-JRSOI process of COVID-19 COMPO 1, 2 and 3 elements and the de-mobilization of COMPO 2 and 3, while planning for dual DSCA operations in support of the upcoming hurricane season.

COL Reginald T. ‘Reggie’ Richardson
Distance Class of 2019

 

Omar Bholat, DDE ‘20

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Omar Bholat, DDE ‘20

On March 1st, as the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered in New York, the physicians across Northwell Health began expanding capabilities to prepare for the pandemic.  Northwell Health is the largest private healthcare system in the country and has extensive resources.  However, there was just no way to fully expand readiness in such a constrained environment.  The hospital had its disaster plan, with surge capacity for patients requiring intensive care.  It had 97 beds in five Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and rapidly expanded capacity to accommodate more than 250 critically ill patients.  As a surgeon, with expertise in trauma and critical care, I became part of the team caring for the most critically ill patients, under the most difficult conditions.  With everything from PPE to nurses in short supply, we found a way to do more with what we had.  As opposed to throwing away N95 masks after each use, they were re-used until no longer serviceable.  While nurses usually care for one or two critically ill patients, they were routinely assigned three critical patients.  My colleagues in surgery had all of their elective cases cancelled, received re-training from critical care physicians, and began taking care of complex patients with multi-system organ failure.  Patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome required additional and critical strategies.  Continuous dialysis was initiated as treatment for life threatening acidosis.  Different medical regimens were employed to blunt the effects of COVID-19 on the body with varying success. The effects of this disease on the body were so severe that two of every three patients who entered the ICUs would ultimately die.  In addition to training surgeons and caring for patients in the ICUs, I was tasked with repurposing non-medical space for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.  This space was for patients who did not require intensive care.  My hospital’s administration was familiar with my military experience and looked to me for solutions.  I drew upon a decade of experience with the 1st Forward Surgical Team to assist with the redesign of any unused space.  Conference rooms and lecture halls were rapidly reconfigured for patient care.  When these spaces were exhausted, FEMA tents were set up for the overflow.  By the peak of the pandemic, my hospital had almost doubled its capacity.  As the command surgeon for the 353rd Civil Affairs Command (CACOM), I became very busy working with the command team to combat COVID-19 within the unit.  Multiple soldiers had returned from Europe as travel restrictions were imposed and were rapidly dispersed to their homes across the U.S.  Some of them began to show symptoms of COVID-19. Working through each state’s Department of Health requirements to obtain testing for soldiers was complicated.  Recommending the closure and decontamination of a building after a soldier tested positive became necessary and served to complicate unit operations.  It was my good fortune to have a commander and command staff that grasped the gravity of the situation and strove to ensure the safety of all soldiers.  By March 25th, all unit activities were canceled and all activities were conducted virtually.  In doing so, the chain of transmission within the 353rd CACOM was ended.  As I write this on April 22nd, it has been reported that COVID-19 has peaked in New York.  While this may be true, I can assure you that my hospital remains full of patients dying from infection with this virus.  It is full of COVID-19 patients and all surge capacity remains open.  Calls for the “rapid response team,” followed by “anesthesia stat” and sometimes by “code blue,” are hourly events.  The crashing patients are rapidly transported to the ICU where critical care teams continue to wage a war against an unseen enemy.  Time and distance will be required in order for scientists to develop the tools to defeat this deadly disease.

COL (Dr.) Omar S. Bholat
Distance Class of 2020
Command Surgeon, 353rd Civil Affairs Command (CACOM)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee Gearhart, RES ‘15

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The COVID-19 fight is unlike any that has faced America’s Army Reserve. Part of the G1’s job in any organization is ensuring the Soldiers with the right skills can be in place at the right time. Matching provider specialties to six non-traditional formations (i.e., Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces (UAMTFs)) comprised of 85 personnel, could prove difficult in even the best of times. This was a task that had to be deftly managed as Citizen-Soldiers were uprooted from their civilian lives to answer this awesome call to duty. What further complicated this mission was the fact many of these Soldiers were also engaged in the fight within their own communities. Leading a combined team of 25 Soldiers and Civilians, the G1 at the 3D Medical Command (Deployment Support) was able to balance the mission, personal health and well-being, and a complex work schedule, to ensure America’s Army Reserve answered the Nation’s call.

COL Lee P. Gearhart
Resident Class of 2015
G1, 3D Medical Command (Deployment Support)