Normally I serve as the officer in charge of the 4th Sustainment Command’s Early Entry Command Post, a mobilized group of 35 Soldiers who work directly with Army North to respond to any crisis and support exercises. Currently, for our COVID-19 response, I am the Support Operations Officer. Basically, I’m in charge of all the support operations or logistics operations that stretch outside the command. My team plans every sustainment activity, in every area of interest, throughout our operational area. This is a National pandemic that affects everyone. It’s different from something like a hurricane response where you can circle specific areas on a map. We are providing a nationwide response for a nationwide threat, so we have to be ready to go anywhere. I am super proud of my team; they have been working long hours and long days. We have to work quickly, and this team can do that. If I walk out and say, “hey, we might have a new area of interest,” it doesn’t take very long and we have a complete concept of support, even if we never have to use it. I am almost complete with my Army War College studies — heading into my electives now — but I just finished up Strategic Campaigning I and II back to back. I now have a better understanding of how, at the strategic level, they’re planning the concept of support, and why they bring forces on the way they do. It is really great to be able to understand myself and then relate to my Soldiers what’s going on at levels well above us.
COL Russ B. Chambers
Distance Class of 2020
Support Operations Officer, 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
