warrior-citizen magazine vol. 57 no. 3

T h e o f f i c i a l M a g a z i n e o f T h e U . S . a r M y r e S e r v e

www.armyreserve.army.mil

‘chUTe’ for The Sea 26

A successful water recovery operation first requires a leap of faith

The arMy reServe’S beST

warriorS 32Revealing the winners, plus a look

behind the scenes at this year’s Best Warrior competition

RallyPoint

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, chief, U.S. Army Reserve, and commanding general, U.S. Army

Reserve Command, outlines his strategy for adapting to the changing military and global environment

18 beyond The gUaTeMalan horizonBuilding schools and expanding hospitals becomes a special opportunity to share a common culture

4S P e c i a l S e c T i o n

volUMe 57 no. 3 2012

1st Place winner of the 2011 Thomas Jefferson Award

(category N)

Now you can enjoy Warrior-Citizen wherever you happen to be! Same great stories. Same great look.

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app allows readers to download issues

online or offline to read whenever you

choose. When attached to a wi-fi signal

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pages—Facebook, Twitter and the newly

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allowing for a fully immersive experience.

Scan the QR code to download the app today.

Happy reading!

Warrior-Citizenwherever you are.

From the household budget to the global debt crisis, money, and how to spend

it is influencing day to day decisions and impacting major investments. Critical

to the defense of the nation, the military is currently under pressure to adapt its

structure to the future operational environment while sustaining a steady flow

of across-the-spectrum capabilities with reduced fiscal resources. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey

Talley, the Army Reserve’s new chief is stepping into his role prepared to manage expectations,

set priorities and make the tough decisions required to remain a vital part of the operating force.

In From the Top, Talley outlines his strategy for maintaining the Army Reserve’s essential

capabilities and explains why finding a balance between Family, career, and the military is the

best way for Army Reserve Soldiers to maintain resiliency and continue providing the strategic

depth the Army and joint force has come to rely on.

Warrior-Citizen welcomes Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Phyllis Wilson, the newest

member of the command team on page 13. Wilson shared with contributing editor Terri Bupp

her hopes to leverage the opportunity to represent the “highly skilled, adaptive technical experts,

combat leaders, trainers and advisors that comprise the Army Reserve warrant officer corps.”

Theater Security Cooperation missions are an important way Soldiers can make a difference

while maintaining their skills. In Beyond the Guatemalan Horizon, page 18, Maj. Carlos Cuebas

takes a look at the 1st MSC’s mission to build schools, hospitals and friendships in a region

plagued by crime and poverty.

Finally, a compelling look through photos and words at this year’s Best Warrior competition

—what it takes to win, and how Army Reserve leadership prepares for the “ultimate week of

challenges,” in Tim Hale’s feature spread starting on page 32.

How a unit or command adds value as a critical part of the joint force—and how a Soldier

fits within his or her community and civilian career—are all important parts of what make

Warrior-Citizens relevant at home and vital to our nation. One of Lt. Gen. Talley’s top priorities

is sharing the Army Reserve story. From unit-specific stories to hometown, work and Family

stories —tell us yours.

ARMY RESERVE COMMAND TEAM

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley Chief, Army Reserve

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Phyllis Wilson Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army Reserve

Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz Command Sergeant Major of the Army Reserve

WARRIOR-CITIZEN MAGAZINE STAFF

Col. Jonathan Dahms Director, Army Reserve Communications

Lt. Col. I.J. Perez Chief, Internal Information Branch

Melissa Russell Editor-in-Chief, Warrior-Citizen

Mark Rydberg Army Publishing Directorate

Teri L. Bupp Contributing Editor

SuBMISSIONS • Warrior-Citizen invites articles, story ideas, photographs and other material of interest to members of the U.S. Army Reserve. Manuscripts and other correspondence to the editor should be addressed to [email protected]. All articles must be submitted electronically or on disk or CD. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will not be returned.

ChANGE OF ADDRESS • Do not write the magazine. TPU Soldiers should notify their Unit Administrator or Unit Clerk. Members of the IRR and IMA should contact their Personnel Management Team at U. S. Army Human Resources Command, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue. Fort Knox, KY 40122. AGRs should contact their PMO/PMNCO. Paid subscribers should forward their address change to the Superintendent of Documents, Attn: Mail List Branch SSOM, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Special military distribution recipients may write the editor directly.

SuBSCRIPTIONS • Warrior-Citizen is distributed free of charge to members of the U.S. Army Reserve. Circulation is approximately 320,000. Paid subscriptions are available for $14.00 per year domestic, $19.60 foreign. Single copy price is $5.50 domestic, $7.70 foreign. Mail a personal check or money order payable to the Superintendent of Documents to: New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954, or fax your order to 202-512-2233. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Melissa Russell

Editor-in-Chief

Join the conversation with U.S. Army Reserve facebook.com/

usarmyreservetwitter.com/ MyArmyReserve

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myarmyreserve. dodlive.mil

1st Place winner of the MG Keith L. WareAward – 2010 and 2011 (category C)

WARRIORCITIZEN editor’s note

1st Place winner of the 2011 Thomas Jefferson Award

(category N)CORRECTION: In the previous (57-2) issue, the cover image by Spc. John Carkeet, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), was mistakenly identified as a Fort McCoy courtesy photo. Our sincere apologies to Spc. Carakeet for the error.

2 warriOr–CiTiZeN

VolUme 57 No. 3 2012wARRioR-citizeN

in this issue 1 editoR’S Note 4 FRom the top 8 BlogS + weBSiteS 15 SoldieRS towN hAll 43 StReAmliNiNg the commANd BoARd

people 10 mAkiNg A lAStiNg impAct 11 coRNeRStoNe oF ReAdiNeSS 12 chAmpioN oF chANge 13 chANge oF ReSpoNSiBility

communities 14 JAgcNet oN yoUR Side 16 the Vow to cReAte New oppoRtUNitieS

trained + ready 40 Not JUSt FUN ANd gAmeS

health + wellness 42 deNtiStS iN hoNdURAS 44 New moBile AppS help tRoUBled wARRioRS cope

contents

on The cover photo ILLUStRAtIoN

beyond The gUaTeMalan horizon

It is a region threatened by organized crime and vulnerable to humanitarian crises. Schools are in a state of disrepair and utilities are faulty. For residents in the Cobán province of Guatemala, every day brings challenges of survival. But the “Beyond the Horizon” mission aims to bring some relief.

by MAj. CARLoS M. CUebAS, 1St MISSIoN SUppoRt CoMMANd pUbLIC AffAIRS

18coMMUniTieS

From left to right are Spc. Brent Hannaford, 5th Battalion, 108th Civil Affairs Military Information Support Operations Regiment (Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford, 211th MPAD); Sgt. Jonathan B. Stoltz, 108th Training Command (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Marisol Hernandez, 416th ESC); two Soldiers at the 2012 Best Warrior competition, Fort McCoy, Wis., (Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford, 211th MPAD); and Sgt. Nathaniel Boyd, 807th Medical Deployment Support Command (Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford, 211th MPAD).

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‘chUTe’ for The SeaThe jumpmaster’s command cuts through the roar of four Rolls-Royce turboprop engines. “Go! Go! Go!” A breathless second passes before a parachute pops open and the freefall slows to a cascade toward the glimmering ocean below as airborne warriors take a leap of faith. All in an effort to test new equipment and methods to drop Soldiers and supplies from the air and retrieve them from the sea.

by SpC. johN L. CARkeet IV, 143Rd SUStAINMeNt CoMMANd (expedItIoNARy)

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rally PoinTLt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, chief, U.S. Army Reserve, and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, has a vision— Rally Point 32—that will enhance the active Army and enable it to prevent, shape, and win its objectives.

by Lt. geN. jeffRey w. tALLey, ChIef, U.S. ARMy ReSeRVe

SPecial SecTion

Trained + ready

House Calls in GuatemalaDr. Daniel Skirvin’s civilian career has gone to the dogs… and to the bulls, pigs and chickens! In the most remote areas of Central Guatemala, Skirvin’s team works save to save local farm animals and, in turn, the health of the Guatemalan people.

by Donna Miles, aMerican Forces Press service

24

PHOTO By STAFF SGT. JACOB BOyER, 352ND CACOM PAO

The arMy reServe’S

beST warriorSThis year’s Best Warrior competition has its winners. Find out who they are and get a behind the scenes look at this much anticipated annual event.

by tIMothy L. hALe, ARMy ReSeRVe CoMMANd pUbLIC AffAIRS

Trained + ready

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While the past decade has

redefined what it means to be

a Reserve Soldier, the Army’s

increasing reliance on critical

capabilities resident in the Army Reserve has

been generations in the making.

In the early 1970’s, the Total Force policy,

also known as the Abrams doctrine was a

major change to the strategic reserve. It placed

a greater reliance on the reserve force for war

fighting and full spectrum operations. The Total

Force policy aligned major pieces of combat

service and combat service support units

into the Army Reserve, making it essential to

sustaining combat capabilities.

The alignment created an active partnership

between the active component and Army

Reserve, placing budgeting, planning, and

programming for active component and Army

Reserve forces together. The doctrine was

implemented in structure and policy in the

1993 Offsite Agreement which, coupled with

the Transformation Campaign Plan of 1999,

overhauled the force structure and created

modular brigades, laying the foundation for

today’s essential operational Army Reserve.

In 1975, former Army Chief of Staff Gen.

Creighton Abrams famously said, “They’re

not taking us to war without the Reserves.”

The restructuring of the Army in the aftermath

of the vietnam War and draft system, were

designed, in part, to assure public support

through the engagement of community-based

citizen-Soldiers. At the time, the decision was

considered risky in light of the perception that

“weekend warriors” were ill-equipped and

ill-prepared to mobilize.

Having had the privilege of commanding

both Army Reserve and National Guard

Soldiers, I take great pride in the demonstrated

capabilities and professionalism of reserve

component Soldiers. Any question regarding

performance and readiness been dispelled by

the historic integration of the reserves, globally

engaged in multiple campaigns across a full

range of military operations.

The Army reserve noWI believe we have the best Army Reserve in

history. We are an essential part of the total

force—every year since 2001, an average of

24,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have seamlessly

integrated with the mobilized force. No longer

a strategic, supplemental component; the

Army Reserve has become a crucial and

complementary force to the Army’s overall

deployable strength and war fighting team.

The Army reserve comprises 19

percent of the Total Army for 6% of its

budget. As a Federal Force under Federal

Control, maintaining operational flexibility and

strategic depth through critical capabilities

resident within the Army Reserve is a top priority

for the nation. The USAR structure is designed to

provide complementary capabilities—we provide

direct and essential access to the majority of

4 warriOr–CiTiZeN

from the top meSSAge FRom the cAR

Rally Point

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley receives the command colors from Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, U.S. Army chief of staff, during the June 9 U.S. Army Reserve Command change of command ceremony on Fort Bragg. Talley is the 32nd Chief, U.S. Army Reserve and the seventh commanding general of USARC.

The success of America’s Army relies on the depth of a multi-component force and will require the Army Reserve and National Guard to maintain their key role as part of Army force structure. My vision and strategy, outlined in “Rally Point 32” will enable the Army Reserve to sustain its support to the Total Army and the Joint Force.

the Army’s medical, engineer, quartermaster,

ordinance, civil affairs and psychological

operations capability. More than one third of our

structure is combat support and more than half is

combat service support.

Army reserve 2020Developing AR 2020 as a versatile mix of

enabling capabilities to Army 2020 and Joint

Force 2020 is a key strategic priority. As we

continue to provide ready and direct access

to a high quality, all-volunteer, operational

Army Reserve for Army and joint missions at

home and abroad, we must also adapt to meet

the evolving requirements of the Total Force

and the nation in an environment of reduced

fiscal resources.

Progressive readiness – The way ahead will

involve varying levels of progressive readiness for

the Army. Not all units require the same resources

to achieve readiness goals. The revised Army

Force Generation model will provide a more

balanced approach to training, mobilization,

and predictability that Soldiers, Families and

employers deserve.

Alignment – Aligning Army Reserve Theater

Commands with Army Corps, Army Service

Component Commands and Combatant

Commands is crucial to keeping the Army

Reserve part of the operating force. This

alignment will provide critical staff planning

and support and ensure the unique capability

of the Army Reserve is utilized throughout the

ARFORGEN cycle. Forces that are regionally

aligned will maintain an expeditionary mindset,

and regional alignment will also broaden the

core skills of Army Reserve Soldiers by including

cultural and language training. The goal is to

enhance the Army’s ability to conduct a full range

of military missions worldwide, achieve and

sustain security, stability and peace.

resources – The Army Reserve has

numerous resources available, with dedicated

training infrastructure as well as training divisions

under the operational control of Training and

Doctrine Command, making them a resource

and asset to the Total Army. Maximizing CTC-like

enabling training with the Total Force at our

Warrior Exercises and Combat Support Training

Exercises, conducted by the 84th Training

Command is key. Also, simulation technology

and home station training will save time and

training dollars. The 75th Training Division

(Mission Command) is currently spearheading a

proof of principal that, if successful, could allow

distributive use of games and simulations at

platoon, company and expeditionary sustainment

command-sized elements.

The national Defense Authorization Act –

Army Reserve Soldiers are present in 1,200

communities across the nation. They add value

through military and civilian acquired skills and

capabilities that can now be leveraged at home

for critical lifesaving, property preservation and

damage mitigation events.

The new mobilization authority for Defense

Support of Civil Authority response contained

in NDAA 2012 will serve as the mechanism to

rapidly activate Federal Reserve Components in

a complex catastrophe. The core competency

of the Army Reserve—the projection and

sustainment of Army forces—lends itself readily

to such missions. In the instance of a complex

catastrophe, the Army Reserve maintains 100

percent of the Army’s bio-detection capability,

76 percent of the forward surgical, and a

predominance of transportation and engineering

capability for the Total Army.

resiliency – I would like to see a stronger

emphasis on Soldier and leader readiness

programs. In addition to physical fitness training,

I expect my leaders need to know their Soldiers

and Families and work to instill resiliency. The

one thing that keeps me up at night is knowing

we are losing too many Soldiers to suicide. Learn

to identify and recognize at-risk Soldiers and let

them know that reaching out for help is a sign of

strength. There are programs and resources that

troubled Soldiers and Family members need to be

made aware of, and looking out for your troop or

battle buddy is something every Soldier must do.

rAlly for The fuTureI have high confidence that together our

leadership teams will aggressively exercise

proper authority within their commands

to ensure adequate manning, training and

equipping to meet mission requirements.

Leaders should emphasize technical skills

in tactical environments—make use of our

WARExS and CSTxs and participate in Theater

exercises; this will maintain the warrior skills

honed over a decade of war.

As I stated in Rally Point 32, the future will

require an Army Reserve that can enable our

Army to “Prevent, Shape and Win” across a

full range of missions. Reduced resourcing will

require continued effectiveness with gained

business efficiencies. The key to success is

maintaining the right force mix in our total Army

and keeping a balance in our personal and

professional lives as we serve together.

5warriOr–CiTiZeN

Rally Point by lt. Gen. JeffRey W. talley chief, U.S. aRmy ReSeRve, and commandinG GeneRal, U.S. aRmy ReSeRve command

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“I believe we have the best Army Reserve in history. We are an essential part of the total force.… The future will require an Army Reserve that can enable our Army to Prevent, Shape and Win across a full range of missions.”

— LT. GEN. JEFFREy W. TALLEy, CHIEF, U.S. ARMy RESERvE, AND COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMy RESERvE COMMAND

In order to adapt to a changing military and global

environment, the Army Reserve’s new chief is

stepping into his role ready to manage expectations,

set priorities and make the tough decisions required to

provide continued and essential support to the Army.

As Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding

General, U.S. Army Reserve Command, Lt. Gen.

Jeffrey Talley’s mission and intent is to continue

to provide U.S. Forces Command with the proven

Warrior-Citizens who evolved as an integral part of the

joint force. The trick is he’ll have to do it without the

dedicated contingency dollars that helped assure

a trained and ready reserve component over the

past decade.

“Everybody has become very comfortable with the

Army Reserve as part of the operating force,” Talley said.

“But with constrained fiscal resources, I think managing

those expectations within the force and outside the

Army Reserve is going to be the real challenge.”

At Talley’s June 9 assumption of command

ceremony, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army’s

Chief of Staff called the Army Reserve the most

capable reserve force in our nation’s history.

“More than ever, our nation—and specifically our

Army—relies on the diversity and strength of our

multi-component structure,” said Odierno. “It provides

us the depth, versatility and agility to operate

simultaneously across a broad spectrum of missions.”

The Army Reserve maintains a predominance of

the Army’s operational support structure. Operational

specialties such as medical, chemical, transportation,

engineer and civil affairs that function within the Army

Reserve and are enhanced by civilian skill-sets that

would be costly to maintain as part of the active

component structure. The critical institutional functions

such as professional military education, initial entry

training, mobilization and resourcing have enhanced

the total force by expanding their mission to function as

Mobile Training Teams at forward operating bases.

“As we move forward, all three components will

play a critical role in dealing with the challenges of an

increasingly complex and uncertain environment,” said

Odierno. “The nation will continue to require much of

our Army, Guard and Reserve but in very new ways.”

Talley believes the key to meeting mission

requirements in an environment of reduced fiscal

resources is to set priorities and maintain the right

level of progressive readiness at the right time in the

most cost-effective manner.

“Lt. Gen. Stultz was very successful in leveraging

the historic opportunity for the Army Reserve to

become part of the operating force,” said Talley, “and

6 warriOr–CiTiZeN

from the top AdAptiNg to New ReAlitieS

By MELISSA RUSSELL,

ARMy RESERvE COMMUNICATIONS

“We need to leverage the resources and strengths we have…. By training together…and maintaining Soldier skillsets through support to theater cooperation missions, we can strike the right balance.”

ABOvE: Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, chief, U.S. Army Reserve, and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, expands on his goals and objectives as outlined in Rally Point 32 with staff members at the command’s Fort Bragg, N.C., headquarters on June 11.

in step with America’s Army

— LT. GEN. JEFFREy W. TALLEy, CHIEF, U.S. ARMy RESERvE, AND COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMy RESERvE COMMAND

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ARmy REsERvEAccess: UsAR is federal force under federal control.

UsAR structure is designed to provide complementary capabilities not resident in the AC.

UsAR forces are integrated within various Army commands and Field Operating Agencies.

UsAR has unique focuses and capabilities not present elsewhere in the Army that enable the Total Force.

UsAR has most of the Army’s medical, quartermaster, ordnance, engineer, civil affairs, and psychological operations capability.

UsAR structure complements the AC.

Reserve Component Capabilities

7warriOr–CiTiZeN

ReSeRVe cApABilitieS the o.p.

The O.P.By Master Sgt.

Steve Opet

now we need to look at ways to keep our battle-tested

force ready for future requirements.”

According to Talley, commanders can expect a

significant shift in how we train and provide varying

degrees of progressive readiness. “Not everybody is

going to be at the same level of readiness all the time

and that’s okay.”

In order to most effectively maintain Soldier

skill-sets, Talley is currently working to align and

integrate Army Reserve capabilities with regional

combatant commands, something he feels is crucial

to maintaining the Army Reserve’s relevancy as part

of the Total Army.

“Aligning forces supports and enhances the

progressive readiness model by giving us the ongoing

ability to plan, train and fight side by side,” said

Talley. “The future requires ongoing support to theater

cooperation missions. By aligning and integrating with

Army Service Component Commands and Combatant

Commands, we can remain ready and relevant—

leveraging our respective resources and strengths.”

According to Odierno, Talley’s experience and

background make him “the absolutely right leader

to understand the strategic environment, articulate

a vision, and lead change as the Army moves forward

in a time of change.”

“I admired his leadership when he commanded

an engineer brigade in Iraq,” said Odierno, calling

Talley’s counter-IED and construction efforts in Sadr

City ground-breaking. “It allowed multi-national force

Iraq to achieve success in a place, Sadr City, that few

believed was possible.”

Talley’s leadership is enhanced by his education

and civilian acquired skills—he holds a Ph.D. in

civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie

Mellon University and an Executive M.B.A. from

the University of Oxford in England. He also holds

multiple master’s degrees in strategic studies,

environmental engineering and science, liberal arts

(history and philosophy), and religious studies. Prior to

assuming command, Talley was president and CEO of

Environmental Technology Solutions and an Adjunct

Professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Ultimately, Talley believes that finding a balance

between Family, civilian career, and the military is

the best way for Army Reserve Soldiers to maintain

resiliency and continue providing the strategic depth

the Army and joint force has come to rely on.

“Family is a primary source of strength for Soldiers,

and it’s the civilian job that helps pay the Family

mortgage or rent,” he said. “The resulting strength,

knowledge and practical experience, coupled with vital

military skills are what make Army Reserve Soldiers

such an invaluable asset to the force.”

in step with America’s Army

NATIONAl GUARdAccess: ARNG is federal force under state control.

ARNG structure provides depth and reinforcing capabilities to the Total Force.

ARNG units support their states.

ARNG focuses on brigade-level tactical and operational units and their direct enablers.

The ARNG has most of the Army’s infantry, battlefield surveillance, and maneuver enhancement brigades.

The ARNG force structure mirrors the AC.

blogs + websites

8 warriOr–CiTiZeN

The Web offers many free, interactive resources to help Warrior-Citizens and their Families make informed decisions regarding their health, finances, career and education. Here are some of the latest new and useful online tools for Soldiers.

ArmyreservemArksmAn.infoArmy reserve Policy is for commAnDers To encourAge smAll

Arms TrAining AnD comPeTiTion AT All levels. To help direct this

effort, Army Reserve Marksman, maintained by members of the USAR Shooting Team,

provides the latest information as the official Army Reserve website.

9warriOr–CiTiZeN

www.opm.gov/cfcIn 2011 ARmy ReSeRve SoLdIeRS And CIvILIAn

empLoyeeS mAde A hUGe ImpACT toward the Army’s

Combined Federal Campaign goal of $1.9 million—with several

organizations exceeding their voluntary contribution goal by as

much as 171%. Established in 1961, CFC is the world’s largest

and most successful annual workplace charity campaign. CFC is

designed to allow Federal employees to help others through a wide

assortment of health and welfare charities that operate nationally,

internationally and locally. Contact your unit CFC campaign

manager or log on to www.opm.gov/cfc to learn more and

contribute. you never know when you will go from someone who

can help to someone who needs help.

www.defense.gov/home/feAtures/2009/0409_gibill/

WITh moRe ThAn 260,000 STUdenTS

attending about 6,000 colleges and universities

this fall under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, officials are

continuing an active outreach effort to ensure current

military members and veterans don’t miss out on the

new program’s education benefits.

www.militAryonesource.mil mILITARy oneSoURCe IS A fRee SeRvICe provided

by the Department of Defense to servicemembers and their

Families to help with a broad range of concerns including money

management, spouse employment, education, parenting and child

care, relocation, deployment, reunion and the particular concerns

of Families with special-needs members. They can also include

more complex issues like relationships, stress and grief. Services

are available 24 hours a day—by telephone and online. Many

Military OneSource staff members have military experience and all

receive ongoing training on military matters and military lifestyle.

The program can be especially helpful to service members and

their Families who live at a distance from installations.

WAShInGTon d.C. — When Sgt. Steven

Davidson graduated from high school in 2009,

he never dreamed he would be attending a

formal awards ceremony on Capitol Hill, receiving

recognition from Military Times, and accolades from

generals and top enlisted leaders from all branches

of the military. The 2012 Army Times Soldier of the

year was one of five service members honored by

Military Times as an “Everyday Hero.”

Davidson, a human resource specialist with

the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, was recognized

in part for the life-saving actions he took during

elite survival training, when a fellow Soldier lost

consciousness due to heat stroke during a 122-mile

trek through the desert in Djibouti. The Soldiers

had been enduring 120-degree temperatures while

participating in a French desert survival course that

culminated in a nine-hour ruck march.

“People had been falling down all night—they

would get a hand up and then we’d drive on,” he

said. When a fellow Soldier fell out and became

unresponsive, “I grabbed my ruck and ran up to

him. I grabbed my scissors and began cutting off his

pants, boots and top.”

He and his fellow Soldiers cut the fabric into

strips, dampened, and applied them. Davidson

poured his remaining water on the Soldier. “They

were able to call in a MEDEvAC, but they told us it

would take two hours,” he said. While waiting, the

Soldier woke violently, disoriented and confused.

Davidson took control of the situation to calm him,

but added, “We didn’t think he would make it.”

French medics arrived before MEDEvAC, and

Davidson could see the French medics were having

a hard time communicating with the injured Soldier.

“The French medics didn’t know any English and

none of us spoke any French. They couldn’t tell him

how to put on the oxygen masks, or that he was

going to get an Iv, I felt like I had to step back in,

10 warriOr–CiTiZeN

people SoldieR oF the yeAR

RIGHT: Sgt. Steven Brandon Davidson, 490th Civil Affairs Command, receives a letter of commendation from Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, Chief, Army Reserve at an awards ceremony in Davidson’s honor, in which he was named Military Times 2012 Soldier of the year.

BELOW: Sgt. Steven Brandon Davidson, 490th Civil Affairs Command, was selected as Military Times 2012 Soldier of the year on July 19, 2012. Davidson was selected for his outstanding community service both home and abroad, his heroic initiative, which saved a life and his performance as noncommissioned officer in charge when he was still a corporal.

making a lasting impact

story and photos By

staff sgt. felix r. fimBres,

UsaCapoC(a) pUBliC affairs

“The Army Reserve turns young men and women into Soldiers, gives them skills and ingrains them with core values and discipline. The citizen-solider who returns is exceptionally poised as a key leader and valued member of the community.”— LT. GEN. JEFFREy W. TALLEy, CHIEF, ARMy RESERvE, COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMy RESERvE COMMAND

foRT eUSTIS, va. — Drill sergeants are the

cornerstone of Army readiness, entrusted with the

task of preparing new Soldiers to fight and win the

nation’s wars. The knowledge, skills and abilities

required to prepare quality Soldiers for the rigors

of war demand that only the best and brightest be

selected as drill sergeants.

Each year, Initial Military Training, U.S. Army

Training and Doctrine Command, puts the best

among them to the test. Approximately 2,000

drill sergeants are tasked with training 160,000

new Soldiers each year. Four active duty and two

Army Reserve drill sergeants, each previously

recognized as the Drill Sergeant of the year for

their respective installation or division, compete

for Department of the Army-level recognition.

The six Soldiers endure physical and mental

challenges during a four-day competition

designed to test their knowledge of warrior tasks

and battle drills, and their ability to teach these

tasks to new Soldiers.

The drill sergeants were first assessed on their

ability to demonstrate and instruct such classes

as urban orienteering, combatives and correct

actions to take in response to a role-playing

Soldier suspected as suicidal. A second round of

assessments included tests on drill and ceremony

movements, and providing care under fire.

Of course it would hardly be an Army competition without the fitness and agility tests recruits

regularly go through—low crawl, crossing monkey bars, wall climbing and ditch jumping are all

part of the competition.

The selection process concluded with each drill sergeant appearing before a board of command

sergeants major to evaluate their knowledge of leadership and drill sergeant training tasks.

At the end of day four, it was Staff Sgt. Jarod Moss, representing the 95th Reserve Division,

and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Heilman, representing Fort Jackson, S.C., who received the overall highest

scores—and were recognized as the 2012 DSoy for their components.

Both were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Moss will receive the Ralph Haines Jr. Award, named for the

commander of the Continental Army Command (forerunner of

TRADOC) from 1970 to 1972. The award will be presented in

a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., at a later date.

Staff Sgt. Jarod Moss, 95th Reserve Division Drill Sergeant of the year, completes the final obstacle of the Fort Eustis, va., confidence course before sprinting to the finish line. Moss and four other contestants competed for the fastest time in the Training and Doctrine Command-hosted competition, prior to his ultimate selection as the 2012 Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the year.

11warriOr–CiTiZeN

dRill SeRgeANt oF the yeAR

to let the Soldier know what was going on,”

said Davidson.

Thanks to his civilian knowledge and combat

lifesaver training, he understood what the medics

were trying to do. Together, they were able to

stabilize the Soldier until MEDEvAC arrived.

Convinced Davidson’s actions directly attributed

to the Soldier’s survival, leadership awarded

Davidson the Army Achievement Medal.

That accomplishment explains only part of

Davidson’s selection as the overall winner for his

branch. According to Military Times, the award

is earned by demonstrated concern for fellow

service members, their community and the country

they serve.

It was in his community of Denton, Texas, that

Davidson says he learned both the value of good

mentoring, and the skills that instinctively kicked in

when he saw a Soldier in crisis.

Davidson first began honing his basic medical

skills as an underclassman at Northwest High School

in Justin, Texas. He worked under the guidance of

Scott Fletcher, the school’s head athletic trainer,

who taught him how to take care of a myriad of

sports injuries. “I absolutely loved it,” he said.

“It was because of ‘Doc’ Fletcher—the skills he

taught me and the confidence he gave me—that

I was able to treat the Soldier,” said Davidson.

“I acted the way I acted on that mountain because

of instinct—he had such an influence.”

Finding a way to pay it forward, Davidson grew

up to become a mentor in his own right, reaching

out to youth in the community. He mentors at local

schools, telling the story of how his athletic training

job, that included ensuring athletes stayed hydrated,

led to hurtful remarks.

“I was constantly taunted for being ‘the water

boy,’” he said. Davidson quit in his junior year.

“It was one of my biggest regrets,” he tells them.

“Because I was self-conscious, I quit doing what

I loved.”

Although honored by his selection as Army Times

Soldier of the year, Davidson hopes to use his

newfound celebrity to inspire other Soldiers to get

involved. He believes that as members and leaders

in the community, Army Reserve Soldiers have a

particular responsibility to give back. “There are so

many kids who are looking for someone to look up

to,” he said, “and not many service members know

how influential they can be.”

“I’m not saying, ‘get out there and stop crime’,

said Davidson, “but youth look up to Soldiers, and

Soldiers need to visit their schools and churches and

give back to the community.”

Staff. Sgt. Jarod Moss (right), assigned to the 95th Reserve Division at Fort Sill, Okla., and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Heilman, representing Fort Jackson, S.C., sit with their noncommissioned officer swords after being named Army Reserve and active duty Drill Sergeants of the year at the closing ceremony for the U.S. Army’s 2012 DSoy competition. The drill sergeants earned top honors from battalion level up through installation level, and represent the best drill sergeants in the Army.

making a lasting impact

cornerstone of readinessby Stephanie Slater, traDOC

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WAShInGTon, d.C. – As a civilian, Dr. Alan

Samuels works as a research chemist at Edgewood

Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving

Ground, Md., where he studies remote-sensing

technology for the Army. As a lieutenant colonel in the

Army Reserve, he recently returned from deployment

to Afghanistan, where he supported the efforts of

the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering

Command to evaluate better ways to more efficiently

use energy in a combat environment.

The research Samuels conducted while deployed

recently earned him the distinction of being one

among nine Americans honored as “Champions of

Change” by the White House.

“It’s a very humbling thing for me…as a research

chemist without any real expertise in power and

energy,” Samuels said of the honor. “I am glad I was

able to make a contribution to help out.”

The Army Reserve Sustainment Command

Soldier worked in support of RDECOM’s initiative

to set up a science and technology collaboration,

researching the effectiveness of energy-saving

micro-grid technology.

Samuels deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011

to set up this center at Bagram Airfield. His team

collaborated and shared information with other Army

and Department of Defense agencies in Afghanistan

to address operational energy challenges there.

One of the efforts Samuels was involved in was to

assess, in an operational environment, the efficiency

of traditional power-distribution systems using

generators, and how that changes with the addition of

micro-grid technology. Traditional power-distribution

networks on a base, in a combat environment,

Samuels said, are using fuel inefficiently.

“We had 60kw generators putting out anywhere

from 5 to 15kw around the base,” he said. “That is

kind of bad news for the generator systems. They

are using a lot of fuel they don’t have to. Second,

there are maintenance issues. Since the generator

is not running at its load, it’s not reaching the

temperature it needs to efficiently burn that fuel and

put out power based on the demand.”

Micro-grid technology, Samuel said, makes the

whole system burn less fuel making it more efficient.

“So what these computer technologies do as

components of a micro-grid system is sense that

load and only turn on those generators that are

needed,” he said. “And their maintenance, as well as

their fuel consumption, goes way down.”

Samuels said in Afghanistan, he was able to

observe a 17-percent reduction in the amount

of fuel used, relative to the baseline, just using

micro-grid technology.

Reducing the amount of fuel used in theater

of operations is not just an environmental concern,

or even a cost concern—it’s a concern for the

lives of Soldiers.

“The Army’s mission is very dependent on power

and energy, and upon our ability to adapt, change

and innovate according to the circumstances in

which our forces find ourselves,” said Katherine

Hammack, the assistant secretary of the Army for

Installations, Environment and Technology.

Technology, such as micro-grids, can reduce fuel

usage and the great costs associated with providing

it. “It means that we can have fewer fuel convoys on

the road,” Hammack said. “One in every 46 convoys

suffers a casualty—if we have fewer convoys, we

are saving lives.”

people SoldieR hoNoRS

champion of change

Story and photo by

C. todd Lopez, defenSe

Media aCtivity

Lt. Col. Alan Samuels, who researched the effectiveness of energy-saving “micro-grid” technology in Afghanistan, was among nine Americans honored as “Champions of Change” by the White House.

“So what these computer tech-nologies do as components of a micro-grid system is sense [the] load and only turn on those generators that are needed. And their maintenance, as well as their fuel consumption, goes way down.”

— DR. ALAN SAMUELS, ExPLAINING THE BENEFITS OF MICRO-GRID TECHNOLOGy

13warriOr–CiTiZeN

foRT BeLvoIR, va. – In her tenure as

Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army

Reserve and U.S. Army Reserve Command,

newly selected Command Chief Warrant Officer

5 Phyllis Wilson hopes to mentor warrant

officers and bring increased visibility to a corps

that makes up less than three percent of the

Army structure.

“I want to ensure that Army Reserve

warrant officers are viewed as key leaders,

key advisors and mentors,” said Wilson.

“I’m very proud to have the opportunity to

represent the highly skilled, adaptive technical

experts, combat leaders, trainers and advisors

that comprise the Army Reserve warrant

officer corps.”

Wilson replaced Command Chief Warrant

Officer 5 James E. Thompson, who served as

CCWO of the Army Reserve from Sept. 2007

to July 2012, retiring after 41 years of military

service. Thompson, the first warrant officer to

be included as part of the command group staff,

called it “the best job I’ve ever had.”

“I know that I am leaving the warrant officers

in good hands,” said Thompson. “Chief Wilson is

totally dedicated to continuing the transformation

of the Army Reserve and the transformation of

warrant officers.”

“The advances made by Chief Thompson on

behalf of warrant officers have had an impact

across the entire Army Reserve and I’d like to

thank him for all he has done,” said Wilson.

As CCWO, Wilson will represent and advise

the U.S. Army Reserve Chief, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey

W. Talley, and the command staff on matters

pertaining to the recruiting, organization,

retention, training and education of warrant

officers throughout the Army Reserve. Wilson

will also coordinate policies and initiatives that

address strength management, warrant officer

development, morale, welfare and promotions

within the warrant officer corps.

Wilson, who enlisted in the Army in 1981 as a

military intelligence voice intercept operator and

transitioned to the Army Reserve in 1984, called

joining the Army a great opportunity to serve the

country, learn a language and see the world while

pursuing a college degree.

“I loved the military from the beginning—the

structure, the discipline and recognition for a

job well done has always had an appeal,” said

Wilson. “This is the highlight of my career and

I am honored to be selected and look forward

to serving Soldiers.”

Education is very important to Wilson, who has

earned three associate degrees, two bachelor of

science degrees and a master of science.

“Education is critical and I recognize that

warrant officers receive relatively small blocks

of professional military education,” said Wilson.

“I plan on working to ensure the right amount

of education is afforded at the right time in a

warrant officer’s career to provide the best

trained technical expert to commanders at

all echelons.”

change of responsibility By Teri L. Bupp,

ConTriBuTing ediTor

New commANd chieF wARRANt oFFiceR

“I want to ensure that Army Reserve warrant officers are viewed as key leaders, key advisors and mentors.”

— COMMAND CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 5 PHyLLIS WILSON

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foRT JACKSon, S.C. – When the legal

issues faced by deploying Soldiers from the 81st

Regional Support Command started to interfere with

their ability to successfully navigate the staff judge

advocate portion of the Soldier Readiness Process,

Master Sgt. Denise Underwood, chief paralegal

noncommissioned officer at the 81st Regional

Support Command, began to wonder what they

could do to better support their Soldiers. Her practical

solution helped create a streamlined resource to

benefit all reserve component Soldiers.

While active duty service members have access

to a Staff Judge Advocate office on-post, most

Army Reserve Soldiers don’t have an attorney on

retainer, so many simply let legal issues fall by the

wayside. According to Underwood, many of the

issues beyond routine wills and powers of attorney

could not be resolved quickly, and when a Soldier

is deploying, putting them off until later is not the

prime solution.

“We just don’t have enough lawyers to have one in

every unit,” said Underwood. “When we were having

SRPs, we had Soldiers that said they hadn’t seen

a lawyer in years.”

With Army Reserve and National Guard troops

deploying almost as often as active duty Soldiers,

readiness has remained a critical concern for more

than a decade, throughout two conflicts in Iraq and

Afghanistan as well as the various places in Eastern

Europe, Africa or wherever else citizen-Soldiers might

find themselves.

To alleviate this problem, Underwood initiated

and helped organize a way to combine three legal

assets: the lawyer, the online Army Regulations and

the existing legal website for the Judge Advocate

General's Corps, JAGCNET, into one accessible

resource where the Soldier can do a self-assessment

questionnaire and determine what his or her legal

needs are. “If you combine all three,” Underwood

explained, “the Soldiers can go to one site and answer

some of their own questions.” The new system

attempts to point the user in the right direction, linking

their questions to relevant regulations. “It gives them

instant results and also cuts down on the Soldier going

to see an attorney when they really don’t need to,”

she added.

“The questionnaire asks the Soldier a set of

questions that are designed to determine if they have

either a Family or other legal situation that requires

legal assistance or trial defense service support,” said

Col. Elena Kusky of the Army Reserve Legal Command.

According to Kusky, the checklist can be used as a

part of the annual SRP, and also whenever a Soldier

wants to know if a change to a Family situation or an

administrative action at the unit requires legal support.

Based on answers to questions, the system will

produce a brief legal explanation of the significance

of its positive answer and suggest the kind of legal

assistance they might need. Once completed, a

link to request legal assistance is provided as well

as contact information for the Legal Command.

National Guard Soldiers will be shown a link to the

closest legal assistance office. If a Guard or Reserve

Soldier has an issue that requires trial defense service

support, a link is supplied that shows them their

nearest TDS assets.

JagcNeT on your side

oNliNe legAl ASSiStANcecommunities

STORy AND PHOTO By

SGT. 1ST CLASS JOEL QUEBEC

81ST REGIONAL SUPPORT

COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Assisted by Master Sgt. Denise Underwood of the 81st Regional Support Command, Sgt. Amanda Lockwood-Engel goes through the JAGCNET website in order to determine whether or not she needs any assistance from the Staff Judge Advocate office. The website now has a function specifically for Army Reserve Soldiers. Underwood is indicating the correct tab Reserve Soldiers are to choose to get to the correct legal assessment tool.

15warriOr–CiTiZeN

Underwood’s efforts were supported by then

Brig. Gen. Gill Beck, commanding general of the Army

Reserve Legal Command at the time. Beck, now a

Major General and 81st Regional Support Command

commander, had her coordinate with Legal Command

and the Office of the Judge Advocate General’s legal

assistance policy division. The result is an online

questionnaire that is now live and available to Army

Reserve and National Guard troops. There was a lot

of checking and rechecking of the regulations as well

as the technical aspects of adding new features to the

existing site. Underwood gives a lot of credit to the

webmasters of JAGCNET for their tireless efforts to

make the new part of the site fully functional.

The questionnaire is confidential and, once

completed, the Soldier can print out a separate

certificate of completion to give to the unit

administrator or use as proof of completing a legal

review during the SRP. The completed questionnaire

can also be printed and kept for reference when

consulting the JAG attorney.

The questionnaire is maintained on the JAGCNET

website, which Soldiers can access by going to

the site listed below and clicking on Reserve

Soldier Legal Readiness Review. In the future,

a link to the questionnaire will be inserted into

Army Knowledge Online under the “My Legal,

Self-Service” portal.

For more information visit: https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/LRR

JagcNeT on your side

Town HallS o L d i e R S

John C. Maxwell once said, “A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

Over the last year we’ve focused on getting back to the basics, focusing

on the most important aspects of being a Soldier and leader: knowing,

adhering to and enforcing standards. Now, with the right tools, programs

and resources, all of us must focus on “taking charge.”

Taking charge is insisting that you and your Soldiers understand the

most up-to-date professional development policies and programs to

support you as warriors, while also ensuring you have access to vital

resources needed to support you as citizens. Taking charge means

reaching out to Families above and beyond battle assemblies, annual

training and deployment windows.

Knowing, going and showing the way is not easy. It never has been.

Leaders, no matter the organization, must know the programs, policies

and resources out there, and if they are not sure, they need not be afraid

to ask.

Over the coming year both the Chief of the Army Reserve and I will

continue to pursue a model that will provide predictability and stability

for our Soldiers and Families while maintaining our operational focus.

This will not happen overnight and that’s why it is vitally important that

we “take charge” of knowing and understanding who our Soldiers are and

what they are facing.

Work with your chain of command to gain access to the resources you

need, and do not hesitate to connect with me and my team as I travel to

visit all of you.

“Taking charge” is not a slogan. It’s a way of life, and now, more than

ever, it’s a must as an Army Reserve Soldier.

with Command Sgt. maj. miChaeL SChuLtz

“The questionnaire [on the JAGCNET site] asks the Soldier a set of questions that are designed to determine if they have either a Family or other legal situation that requires legal assis-tance or trial defense service support.”

— COL. ELENA KUSKy, ARMy RESERvE LEGAL COMMAND


VeteRANS oppoRtUNity to woRk pRogRAmcommunities

neW yoRK – Combining military capabilities

with civilian education and skill sets make Army

Reserve Soldiers an ideal fit for many job openings,

but navigating today’s challenging job market can

leave many Soldiers frustrated, and in some

cases, unemployed.

A pilot program launched by the Army Reserve

on Aug. 12, hopes to offer relief by introducing the

2011 veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes

Act to eligible veterans.

Soldiers of the 436th Transportation Battalion

recently attended a workshop designed to help

transitioning Army Reserve Soldiers pursue their

employment and education goals.

Spc. William Lewis, a transportation specialist

with two deployments, found the pilot program both

enjoyable and helpful.

“This is a lot more detailed than what I remember

from my first two deployments,” said Lewis. “A lot of

information is provided. All we need to do is apply it.”

Col. Henderson Baker leads the Army Reserve’s

veteran’s Opportunity to Work program, designed

for Soldiers mobilized for more than 180 days.

“In the development of the curriculum, we had to

ask what are the tools that will benefit the service

member as they are transitioning from the military?”

Soldiers are returning from deployment or coming

off active duty to a shrinking job market.

“The unemployment rate for veterans is high right

now,” said Baker. “With vOW, we are getting that

number lower.”

Much of the push for a program like vOW

came after the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics

reported the Army paid more than $500 million in

unemployment claims for veterans leaving active

duty, said Maj. Lee Edmonds, the Army transition

officer at Human Resources Command.

According to the fiscal year 2011 report,

Edmonds said the veteran unemployment rate was

8.3 percent, not a drastic change from the 2010

rate of 8.7 percent.

Edmonds added that a subsequent report in

March found that more than 830,000 veterans were

unemployed and seeking work.

veterans must spend 180 days on active duty

to qualify for the benefits provided through the

the VOW to create new opportunities

“This pilot program [VOW] is for us to figure out how to fit the pieces together. How to take certain tools and place them at the right time for the Soldier to benefit from it.”

— COL. HENDERSON BAKER, U.S. ARMy RESERvE COMMAND’S OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE vOW IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM

By Staff Sgt. JoShua ford

214th MoBile PuBlic

affairS detachMent

For more information on the Vow to hire heroes act go to benefits.va.gov/vow.https:// www.jagcnet.army.mil/LRR

17warriOr–CiTiZeN

vOW Act. Eligible veterans can attend resume-

writing workshops, interview technique classes,

financial planning classes and job postings and

education benefit classes.

“Some of the classes will be given before the

service member deploys or is activated so they can

start planning for their life after coming back home

or leaving active duty,” said Edmonds. According to

Edmonds, one of the benefits is that by completing

the resume-writing workshop while deployed or

mobilized, a Soldier can immediately start working

on finding employment when they get back home.

Baker said the full program goes live Nov. 21 for

veterans of all services.

In the months leading up to the program’s launch,

Army leaders put the finishing touches on the vOW

curriculum and figured out the best way to deliver it

to the veterans who need it.

“This pilot program is for us to figure out how to

fit the pieces together. How to take certain tools and

place them at the right time for the Soldier to benefit

from it,” he said.

“For example, financial planning would be a class

that could benefit Soldiers before mobilizing.

And that is something we might not have gone

in to such depth before,” he said.

Active duty service members are already

provided most of the curriculum because installations

have the staff and facilities to support such programs.

Reserve Soldiers have not had that luxury, he said.

Edmonds said the Army has been given $40

million for fiscal year 2012 to hire counselors and

buy equipment to bring these services to Reserve

units at their home stations.

“Mobile training teams are being created and

will be placed multiple locations around the country

to provide these services to veterans,”

he said.

Baker said the Army is ready

to go. “The country has a long

history of helping veterans

and I think the country

wants to continue

helping Soldiers after

they leave active

duty,” said Baker.

“Failure is not an

option here.”

the VOW to create new opportunities“The unemployment rate for veterans is high right now. With VOW, we are getting that number lower.”

— COL. HENDERSON BAKER, U.S. ARMy RESERvE COMMAND

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Guatemalan


It Is a regIon threatened by organized crime and vulnerable

to humanitarian crises. Schools are in a state of disrepair and utilities are faulty.

For residents here, every day brings challenges of survival. But the

“Beyond the Horizon” mission aims to bring some relief.

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19warriOr–CiTiZeN

Soldiers assigned to the 471st Engineer Company and the 603rd Eng. Detachment, U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico, move in a convoy down a remote road in Cobán Province, Guatemala. During their mission, known as Beyond the Horizon 2012, the engineers renovated a school and built a new classroom to benefit over 200 children who reside at the remote village. The troops also renovated an emergency room at the Banlebaal hospital, in the Carcha province. Guatemalan soldiers worked along with the Puerto Rican troops in the project, which is a reflection of the effective partnership built with the Beyond the Horizons mission.

by Maj. Carlos M. Cuebas1st Mission Support Command Public Affairs


— CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 MIGUEL vELAzQUEz, ACTING COMMANDER, 471ST ENGINEER COMPANy

“Since we are able to speak in Spanish with the local population, our job here goes beyond the construction of a building. We are really making a connection with the Guatemalan people.”

A Soldier mixes mortar for the construction of a new school at the Sarrax-Och village, located approximately 30 kilometers outside Cobán city, in northern central Guatemala. During their rotation, the Army Reserve Soldiers from Puerto Rico are finishing the work that was started by three previous rotations of U.S. troops.

COBÁN PROVINCE, Guatemala

It’s been a year since an auxiliary prosecutor was murdered in Cobán by drug traffickers who have plagued the country in increasing numbers over the past decade. In a recent statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, the

commander of United States Southern Command, identified Central America as an area acutely impacted by “transnational organized crime, which has evolved into a volatile and potentially destabilizing threat to both citizen and regional security.”

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21warriOr–CiTiZeN

COBÁN PROVINCE, GuatemalaTOP LEFT: A group of school children raise their hands in their temporary classroom in Cobán province, Guatemala. U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico engineers renovated their school and built a new classroom to benefit over 200 children who reside at the remote village.

TOP RIGHT: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Miguel Velazquez, acting commander of the 471st Engineer Company, U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico, talks with the Sarrax-Och’s children at their temporary school in Cobán province, Guatemala.

MIDDLE RIGHT: A small church sits perched atop a hill in Cobán province, Guatemala.

LOWER RIGHT: A young girl in the town of Sarrax-Och, site of a ceremony officially starting military engineering operations on behalf of Beyond the Horizon Guatemala 2012, shields her eyes and looks at the Soldier taking her picture. Beyond the Horizon operations in Sarrax-Och, constructed and renovated school buildings to provide a community of about 1,000 people with more than three times the school area.

Giving Hope In addition to the threat posed by transnational organized crime, the region is also vulnerable to humanitarian crises, where day-to-day challenges of survival leave scant time or energy for residents to concern themselves with the rising homicide rate.

The main source of income for the approximately 1,000 residents in the remote village of Sarrax-Och is the production of coffee, and it’s hardly enough to make ends meet. Schools are in a state of disrepair. Electricity in the maternity ward of the local hospital is faulty; its lone sterilizer has not been used for years. This when, according to officials, the municipality of Carcha has the highest maternal mortality rate in Guatemala.

The recent U.S. Southern Command Theater Security Cooperation mission, known as Beyond the Horizon, gives communities like this a reason to hope things will get better. Increased military presence in the region is a deterrent to threats, but for Soldiers assigned to the 1st Mission Support Command, the mission of applying their combined engineering and construction skills to complete the repairs and construction of schools and hospitals means more than just annual training.

Fostering Goodwill

“We are making a small contribution to improve the quality of life for all Guatemalans,” said Sgt. 1st Class Victor Misla, a construction supervisor with over 19 years of experience. “What we are doing will stay, and the population will always remember us.”

During their rotation, these Army Reserve Soldiers from Puerto Rico are finishing work that was started by three previous rotations of troops, who mobilized to Guatemala from different commands in the United States.

“We are working on two schools, constructing a new building and renovating another one that was in very poor shape,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Miguel Velazquez, acting commander of the 471st Engineer Company.

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According to the school's director, Guillermina Arévalo, more than 250 kids will receive a better education, thanks to the new facilities.

The Beyond the Horizon mission is designed to foster goodwill and improve relations between the United States and the government of Guatemala, while allowing U.S. military personnel and units to sharpen their occupational skills and practice deployment and redeployment operations to better prepare to respond to future challenges.

"The Army Reserve does not only mean going to war. It also means conducting humanitarian missions like this one," said Staff Sgt. Juan Cruz, a carpenter with more than 20 years of Army Reserve experience.

They are currently building a new school at the Sarrax-Och village, located approximately 30 kilometers outside Cobán city, in north- central Guatemala.

Arévalo calls it “a blessing for all of us in the community."

According to Velazquez, they have used excess construction material to improve other areas of the school. "We are currently fixing the students’

seats and making new teachers’ desks. Also, we are leveling the backyard

of the school, so the kids can play soccer."

TOP RIGHT: Sgt. 1st Class Harry Calderon, 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, right, discusses notes with Guatemalan Army Col. Juan Navarro, left, and U.S. Army 1st. Lt. James Orth, 304th Information Operations Batt., Camp Parks, Calif., prior to a community meeting.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Sgt. 1st Class Randy Holt and Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ciesielski, deployed to Guatemala in support of Beyond the Horizon Guatemala 2012, consider possibilities before beginning restoration of this women’s clinic in Carcha, Guatemala.

A school girl in Cobán province, Guatemala. smiles from her desk. U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico engineers renovated her school and built a new classroom to benefit over 200 other children who reside at the remote village.

BOTH PHOTOS By SPC. ANTHONy D. JONES, U.S. ARMy SOUTH

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Beyond the HorizonIn addition to the school project, the Soldiers are working in a maternity delivery room at the Carcha municipality.

“Our job here is to finish up a maternity delivery room, making an electrical connection for a sterilizer that they have not been able to use in years. We are also sealing and painting the facilities,” said Misla.

According to the hospital’s director, Dr. Barbara Fernandez, thanks to the job being done by the Soldiers, the hospital will be able to double its capacity to receive expecting mothers.

“Now we will be able to better serve pregnant women and avoid maternity deaths in our municipality,” said Fernandez.

For this rotation of Soldiers, a job well done is only part of the value they bring to the Beyond the Horizon Theater Security Cooperation mission; they recognize it as a special opportunity to share a common culture.

“Since we are able to speak in Spanish with the local population, our job here goes beyond the construction of a building,” said Velazquez. “We are really making a connection with the Guatemalan people.”

LEFT: In honor of construction starting at their town’s school, women of Cubilguitz, Guatemala present Soldiers participating in Beyond the Horizon Guatemala 2012 a meal of turkey, soup, rice, tortillas, tamales and chilies.

— Sgt. 1St ClaSS ViCtor MiSla, ConStruCtion SuperViSor

Citizens of Guatemala line the streets for the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new El Rancho medical clinic. Construction of the clinic was part of the Beyond the Horizon Guatemala 2012. Army South, working with SOUTHCOM, other military services and partner nations, will continue to build strong partnerships in the region by engaging with allies, building partner nation capacity and providing humanitarian assistance.

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“We are making a small contribution to improve the quality of life of all Guatemalans. What we are doing will stay and the population will always remember us.”


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Capt. (Dr.) Daniel Skirvin, left, looks on as Staff Sgt. Jorge Gomez-Rangel, center, and Spc. Christopher Bryan prepare an inoculation for a bull at a remote farm in Chicojil, Guatemala, during a veterinary medical readiness training exercise conducted during Beyond the Horizon 2012.

Staff Sgt. Jorge Gomez-Rangel reaches into a pen to give a shot to a pig during a veterinary medical readiness training exercise conducted during Beyond the Horizon 2011.

Spc. Christopher Bryan tries to avoid a sideways kick while inoculating a bull at a remote farm in Chicojil, Guatemala, during a recent veterinary medical readiness training exercise.

dr. daniel Skirvin’s civilian career may have gone to the dogs, but at least during his mission here in support of beyond the horizon 2012, his military career has taken more of a turn toward bulls, pigs and chickens.

As a veterinarian who typically treats house pets in his civilian career, Skirvin’s assignment to the 1019th Medical detachment in garden grove, Calif., recently helped to expand his patient base.

the mission took Capt. Skirvin, Staff Sgt. jorge gomez-Rangel and Spc. Christopher bryan to some of the most remote areas of Central guatemala as part of an effort to immunize and treat farm animals for disease.

The three-Soldier team traveled up mountainsides, through cornfields and sometimes as far as an hour’s walk from the nearest road to as many as 60 homes and farmyards every day, resulting in an estimated 600 house calls by the end of a two-week deployment.

“what we’re doing is really important, because for these people, these animals are what they have, financially,” he said. “If we can make these animals a little more healthy, that will give them a little more protein in their diets and also a little more that they can sell. And that is a big deal in terms of making their lives a little better.”

providing that service — particularly when the patients are less than willing — requires a special touch. Skirvin’s team works hand in hand with guatemalan veterinary technicians to steady the animals, tie bulls to trees when possible, and steer clear of angry kicks. “Sometimes, especially when there are no trees, it can be a little like a rodeo,” Skirvin said.

The team also depends on local officials to translate for them as they give farmers supplies of powdered vitamins and medications.

bryan, a military food inspector, said he enjoys the experience he’s gaining during his first veterinary medical readiness training exercise here. “we’re helping the people keep their animals healthy so they have a better food supply, and they’re really grateful,” he said.

gomez-wrangle, with 27 years of military service under his belt, said he can’t imagine a more gratifying mission. “I see the results,” he said. “It helps, and I like helping people.”

providing that outreach is a major objective of the beyond the horizon mission, one of U.S. Southern Command’s largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance efforts.

by Donna Miles, aMerican Forces Press service

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The jumpmaster’s command cuts through the roar of four Rolls-Royce

turboprop engines.

“Indoor personnel, stand up!”Four Soldiers repeat the order and rise to their feet inside the

rumbling belly of the Marine C-130J Super Hercules. The men’s bulky green packs strapped to their backs and waists rub against their

gray T-shirts and black running shorts.

“Hook up!”

The men clip themselves to a cable that extends nearly the length of the plane’s cargo bay.

“Check static lines!”The jumpmaster continues to bark the orders that prompt the Soldiers

through the remaining tasks as they shuffle toward the aircraft’s hydraulic ramp that had lowered minutes earlier to reveal a sunlit sky. Soldiers

inspect one another’s gear one last time, tugging straps and pulling packs. The concentration etched on faces testifies to lives

being in the balance.

Before taking the leap, the rear-most Soldier slaps the hip of the man in front of him and shouts, “Okay!” The process

ripples forward until the lead Soldier in the four-man stick clasps hands with

the jumpmaster.

“Go! Go! Go!”

FOR THE‘CHUTE’ SEA

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By SpC. JOHn L. CaRkeeT IV 143Rd SuSTaInMenT COMMand (expedITIOnaRy)

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An airborne Soldier takes a “leap of faith” out of a Marine C-130J Super Hercules airlifter. More than 30 Soldiers splashed into Tampa Bay, Fla., and were then plucked out by their seaborne comrades operating various fast boats. The paratroopers—most of whom hailed from the 421st Quartermaster Company (Light Airdrop Supply) and 861st Quartermaster Co. (Airdrop Supply) reconvened aboard the U.S. Army Vessel New Orleans, an LCU-2000 landing craft commanded by the 824th Transportation Co. (Heavy Boat).

‘CHUTE’ SEA

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The lead Soldier takes a step, then another. On the third he drops off the ramp, plummeting downward. A breathless second passes before a parachute pops open and the freefall slows to a cascade toward the glimmering ocean below as the next airborne

warrior takes his leap of faith.Hundreds of men and women from every

branch of America’s military participated in a recent joint airborne and water recovery operation off the coast of Tampa, Fla. The exercise tested new equipment and methods to drop Soldiers and supplies from the air and retrieve them from the sea.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Kiernan, unit administrator for the 421st Quartermaster Company (Light Airdrop Supply) based out of Fort Valley, Ga., molded this training mission to mimic a real-world scenario.

“This event demonstrated how we can resupply Soldiers at sea just as well as Soldiers on the ground,” said Kiernan. “Doing this requires precise coordination between aerial and maritime units that know little about what the other does.”

The logistics associated with this operation attracted air, land and naval units throughout the country. The Army Reserve’s presence included parachute riggers from the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS) and 861st Quartermaster Co. (AS), constructors from the 465th and 361st Engineering Companies, and maritime Soldiers from the 824th Transportation Co. (Heavy Boat).

“It was challenge communicating the needs and capabilities of units with very different missions,” said Kiernan. “It was a greater challenge bringing everyone together. We had to transport more than 100 Soldiers from several companies almost 400 miles to the staging area” at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

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Location:TAMPA, Fla.

Standing in the cargo bay of a Marine C-130J Super Hercules as it circles less than 1,500 feet above MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Capt. Lee Barry, commander of the 861st Quartermaster Company. (AS) inspects the cables that he and his fellow airborne Soldiers would use during their water jump into Tampa Bay.

A Zodiac, laden with supplies and connected to a parachute, rolls off the ramp of a Marine C-130J Super Hercules as it flies 800 feet above Tampa Bay, Fla. Soldiers from the 421st Quartermaster Company (LAS) and the 361st Engineering Co. prepped and packed the Zodiacs for their heavenly descent, while troops from the 465th Engineering Co. constructed the combat-expendable platforms mounted on each raft.

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One of these Soldiers was 1st Lt. Justin A. Carmack, commander of the 861st Quartermaster Co. (AS) out of Louisville, Ky.

“This [mission] was unlike any other jump I’ve done before,” said Carmack. “There were no maps or clear points of reference for a water drop zone, and it wasn’t possible to personally recon the area.”

Despite the lack of tangible intel, Carmack and his fellow airborne Soldiers welcomed the challenge.

“There’s no substitute for training like this,” said Carmack.

The operation began in earnest when the United States Army Vessel New Orleans departed its home port in Tampa as the sun peeked over the choppy bay. The 175-foot LCU-2000 class landing craft utility boat chugged toward its open water destination secured by the Joint Communication Support Element, a conglomeration of service members specialized in enhancing communication networks for complex logistical operations. Navy fast boats zipped past the New Orleans to clear the drop zone of fishing boats, pleasure craft, cargo ships and other obstructions. Other Navy and Coast Guard vessels stood by for a possible medical evacuation.

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth E. Monroe, first mate on the USAV New Orleans, described how he and his crew entered “uncharted waters.”

“This boat was built to lift on, lift off, roll on and roll off personnel and equipment,” said Monroe. “It’s not designed as a tactical staging area and dive platform, but the crew made modifications to better adapt our boat to this special mission.”

While Monroe and his crew of more than 80 Soldiers, sailors and civilians unloaded recovery boats and prepped the New Orleans for new arrivals from the sky, a C-130J Super Hercules airlifter took off from nearby MacDill AFB.

“This evenT deMonsTrATed how we cAn resuPPLy soLdiers AT seA jusT As weLL As soLdiers on The ground.”

A Navy fast boat approaches Spc. Eric C. Heron, a parachute rigger for the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS), seconds before splashdown. Heron and 29 other airborne Soldiers from the 421st Quartermaster Co. and the 861st Quartermaster Co. (AS) jumped out of a Marine C-130J Super Hercules airlifter.

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— STAFF SGT. JOSEPH KIERNAN, UNIT ADMINISTRATOR, 421ST QUARTERMASTER COMPANy (LAS)

Loaded with two Zodiacs — inflatable rafts boasting outboard engines — laden with supplies, the plane leveled out and began circling around the drop zone. With less than 800 feet separating wings from water, the crew opened the rear cargo doors and cut the lines securing the boats and their custom platforms built by the 465th Engineering Co. Gravity and the plane’s roller skate-like wheels did the rest as the Zodiacs slid out of the cargo bay and into Tampa Bay.

The first Zodiac hit the water with a terrific — albeit doomed — splash.

“The payload snapped off the chute during freefall,” Kiernan explained. “Luckily, the [Zodiac] stayed afloat and one of the recovery boats towed it back to [the USAV New Orleans] for inspection.”

The second Zodiac glided safely into the sea, but the recovery team could not fire up the boat’s engine.

“The delivery of the boats was not a complete success, but the training we derived out of this incident ensures that the mission as a whole was a success,” said Kiernan.

“We could have dropped sandbags equal to the weight of the Zodiacs,” added Capt. Terry K. Kirkwood, commander of the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS). “Despite the risks we dropped the real thing as proof that we train the way we fight.”

While service members on the surface retrieved the rafts, the C-130J returned to MacDill AFB where more than 30 Airborne Soldiers, photographers and other observers awaited anxiously to take part in the second phase of the operation. Minutes later the Super Hercules roared above the flotilla at 1,500 feet and, as the sun reached its apex, the plane loosed green parachutes that blossomed beneath a blue sky.

“It was a dream jump,” recalled Carmack. “Seeing nothing but blue water… it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

With 16 jumps to his name, Kirkwood was more impressed with the mission’s scope rather than its scenery.

“I consider every jump unique, whether we drop into the ocean or desert,” said Kirkwood just before boarding the plane that would mark his last jump as the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS)’s

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Soldiers operating one of the USAv New Orleans’ fast boats pull Capt. Terry K. Kirkwood, commander of the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS), out of the water. Scores of service members from every military branch participated in this battle assembly that mimicked a tactical combat scenario.

The crew of the U.S. Army Vessel New Orleans arrives at its home port in Tampa, Fla., after completing a safe and successful aerial resupply and maritime recovery training mission. With more than 2,500 square feet of cargo space on its wheel deck, this 175-foot long, LCU-2000 landing craft served as the primary staging area during the exercise. The USAV New Orleans is commanded and operated by Soldiers from the 824th Transportation Company (Heavy Boat).

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commander. “The sheer number of elements involved from the Army [active and reserve], Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard is what makes this mission stand out.”

Soldiers and sailors powered up various small craft and plucked from the waves those comrades who had splashed into the sea. After exchanging high fives and handshakes, the boats changed course and sped toward their “mother ship.”

As the Super Hercules waggled its wings and lined up for its final approach into MacDill AFB, the crew of the USAV New Orleans gave the soaked guests a warm “welcome aboard.” A few men staggered onto the deck with minor

cuts and bruises caused by unpredictable wind gusts. Nevertheless, every returning Soldier, sailor, airman and marine shared credit in the accomplished mission.

“This is an inherently dangerous event,” said Kiernan. “To return home free from injury is a testament to our military’s pride and professionalism.”

The Army Reserve leveraged joint resources and applied knowledge from classes and manuals to the field — or, in this case, air and sea — of battle. From a tactical standpoint, the audacious training exercise fell short due to one Zodiac’s fateful freefall. From a strategic perspective, this mission demonstrates the unlimited potential of the joint operational force.

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ABOVE: Cpl. Zachary Horsley, a loadmaster from the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352 “Raiders”), sits on the open ramp of a C-130J Super Hercules airlifter as it circles over Tampa Bay, Fla.

LEFT: A fellow airborne Soldier gives Spc. Eric C. Heron, a parachute rigger for the 421st Quartermaster Company (Light Airdrop Supply), a helping hand as they prepare for the water jump off the coast of Tampa, Fla. Heron and 29 other airborne Soldiers from the 421st Quartermaster Co. (LAS) and the 861st Quartermaster Co. (AS) participated in this joint service battle assembly that mimicked a real-world resupply scenario.

“we couLd hAve droPPed sAndbAgs…. desPiTe The risks we droPPed The reAL Thing As ProoF ThAT we TrAin The wAy we FighT.”

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— CAPT. TERRy K. KIRKWOOD, COMMANDER 421ST QUARTERMASTER CO. (LAS)

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Best Warrior candidates exit a UH-60 Blackhawk during the helicopter lift mystery event at the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition at Fort McCoy, Wis. on July 16, 2012. This year’s Best Warrior competition will determine the top noncommissioned officer and junior enlisted Soldier who will represent the Army Reserve in the Department of the Army Best Warrior competition in October at Fort Lee, Va.

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LEFT: Spc. Daniel Chavez from Pollock Pines, Calif., operating room specialist with the 352nd Combat Support Hospital representing the 807th Medical Command, finishes putting on and taking off his Mission Oriented Protective Posture suit and mask, during the warrior tasks drills at the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., July 16.

BELOW: A Soldier competing in the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition waits to start his next test at the hand grenade qualification course July 16 at Fort McCoy, Wis. Competitors had two chances to hit each of six targets.

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Sgt. Jonathan Stoltz, a petroleum supply specialist with 2nd Battalion, 330th Infantry Regiment, moves down a road July 18 during the ruck march at the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., Stoltz, a Rockford, Ill., native, is representing the 108th Training Command in the competition.

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The Army reserve’s

BesT WArriorsThe ultimate week of challenges, months in the making, has come to an end.

Designed to test the physical and mental limits of each Soldier, it is one of the most

anticipated events of the year. Though many came, representing a wide cross-section

of America, only two emerged as the ultimate warriors to represent the Army Reserve

in the next level of competition this October. Let's meet the winners and take a behind

the scenes look at how the staff at Fort McCoy, Wis., put it all together.

By Timothy L. Hale, Army Reserve Command public Affairs


Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Rios, NCO of the Year

BWC

BWC Winners

Spc. Michael Swan, Soldier of the year

A corrections specialist and a track vehicle repairer were named the Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year respectively at the 2012 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition held at Fort McCoy, Wis., July 16–20. The winners were announced July 20 by Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz, the Army Reserve’s top enlisted Soldier, at an award ceremony held at the American Legion in Sparta, Wis.Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Rios, a native of Ozone Park, N.Y., was named the NCO of the Year. He represented the 84th Training Command in the competition.Spc. Michael Swan, a native of Gurley, Ala., was named the SoY representing the 335th Signal Command (Theater) in the competition. Rios and Swan will go on to represent the Army Reserve in the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition in October at Fort Lee, Va. Months in the making, the ultimate week of challenges was designed to test the physical and mental limits of each Warrior-Citizen who represented a wide cross-section of America.

The 21 noncommissioned officers and 22 junior enlisted Soldiers competing were faced with training events designed by U.S. Army Reserve Command staff and training cadre from across the Army Reserve. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, Chief of the Army Reserve, said the 43 NCOs and Soldiers competing this year discovered that the

competition was not for the faint of heart.“As you found out, there’s no wimp factor here,” Talley said. “This is a well-rounded, tough competition that tries and tests the skills that make our Warrior-Citizens ‘Army Strong’.”

LEFT AND INSET: Minutes before sunrise and dripping with sweat, Spc. Michael Swan, a track vehicle repairer from Gurley, Ala., assigned to the 335th Signal Command (Theater), takes a break to regroup and double-check his grid points at the night land navigation course during the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., July 17.

BELOW: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Rios, a corrections specialist with the 84th Training Command, rests before he qualifies with his M4 carbine, July 18, at the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition. Rios is a native of South Ozone Park, N.y.

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When the winners were announced, the best of the best never saw it coming.

Swan said he had to take a breath when they called his name.

“That was a deep gasp after they said ‘Michael Swan’,” he said. “I was pretty

struck by that.”The focus and drive that earned them both their respective titles had the two

winners considering their next steps. Swan said he plans on focusing on any

shortcomings he had during the Army Reserve competition and working on making

those events better for him at the Department of the Army competition.

“That’s what I’m going to work on,” Swan said. “Whatever they throw at me,

I’m going to come out there to the next level and bring myself up physically and

mentally.”Rios praised his fellow competitors in this year’s competition. Like Swan, he was

also shocked at the announcement. He plans to train every day for the Army-level

competition later this year.

“I’m going try my best,” Rios said. “I’m going to try the hardest that I can.”

That’s what all 43 competitors did—here, and at their previous command-level

competitions. And, as far as the Chief is concerned, that’s all anyone could ask.

“I’m proud of every one of you who have endured the physical and mental

challenges it takes to be an Army Reserve Best Warrior,” said Talley.

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel C. Alexander, an electronic maintenance chief from Salt Lake City, assigned to 96th Sustainment Brigade, 79th Sustainment Support Command, flashes two fingers for how many laps he’s completed during the Army Physical Fitness Test. Alexander was the first Soldier to finish the 2-mile run with a time of 11:25.

Photos by sgt. 1st Class Mark burrell, Joint PubliC affairs suPPort eleMent

Troops compete in the 2-mile run event during the Army Physical Fitness Test at Fort McCoy, Wis., July 16. The APFT is the first event of a grueling weeklong competition that will determine which two Soldiers will represent the USAR at next level of competition.

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Photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob boyer, 352nd cacoM Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter ford, 211th MPad

Spc. Adam Engel, a civil affairs specialist with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, takes a breath during the ruck march. Engel, a Webster, N.y., native, is representing the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command.

Spc. Nathan Eilenfeldt, a health care specialist with the 463rd Engineer Battalion takes up a position behind cover as he fires on his target during the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition at Fort McCoy, Wis.


receiving honors:Best Warrior runner-up (non-Commissioned officer category): sgt. orval emery, a chemical operations specialist representing the 377th Theater Support Command, from Wichita, Kan.

Best Warrior runner-up (Soldier category): spc. ivan Pimentel, a human resources specialist representing the 75th Training Division, from Modesto, Calif.

highest Army physical fitness Score: spc. lucas Delay, a military policeman representing the 200th Military Police Command, from Davison, Mich.

highest Weapons Qualification: spc. carl Best, an intelligence analyst representing the Military Intelligence Readiness Command, from Lincolnshire, Ill.

nCo Combatives Winner and overall combatives champion: sgt. Anthony mitchell, a public affairs broadcast specialist representing the 3rd Medical Deployment Support Command, from Chicago, Ill.

Soldier Combatives Winner: spc. Dustin chavez, an operating room specialist representing the 807th Medical Deployment Support Command, from Pollock Pines, Calif.

BWC

ABOvE: Spc. Jonathan P. Chacon, an ammunition specialist with the 163rd Ordnance Company, takes a foot to the face from his opponent during the Modern Army Combatives tournament. Chacon, a Bassett, Calif., native, is representing the 79th Sustainment Support Command.

TOP LEFT: Before sunrise, drill sergeants assigned to the 108th Training Division, grade competitors during push-ups for the Army Physical Fitness Test.

LOWER LEFT: Spc. Austin Okorn, a petroleum supply specialist, assigned to the 842nd Quarter Master Company, 877th Troop Sustainment Command, drags a life-sized dummy during the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition. The competitors had to fire two different types of weapons, perform a ‘buddy drag’ and evacuate a casualty at this particular range.

PHOTO By SGT. 1ST CLASS MARK BURRELL, JOINT PUBLIC AFFAIRS SUPPORT ELEMENT PHOTO By STAFF SGT. JACOB BOyER, 352ND CACOM

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PHOTO By STAFF SGT. JACOB BOyER, 352ND CACOM

37warriOr–CiTiZeN

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Months of coordination meetings and site visits are over for a group of

noncommissioned officers from the USARC headquarters at Fort Bragg, N.C.

According to Sgt. Maj. Richard “Mitch” Prater, U.S. Army Reserve Command’s

operations sergeant major, the investment in dollars and hours of work planning and

executing the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition was well worth it.

“It’s worth every nickel and then some,” said Prater, who was in charge of

overseeing this year’s competition. “We have the opportunity to use training dollars

to have a competition that is more like a training event. When you look at the

resources and planning, which crosses all of the commands, it’s the only event that

all of our commands have a vested interest in.”

In the end, Prater said the Best Warrior competition highlights the best of the

205,000 men and women serving in the ranks of America’s warrior-citizens and

prepares them to compete at the next level— the top NCO and Soldier who

will represent the Army Reserve at the Department of the Army Best Warrior

competition later this year.

“For the first time in our history, we’ve generated enough experience, expertise

and wealth of knowledge to compete with our counterparts.” Prater said the

competition is not only for exposure but also sends a message about the quality

of Army Reserve Soldiers.

More than 160 tactical and technical subject matter experts from across the

entire Army Reserve put 43 NCOs and junior enlisted Soldiers through their

paces in the grueling, week-long competition.

The planning for this year’s event started weeks after last year’s Army-level

competition. After-action reviews from warriors, their sponsors and training

cadre were incorporated to make this year’s event more challenging than

its predecessors.

LEFT: Spc. Eric Jobb, a motor transportation operator with 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, searches for a point at a land navigation course. Jobb, a Richmond, va.,

native, is representing the 11th Theater Aviation Command in the competition.

behind the scenes

Soldiers competing in the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition start the ruck march on the morning of July 18 at Fort McCoy, Wis. After two early mornings and long days, competitors started the 9-kilometer course at 5:30 a.m.

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Photo by Sgt. 1St ClaSS Mark burrell, Joint PubliC affairS SuPPort eleMent

Spc. Ahlam Gutierrez, an Army bandperson from San Diego, assigned to the 63rd Regional Support Command, grimaces during the sit-up event of the Army Physical Fitness Test.


BWC

ABOvE LEFT: Spc. Carl Best from Lincolnshire, Ill., is a intelligence analyst with the 378th Military Intelligence Battalion representing the Military Intelligence Readiness Command, puts on his Mission Oriented Protective Posture suit and mask during the warrior tasks drills.

ABOvE RIGHT: Spc. Ahlam Gutierrez, a trumpet player with the 800th Army Band, grimaces as a medic works on his back following a match at the Modern Army Combatives tournament.

RIGHT: Cpl. Lance Clifford, representing the 416th Theater Engineer Command, tries for one more push-up as Sgt. 1st Class Ruth Morris, a drill sergeant assigned to the 108th Training Division, keeps count during the push-up event of the Army Physical Fitness Test.

Soldiers competing in the 2012 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior competition walk to the start of the hand grenade qualification course at Fort McCoy, Wis. The competitors, many of whom hadn’t qualified with hand grenades since basic training, had the opportunity to score points and earn a grenade qualification badge.

Photo by Sgt. 1St ClaSS MariSol hernandez, 416th eSC

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39warriOr–CiTiZeN

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photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob boyer, 352nd cacoM

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ABOVE LEFT: Sgt. 1st Class Daniel

Alexander, a support operations

platoon sergeant with the 96th

Sustainment Brigade, catches his

breath after finishing the ruck march.

ABOVE RIGHT: Sgt. Anthony

Mitchell, puts Spc. Dustin Chavez,

in an arm bar during the Modern

Army Combatives Tournament.

Mitchell, a native of Chicago, Ill.,

is a Military Broadcast Journalist,

assigned to the 3rd Medical

Deployment Support Command.

He is the first two-time winner of this

event, previously winning in 2010.

BELOW: Spc. Logan Romine,

a 35F/Intelligence Analyst with

Headquarters and Headquarters

Company, 86th Training

Division, stops on the

roadside during the

10km ruck march to

rehydrate. Romine,

a native of

Fennimore, Wis.,

is representing

the 84th Training

Command.

“In November we started putting everything together for our operations order,” said Master Sgt.

Richard Long, with the USARC G-3/7 Individual Training section and this year’s planning cell

team leader. Long said the team coordinated with different Army Reserve units, made site visits and

synchronized its efforts with Fort McCoy directorates and personnel. Long, who worked on last year’s

planning team, said all the support personnel have strived to make this year’s competition better.

“I want to make this the best that it can be,” Long said. “I want to make it better than Department

of the Army . . . so that we know we have the very best that we’re sending forward.” The competition

is a massive logistical challenge that includes securing transportation, weapons, ammunition, personal

equipment, meals, lodging, communications, and medical and range support.

Master Sgt. Paul Caswell, Fort McCoy garrison training and administrative NCO, has been

supporting Best Warrior for the past three years.

Caswell said that what makes McCoy an ideal place for the competition is the ability to house,

move and train transient units with state-of-the-art facilities.

“We’ve gotten enough experience with these folks and enough continuity with them that

now we don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Prater said. “Fort McCoy has really bent over

backwards to make sure that they facilitated our needs.”

Fort McCoy offers the Army Reserve state-of-the-art training and a centralized

location in the U.S. to host the competition. The ranges have the latest training

aids and are manned by personnel who have honed their

techniques, providing a realistic training environment for

the warriors.“This is an opportunity for two people — an NCO

and a junior enlisted Soldier — to walk away saying

they are the best of the Army Reserve,” he said.

“They’re going to get exposure that nobody else

will get. They will get media attention. They’ll get

the command’s attention. They’ll get to see most

of the country and all the units,” he said.

“They become the face of the Army

Reserve,” Prater said. “Leaders will come

and go, but the Soldiers will remain.”

PHOTO By TimOTHy L. HaLe, army reserve COmmand PuBLiC affairs

40 warriOr–CiTiZeN40 warriOr–CiTiZeN

not just fun and gamesBy Melissa Russell, aRMy

ReseRve CoMMuniCations

trained + ready ViRtUAl comBAt tRAiNiNg

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Winder, Ga. resident, Staff Sgt. Miguel Roman, 1188th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion, navigates through a scenario on the Virtual Battle Space 2 system at Army Support Activity-Dix. The web-based simulation training was conducted prior to mobilization for the Decatur, Georgia-based unit.

fort Bragg, n.C. — As contingency operations draw down, the

Army is racing against time, available dollars and land space for ways

to preserve the vital and often perishable skill sets gained by our

battle-tested force.

Lt. Col. Kevin Brown, training support systems branch chief at U.S.

Army Reserve Command, is betting virtual games and simulations are

the solution. From medical training to battlefield simulation, games

and simulations can be used across the spectrum for virtually any

military occupational specialty in the Army.

According to Brown, the successful incorporation of gaming into

training strategy has the potential to save the Army billions of dollars.

Brown, who provides training aids and devices for individual and

collective training use, said the fielding of virtual Battle Space 2

was a huge step forward in the training arena. The Army gaming

system debuted more than three years ago, and can also be used for

individual and collective training.

“The goal now is to take systems like virtual Battle Space 2 to the

next level,” said Brown, “to allow for simultaneous virtual gaming/

training from multiple locations.”

With units and commands dispersed across multiple states, the

Army Reserve has a vested interest in testing the theory. Brown and

a team from Distributed Learning Systems traveled to a Digital Training

Facility—a classroom set up for web-based personal and professional

education, and virtual training—in Jacksonville, Fla., to test the concept

with another DTF located in Richmond, va. Their success resulted

in what would be designated as the first-ever distributive training

session of vBS2 in the United States Army.

Since then, larger scale sessions have been conducted, and the

only limitation Brown sees is the amount of hardware, software and

distributive capacity available.

“We’ve enhanced the capability so we can increase the numbers

of Soldiers we train in a single session even if they’re clear across the

country,” said Brown. “And in these economic times, we need to find

ways to maximize virtual training and gaming.”

Still, the idea that games and simulations could compare to live

training is not without its detractors. “There are doubters, because

there are people who only believe in live

training,” said Brown. “But the reality

is that virtual training doesn't

relieve that requirement—

it just gives the

commander the

ability to rehearse,

refine and master

the ‘crawl’ and ‘walk’

phases of training,

so when they do get

to a live event they will be

more proficient.”

Another benefit of the

gaming system is that vBS2’s

after action review capability

allows leadership to film all events

of the scenario, including sounds

and commands, and play back any

given sequence of events. “No one

remembers every detail that took place

in a live exercise,” said Brown. “In vBS2

it’s recorded, so we can replay the total

scenario. you will see the tracer round and

who fired on the sniper first.”

Brown said the Army

Reserve is working to

overcome limitations

and kinks—

settings and resolutions in the game connectivity—so that this kind

of distributive capability can be worked into future training of platoon,

company or Expeditionary Sustainment Command-sized elements,

possibly in conjunction with a Combat Support Training Exercise or

Warrior Exercise. This is a G-3/7 goal for next year.

The Army Reserve is concurrently spearheading a related program—

the Distributive Simulations Capability. The Army Reserve’s 75th

Mission Training Division (Mission Command) is taking the lead on

the program that will provide a cloud capability that enables their

five mission training centers to offer distributive training and exercise

capabilities across the Army Reserve anywhere a signal can be

transmitted and received.

“The Army Reserve has geographically dispersed Soldiers, units

and commands, and only a fraction of the funding,” said Major

General Jimmie Jaye Wells, commander of the 75th Mission Training

Division (MC). “Our mission is to provide staff training to ensure

Soldiers are proficient at battalion level and above. Distributive

training simulation is a means to deliver that capability while reducing

travel time and the cost of meals and hotels.”

“Once this capability has been achieved, imagine the five

Mission Training Centers as major hubs with the ability to provide

their capability to our fifty spokes (digital training facilities),” said

Wells. “The digital training facilities actually become extensions

of the mission training centers for exercise and training-related

events as well as offering a day-to-day individual training capability

for courseware.” The command is weeks away from providing a

proof of principal that could be the catalyst for a transition to

extensive use of games and simulations/simulators across the

entire Army.

Meanwhile, within the USARC G-3/7, an effort is underway to

refine current gaming simulation strategies. According to Brown,

it very well may involve a look at defining what task in the Army

Force Generation cycle could be accomplished in vBS2 to assist

unit commanders in achieving their goals in a cost effective and

timely manner.

“This capability provides us the ability to conduct low-cost,

realistic, viable, interesting and enjoyable home-station training at a

moment’s notice,” said Brown. “Units that may be separated by miles

and/or states now have the ability to train together, possibly without

ever having to leave their own reserve centers.”

41warriOr–CiTiZeN

not just fun and games

“The goal now is to take systems like Virtual Battle Space 2 to the next level, to allow for simultaneous virtual gaming/training from multiple locations.” — Lt. CoL. Kevin Brown, training support systems

BranCh Chief, u.s. army reserve Command


nACo, honduras — Despite rough field

conditions, heat indexes in the triple digits and

having just half the dentists they expected, the Army

Reserve Soldiers of the 912th Dental Company (Area

Support) were able to surpass their early patient

predictions while on a 10-day dental readiness

exercise in Honduras.

From the start of the U.S. Army South’s Beyond

the Horizon exercise, hundreds of Hondurans, from

toddlers to the elderly, lined up at the clinic before

sunrise. In the first several days, Soldiers saw more

than 400 patients.

The unit pulled together immediately and

far surpassed its initial goal of seeing 800–900

Honduran patients, said Staff Sgt. Tim White,

of Columbus, Ohio.

“We’ve seen over 1,000 patients even though

we only had eight dentists and three hygienists,”

White said. “We were supposed to have 15

dentists initially. With seven fewer, this is definitely

a big achievement.”

That’s a lot of teeth. Sgt. 1st Class William Bisson,

of Akron, Ohio, said no patient was turned away for

treatment, though due to time constraints, some

were given papers to return the following day.

According to Bisson, many patients traveled great

distances for services ranging from cleanings and

fillings to extractions. “I’ve heard some of these

people are coming from as far as eight hours away.”

“They’re willing to wait in line all day just to get

their teeth cleaned and have a dentist take care of

them,” said Spc. Alisha Wartluft, a dental hygienist.

The exercise combines real-world military skills

training with humanitarian aid missions. For Wartluft,

who was on her first humanitarian mission, the

difference in dental care was striking.

“In the U.S., we’re told to go to the dentist twice

a year,” Wartluft said. “Here, we had a 42-year-old

patient who was at the dentist for the first time.

Many people can’t afford to go to the dentist, so

they’re grateful to have one.”

White credited the patient administration

department, which met the patients when they came

in, triaged them and maintained order in the line, for

the successful numbers.

Bisson ran the administrative portion of the

exercise. His 912th team was supplemented by

Soldiers from other units, including Spc. Jonathan

Batres, a medic with the U.S. Army Reserve’s 444th

Minimal Care Detachment, and Staff Sgt. Henry

Tobar, of the Florida National Guard’s 260th Military

Intelligence Battalion. Both volunteered to serve as

translators throughout the exercise, Bisson said.

Perhaps none was more motivated than Maj.

Luiz Arzu, a dentist from Chicago, Ill. Arzu was born

in nearby San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and still has

Family in the area.

“A lot of things have changed,” said Arzu, who

came to the U.S. more than 40 years ago. “I get a

dentists in honduras

Sgt. 1st Class William Bisson of the 912th Dental Company (Area Support) checks a patient’s teeth on the last day of the company’s dental readiness exercise in Naco, Honduras, July 4. The mission was part of U.S. Army South’s Beyond the Horizon 2012 exercise, which combines military skills training with humanitarian exercises.

STORy AND PHOTOS By

1ST LT. JOHN QUINN,

70TH MOBILE PUBLIC AFFAIRS

DETACHMENT

health + wellness deNtAl ReAdiNeSS

“They’re willing to wait in line all day just to get their teeth cleaned and have a dentist take care of them.”— SPC. ALISHA WARTLUFT, DENTAL HyGIENIST, 912TH DENTAL COMPANy (AREA SUPPORT)

43warriOr–CiTiZeN

Reserve component colonel and lieutenant colonels

eligible for the Army Promotion List and the Army Medical

Department Boards in Fiscal year 13 will have to square

away their packets sooner than they may have anticipated.

According to Col. Barbara Owens, Army Reserve

G-1, moving the promotion boards to January (APL)

and February (AMEDD) significantly improves both the

promotion and the command board process.

“Holding the promotion boards in May and July did

not allow sufficient time to process results prior to the

command boards,” said Owens. “The modification narrows

the command board’s focus to promotable officers only,

allowing the board to hone in on the best selection from

a pool of qualified applicants.”

“This is a positive step to improving the process,

ensuring we assign commanders properly,” said Brig. Gen.

Tammy Smith, director of Army Reserve Human Capital

Core Enterprise. “The previous timeline created self-inflicted

administrative delays in both processing and finalizing

command assignments.”

Smith noted that the absence of timely notification often

resulted in newly promotable lieutenant colonels declining

a previously accepted lieutenant colonel command position

in favor of a promotion. This circumstance caused re-slating

of the vacated position and caused additional delays and

turbulence in command positions.

Conducting two promotion boards for each grade and

competitive category in the condensed timeframe will

benefit promotion of non-select officers by providing a

quick re-look rather than waiting another year for the next

promotion opportunity. The date-of-rank of promotable

officers will not be affected as a result of the promotion

board date change.

The MILPER messages of the changes impacting O6

and O5 APL and AMEDD boards beginning in Fy13 will

be published in October. Though there is sufficient time

to submit the required documents for the January and

February boards, due to the condensed timeframe between

the Fy12 and Fy13 promotion boards there may be less

time to impact board files, such as additional OERs.

streamlining the Command BoardBy LT. COL. SHAWN WOODBRIDGE,

ARMy RESERvE COMMUNICATIONS

For the upcoming promotion board dates for FY13 see the human Resources Command website:

https://www.hrc.army.mil/tagd/FY13%20army%20Selection%20Board%20Schedule

New commANd BoARd pRoceSS

sense of pleasure and am grateful to help. I always

wanted to come back and help.” Arzu, who plans on

returning to the area with an organization that targets

malnutrition in children, said he has done a number

of procedures and has reinforced the importance of

dental hygiene and flossing to his patients.

Beyond helping the community, Arzu said the

training has been great for his Soldiers who don’t

often get hands-on training opportunities like Beyond

the Horizon.

“Working with patients reinforces all the training

they’ve done,” Arzu said. “Now they’ve worked

in the field and know they’re able to adapt and

overcome. Now that they have done the mission, our

younger Soldiers will be able to refresh and recall

quickly because of what they’ve done here.”

Army Reserve Col. Donald Begezda (standing) speaks with Col. Thomas Dundon, commander of the 912th Dental Company (Area Support), as he examines a patient during the last day of the dental readiness exercise.

JoInT BASe LeWIS-mCChoRd, Wash. —

Warriors don’t like to admit problems with stress,

anxiety, depression or even Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder. If they did, many don’t know whom to trust

with their problem, or just try to bury it.

Now, two new, smart mobile applications can help

individuals cope with those challenges of military life.

Recently released from the Defense Department’s

National Center for Telehealth and Technology on

Joint Base Lewis–McChord, LifeArmor and Prolonged

Exposure Coach are two very different mobile apps

with a common purpose: help the warrior.

LifeArmor has 17 behavioral topics about military

life many people find difficult to talk about.

“We hope an anonymous source of credible

information will help many people facing difficult

situations in their military careers,” said Dr. Robert

Ciulla, T2 clinical psychologist. “We wanted to get

this information to each member of our military

community and use the popularity of the smartphone

to reach them.”

Ciulla led the development of Afterdeployment.org

in 2008. The Web site was developed to help service

members returning from combat deployments.

Ciulla said the success of the Web site led to the

development of the app that fits better in the lifestyle

of a mobile military population.

LifeArmor’s behavioral topics are: alcohol and

drugs, anger, anxiety, depression, Families and

friendships, Families with kids, life stress, mild

traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, physical

injury, post-traumatic stress, resilience, sleep,

spirituality, stigma, tobacco and work adjustment.

Each topic has four sections with information,

assessments, videos with personal stories and

interactive exercises to develop coping skills. Ciulla

said the assessments are useful, but are not intended

to be the sole basis for conclusions about a user’s

mental health status and should not replace

professional counseling.

While LifeArmor is an app for individual learning

and management of symptoms, the PE Coach

mobile app was developed to be used by a patient

who is being treated for PTSD by a clinician

or therapist.

PE Coach is the first mobile app designed

for PTSD therapy. T2 worked with the veterans

Administration for two years to develop the app.

Prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD is used by

the DOD and vA. Like LifeArmor, PE Coach was

developed to use the popularity of the smartphone.

“We worked with a broad and diverse group of

psychologists in the DOD and vA who are treating

PTSD patients with prolonged exposure therapy,”

said Dr. Greg Reger, clinical psychologist in T2’s

Innovative Technology Applications division. “We

wanted to help our patients in the therapy and make

it easier for providers to deliver this treatment.

PE Coach does both.”

Prolonged exposure is a widely used therapy that

helps a patient process a trauma memory to reduce

the distress and avoidance caused by the trauma.

During the therapy, the patient revisits the memory

with a therapist. As the memory is emotionally

processed, anxiety decreases. The therapy also

helps the patient confront avoided situations that

trigger memories of the trauma.

Dr. Jonathon Woodson, assistant secretary of

defense for health affairs, said, “We have shared

this app with our military healthcare

providers and hope that many

individuals who are receiving PE

therapy will find it useful.”

more information about t2 is available at www.t2health.org.

4444

A Soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord looks at the new PE Coach app, a mobile app from the National Center For Telehealth and Technology. Soldiers can use the recently released Department of Defense smart phone applications to anonymously address anxiety, stress, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

STORy AND PHOTO By

JOSEPH JIMENEz, DOD NATIONAL

CENTER FOR TELEHEALTH &

TECHNOLOGy PUBLIC AFFAIRS

health + wellness SUicide pReVeNtioN

warriOr–CiTiZeN

new mobile apps help troubled warriors cope

“We hope an anonymous source of credible information will help many people facing difficult situations in their military careers.” — DR. ROBERT CIULLA, T2 CLINICAL PSyCHOLOGIST

45warriOr–CiTiZeN

www.mi l i ta ryonesource .com l 1 .800.342.9647Nat iona l Su ic ide Prevent ion L i fe l ine 1 .800.273.TALK (8255)

Chain of Command

CounselorBattle Buddies

Family

Physician

ChaplainCoach

Behind every Soldieris a strong support team

Use them to prevent suicide

PResoRtedstAndARd

Us PostAge

PAidLouisville, KYPermit #336

editorWarrior-CitizenU.s. Army Reserve Command, Public Affairs1401 deshler street sWFort McPherson, gA 30330

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warrior-citizen magazine vol. 57 no. 3

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