Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 2013 Page: 3 of 34
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NEWS
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
August 1, 2013
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OTC employee recognized for financial management expertise
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NIZING
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Johnson
CONUS Replacement Center fine-tunes processes in anticipation of first deployers
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the last decade
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Soldiers from the 402nd FA Bde. CONUS Replacement Center help a role-playing
Soldier who simulated having a seizure during range operations at the CRC’s
dress rehearsal. The rehearsal replicated every step of the deployment and rede-
ployment process.
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BY STAFF SGT. PATRICIA DEAL
402nd FA Bde., Div. West Public Affairs
BY ELOISE LUNDGREN
OTC Public Affairs
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Staff Sgt. Jason Coons (right), 402nd FA Bde. CONUS Replacement Center,
instructs a group of deploying Soldiers about counter-IEDs during the CRC’s
recent dress rehearsal July 12-19. The rehearsal helped the CRC prepare for the
first group of deployers/redeployers scheduled to arrive Aug. 9.
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Management Award for fiscal year
2012, according to an announce-
ment from Dr. Mary Sally Matiella,
ASA/FMC.
“Mrs. Johnson works tirelessly
on behalf of the U.S. Army Opera-
tional Test Command,” said Archie
Davis III, director, OTC G8. “We
(K “ d
The Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Financial Management
and Comptroller has recognized
Operational Test Command’s
Berna Johnson with the Army Fiscal
the Army.”
Twenty individuals from mul-
tiple commands were selected for
FMC awards, according to Mati-
ella. Johnson was the only recipient
from the Army Test and Evaluation
Command, according to Davis,
> I
including specific injects and observ-
er controllers/trainers.
“It’s a construct that our forma-
tion is very familiar with,” Birchfield
said. “The Redleg Battalion (2nd
Battalion, 362nd Regiment) played
an invaluable role in preparing the
CRC Bn. for its real-world mission.
“Having OC/Ts embedded
throughout the rehearsal served as
another ‘set of eyes’ and provided
additional insight and feedback for
the commander. We created injects
to simulate those scenarios we are
most likely to experience in the
course of CRC operations.”
The brigade typically uses its
own Soldiers for role-players dur-
ing CTEs, but for this rehearsal, it
looked to Bliss’ 1st Armored Divi-
sion for 100 active-duty Soldiers to
play the deployers and re-deployers.
The Soldiers went through the
entire CRC deployment and rede-
ployment process, step-by-step,
Birchfield explained.
Brig. Gen. Michael Navrkal,
deputy commander - operations,
First Army Division West and assis-
tant adjutant general-Army for the
Nebraska National Guard, observed
the dress rehearsal, saying little as he
followed the deployers and redeploy-
ers through the various events.
He only had to watch the drill ser-
geants in action to see they are well-
postured for success, he said.
“What impressed me most was the
high degree of professionalism they
demonstrated just as if it was sec-
ond nature for them,” Navrkal said.
“Their positive attitude and rapport
with the deployers and redeployers,
their confident manner, the synergy
between everyone are all valuable
character traits that aren’t necessarily
learned; they’re ingrained.
“We have the right leadership, the
right kind of Soldiers, the right skill-
sets, and the right kind of attitude to
are all proud of her; she is most
deserving of this honor.”
Johnson won in two categories:
Resource Management Individual
Award and Resource Management
in Acquisition Environment. A
supervisor budget officer in OTC’s
G8 since 2010, Johnson has been
-k 1
be successful,” Navrkal continued.
“Our years of experience in training,
equipping, validating and redeploy-
ing a variety of different types of
units, plus our fortified partnerships
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and since there were no recipi-
ents from Forces Command or Fort
Hood, Johnson represents ATEC,
FORSCOM, and III Corps and
Fort Hood.
“The selection is a testimony to
her performance and an endorse-
ment of Mrs. Johnson’s credentials,
professionalism and potential for
senior-level positions in the Army
of the 21st century,” Matiella said.
Johnson will receive her award at
a ceremony to be scheduled at Fort
Hood at a later date.
OTC, a subordinate command of
ATEC, located at Aberdeen Prov-
ing Ground, Md., is the Army’s
independent operational tes-
ter with a headquarters and four
test directorates located at Fort
Hood and four test directorates
located at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort
Sill, Okla.; Fort Bliss; and Fort
Huachuca, Ariz.
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Photos by Staff Sgt Patricia Deal, 402nd FA Bde., Div. West Public Affairs
1st Arm. Div. Soldiers qualify with the 9mm handgun during the range operations piece of the 402nd FA Bde. CONUS Replacement Center’s dress rehearsal held July
12-19 to help the CRC prepare for the first group of deployers/redeployers scheduled to arrive Aug. 9.
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a Department of the Army civilian
employee for 13 years.
“Even though my name is on
the award,” Johnson said, “it was a
team effort.
OTC’s G8
is a great
group of
talented
individu-
als who pull
together to
do the right
thing for
employees,
the com-
mand and
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FORT BLISS — “Rough Riders”
from the 402nd Field Artillery Bri-
gade, First Army Division West, are
among the quietest trainers around.
They let the thousands of Army
Reserve and National Guard Sol-
diers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines
they’ve trained over
speak for them.
That voice is about to get louder as
the first group of individual deploy-
ers is scheduled to arrive here Aug. 9
to begin their deployment processing
at the 402nd FA Bde. Continental
United States Replacement Center.
The CRC supports the valida-
tion and deployment of individual
(non-unit related) service members,
civilians and contractors deploying
to and redeploying from all the-
aters of operations. The CRC mis-
sion potentially will add more than
20,000 personnel to the 402nd FA
Bde.’s training capacity.
The silent but strong Rough Rid-
ers have earned a stellar reputation
for training excellence over the last
decade. Their many accomplish-
ments say it all.
“All of us at the 402nd are proud
the Army recognized our capabil-
ity and selected us to oversee all
CRC operations,” said Col. Caro-
lyn Birchfield, 402nd FA Bde. com-
mander. “It nests very well with the
402nd FA Bde. Division West and
First Army mission.”
3rd Battalion, 398th Infantry Reg-
iment, 402nd FA Bde. Soldiers, who
will be running the CRC mission,
conducted a seven-day dress rehears-
al here July 12-19.
The 3-398th drill sergeants have
limited experience with the CRC
operations and the rehearsal was one
of several training strategies they
used to train-up for their mission.
“The rehearsal validated the train-
ing schedule for the individual
deployers/redeployers. It was impor-
tant for us and our enterprise part-
ners to identify any gaps in our
systems and processes before we have
the first individual deployers arrive
at Fort Bliss,” Birchfield said. “We
discovered that we have much work
to do between now and Aug. 9,
but I’m confident that we, along
with our enterprise partners, will be
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ready.”
While his Soldiers may not know
all the intricacies involved with the
CRC mission, Lt. Col. Brian Evans,
398th battalion commander, said
they know how to take care of Sol-
diers.
“There’s no learning curve for
them when it comes to ensuring
Soldiers are prepared for whatever
mission they are ordered to,” Evans
said. “They use their years of train-
ing experience as drill sergeants, their
civilian skill sets and their personal
experiences from multiple deploy-
ments to build a solid foundation for
mission success for the CRC.”
To get the best assessment of the
anticipated operations, the brigade
structured the live rehearsal just
like its culminating training events,
—
f -
with Team Bliss, all the garrison
services and other supporting units,
makes the 402nd and Fort Bliss the
right organization to take on this
mission.”
9^
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Larsen, Dave. Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 2013, newspaper, August 1, 2013; Fort Hood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1205020/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.