DARIEN, Ill. –
Three brigades under the 416th Theater Engineer Command are currently spearheading final reset and recovery missions to bring home equipment held at active-duty installations after deployment.
Nearly a dozen companies within these brigades are recovering their equipment from Fort Bliss, Texas, with the first wave completing pick up in September and the second wave gearing up to recover at the start of November.
Currently, the 372nd Engineer Brigade out of Fort Snelling, Minnesota; the 420th Engineer Brigade out of Bryan, Texas; and the 301st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, out of Fort Lewis, Washington, are putting in the work.
Previously, Army Reserve units would go through an active-duty installation’s Logistics Readiness Center to have equipment reset – or returned to its original working order after a deployment – but an equipment backlog and lack of funding is marking a change.
Now, U.S. Army Reserve Command units will pick up the last of their equipment and shift toward completing the reset and recovery mission themselves moving forward.
The 416th TEC initiated the process with 100 percent success during its initial run in September.
“There were zero issues and USARC will be using our model for other major commands,” said Master Sgt. Hector Pena, senior maintenance supervisor at the 416th TEC. “Actually, I was impressed; it was great teamwork.”
Derrick Richardson, senior logistics analyst for the rest mission with USARC G4, agreed, adding that other units will be using the lessons learned to continue success, starting with the 412th Theater Engineer Command out of Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the end of September.
“It was the camaraderie,” explained Richardson of the 416th TEC success. “Rank didn’t matter. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and did their part and got the mission accomplished at all costs.”
Moving forward, the LRC is no longer funded to repair USAR equipment located in reset, therefore units will transfer any remaining gear from the LRC back to home station and into Area Maintenance Support Activity sites or Equipment Concentration Site locations.
Recovering the equipment is a three-phase process which includes the planning and preparing phase that identifies qualified Soldiers and the itinerary; the execution phase that initiates once at the LRC and equipment is prepared for departure; and the final phase that begins when the first piece of equipment arrives back onto USAR sites.
Now with a path established for successful return of equipment, the 416th TEC is paving the way to improved readiness and independence for future reset pickup missions across the Army Reserve.