Good news for York National Guard soldiers

Much more pre-mobilization training at home and much less of it at distant sites should add up to smiles for National Guard soldiers.
Staff Sgt. Jeff Moore, readiness NCO for the transportation unit in York, said it’s welcome news for local soldiers. Mobilization, he explained, now works on a five-year cycle. York will be eligible for call-up in 2011, however Moore made it clear there’s no indication at this time the unit will be activated for overseas duty that year ... it’s simply a matter of it being York’s turn in 2011, should a transportation unit of their type be requested. If York is not deployed in 2011, the five-year cycle starts over and the unit’s next potential call to active duty would come in 2016.
A news release from the Nebraska National Guard explains that, as the Guard transitions from a strategic reserve to an operational force, soldiers will most likely be required to attend more frequent drill training assemblies in addition to more annual training in preparation for mobilization, should it come.
Under the new system extra days of home-based training are spread over a one- to two-year period ahead of a unit’s eligibility year for deployment. That will pay off in extra weeks and even months for Guard personnel to remain with their families.
Previously, many weeks were consumed by training after a unit’s departure from home but before its arrival in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, with required training completed over time via some extra work in their home units, soldiers will not have to spend so much time away from their jobs and loved ones.
The new system is designed to give commanders the flexibility to mold training plans for their units that have the least negative effect upon soldiers and their families.
The strategy also fits with the Guard’s new policy of mobilizations limited to one year ... period.
“The key to ARFORGEN (Army Force Generation) is predictability for soldiers’ families and their employers,” said Brig. Gen. Tim Kadavy, adjutant general for Nebraska. “The new mobilization policy limits the time away to 12 months from door step to door step,” he added. “This means more time preparing during pre-mobilization training, rather than lengthy time at a post mobilization training station.”
Typical deployments have been 18 months, however some units, said Moore, have served as much as 22-months at a stretch. That makes a 12-month maximum very attractive to the reserve forces who now comprise nearly 40 percent of the total military force.
“While a soldier will do longer drill weekends and in some cases an additional drill weekend a month, the return for the time invested is the reduction of mobilization from 18 months to 12 months,” said Kadavy.
Sgt. Zachary Brueningsen, a truck driver with York-based Detachment 1, 1075th Medium Truck Company, said, “I’m just kind of learning about it now, but the more I learn the more I like it.” The Papillion native and pastoral ministry student at Nebraska Christian College said, “What it does is it gives soldiers an opportunity to know where they’re at in the mobilization cycle. It gives them an opportunity to view training a little more seriously, especially when the mobilization is coming up.
“It also gives an opportunity to prepare yourself for (a mobilization) as it gets closer,” said Brueningsen, adding that it’s especially important when making sure his family and potential employers are kept abreast of when he might face a deployment while making sure they’re able to deal with his absence.
ARFORGEN is designed to replace the old Cold War method of mobilizing reserve forces. Often, units would receive very little notice — sometimes just days or weeks — that they were mobilizing. That left soldiers little time to prepare families and employers for their departure.
Moore said next year 2009, when the unit is two years out from 2011, York “will go from 48 to 55 drill periods.” It also means “we’re going to get all kinds of help” preparing the unit and making sure all elements of required training are in place by 2011.
During the training window, soldiers will focus on accomplishing such tasks as combat lifesaver training, driver training, individual weapons qualification and completion of their Army Warrior Tasks. The latter consists of 32 individual tasks in which all soldiers — regardless of their military job — must be proficient. In addition to that are 12 battle drills all units must be able to perform successfully.
It’s simply a case in which, “We’ll use our drill time to do what we’d have done before at the mobile (training) station,” said Moore.
A good thing?
“Yes,” answered Moore, “because basically everybody knows what’s going on now. It kills the rumor mill.”
Contact — stephen.moseley@yorknewstimes.com