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LOA begins profession development with Army command tour

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jennifer Eschbaugh
  • 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Group
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command recently opened its doors in the interest of joint sister service partnership with a tour of their facilities for several officers from the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

The U.S. Army Reserve 311th ECS is an organization created during the Army's transformation efforts to reorganize its sustainment function into more modular entities. The command controls logistics for Iraq, Afghanistan and the 386 AEW host nation for the Coalition Land Forces Combatant Command.

The tour, which focused on the nuances of the Army's logistics machine and an introduction to the 311th ESC mission, took place at an Army camp in the Persian Gulf region.

It marks the first in a series of professional development opportunities for maintenance and logistics readiness officers at the 386th AEW under the umbrella of the newly formed Logistics Officer Association chapter.

Created by Col. Herb Phillips, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Group commander, and Col. Joel Mjolsness, 311th ESC Operations deputy chief of staff, the tour marked a joint effort by both commanders to enhance the communication and interaction at the local unit level between the two services.

"This is exactly what I was looking for, an opportunity to give our young officers a bit of the joint flavor of our operations here in the [U.S. Central Command area of responsibility]," said Colonel Phillips. "Something beyond what they see and work with on our flightline."

The daylong tour, hosted by Colonel Mjolsness, gave Air Force officers an overview of the 311th ESC mission, covering everything from the movement of Class I supplies to food, water and personnel. Officers also got a chance to join in on the 311th ESC's battle update assessment (BUA), which showed them the heartbeat of the Army's sustainment operations by providing a site picture of the day's convoy operations. It also gave tour attendees insight into the Army's process of moving supplies and personnel in and out of Iraq, Afghanistan and the host nation.

While still in its formation phase, the local LOA chapter will provide a forum for both maintenance and logistics readiness officers to build a foundation of communication and networking critical to their operational interaction within the AOR.