15th Sustainment Brigade completes semi-annual readiness

Spc. Heather M. Brown of the 7201st Medical Support Unit gives medical briefs to the Soldiers of the 15th Sustainment Brigade June 6. Photo by Claudia P. Roberto, DoMaD Public Affairs.

Claudia P. Roberto,
DoMaD Public Affairs:

Fifteenth Sustainment Brigade completed semiannual readiness training June 4 through 8 at the Soldier Resilience and Readiness Center. The SRRC, operated by the Directorate of Mobilization and Deployment in conjunction with the 7222nd Medical Support Detachment, has been executing Team Bliss’ operation orders for all FORSCOM units to complete semiannual readiness and quarterly medical non-deployable/high-risk readiness for the past year and a half.

The SRRC seeks to meet Maj. Gen. Dana J. H. Pittard’s intent to provide the Army with forces that are medically and administratively ready to support global operations by eliminating late identification and effectively reducing the number of medically non-deployable Soldiers per unit in the deployment preparation cycle. By completing readiness two to four times a year, units are able to identify and correct minor to serious medical issues and keep unit readiness at an optimal level for deployment.

“My goal is to ensure we meet Maj. Gen. Pittard’s intent to support and actively improve Soldier readiness in the most efficient and timely manner,” said Lt. Col. Douglas M. Porter, officer in charge of the SRRC.

Since the start of this mission, there has been a 25 to 30 percent medically non-deployable reduction and overall improvement for return to duty.

“Planning and execution went very smooth. Lieutenant Colonel Porter is very involved in ensuring our unit gets taken care of,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Charmaine Hilliard, human resources technician with 15th Sustainment Bde.

The unit starts with short in-briefs followed by administrative processing consisting of legal, finance and the adjutant general station where Soldiers can make quick updates to their beneficiaries and dependants, receive legal assistance or make financial inquiries.

“Semiannual readiness is beneficial particularly for the brigade S-1,” said Spc. Florence Pangelinan, human resource specialist with 47th Transportation Company, 15th Sustainment Bde. “The SGLI and DD93 updates as soon as two days onto iPerms, and their quality control desk identifies discrepancies and makes sure all is up to standard. This relieves some strain from S-1 so we can focus on other administrative actions.”

After the unit finishes with the administrative building, they proceed to medical. Unit physicians are required to be at the SRRC to track, follow up and correct medical issues for their Soldiers.

“I’m the only provider at this point other than the brigade surgeon,” said Capt. Sharen D. Denson, 15th Sustainment Bde. “With the amount of Soldiers we have in the unit, it is extremely helpful to have the battalions in one area with the resources needed to update physical health assessments, immunizations and hearing, most of which can be fixed within 24 hours. … Medical had a very streamlined process. Soldiers were pre-screened and were directed straight to the station they needed.”

Some might argue that readiness checks can be done at the brigade footprint. While this is true, the SRRC team consists of subject matter experts that have been running the show for years and have the experience of processing tens of thousands of reserve component Soldiers deploying annually. With support from staff and available resources, conducting readiness at the site is the most efficient way to improve medical readiness.

“The SRRC staff has been great,” said Denson. “We have been able to keep our stats up to show that we are deployable. I have had nothing but success at the site.”

“It keeps the unit on track so when it’s time for deployment we are not jumping through hoops to get unit strength up,” said Pangelinan.

With the site having all the entities colocated, the SRRC is a one-stop shop for unit readiness.