Muleskinners, division host soldiers of El Salvador army

By Sgt. 1st Class Luis SaavedraApril 25, 2013

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Col. Willie Rios III, 10th Sustainment Brigade commander, shakes the hand of Maj. Jorge Luis Aparicio Quintanilla of El Salvador during a farewell dinner April 10 at the Commons. Command Sgt. Maj. Jose A. Castillo, left, 10th Sustainment Brigade seni... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- The 10th Sustainment Brigade hosted several soldiers of the El Salvador army April 9 to discuss logistics concepts and operations.

Col. Raúl Antonio Lima Pacheco, deputy commander of C-IV, logistics, of Estado-Maior Conjunto de Forças Armadas, met with Col. Willie Rios III, 10th Sustainment Brigade commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jose A. Castillo, brigade senior enlisted leader, to discuss logistics and strategies that could be useful to El Salvador's army.

The El Salvador army team members said that without logistics, troops don't move. They turned to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) for assistance because of the division's history with successful logistics operations in the most austere environments.

"They came to gather information from the most experienced sustainment brigade in the Army in order to form and shape their logistics to improve readiness," Castillo said.

The Muleskinners' experiences with expeditionary logistics in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom include skills that could be transferable to the El Salvador army. Lessons learned and tactics, techniques and procedures from Afghanistan and Iraq could be applied in other locations with harsh terrain.

Lt. Col. Rolando Alcedis Escobar Ascencio, head of the Department of Education and Training of C-III, operations of EMCFA, said it would be an honor to work side by side with the Muleskinners in the future, and he expressed his gratitude for the knowledge that was shared.

Maj. Jorge Luis Aparicio Quintanilla, head of production IMFA, also actively engaged in the talks between the leadership.

The visit began with a briefing on how the brigade is organized and the support relationship between subordinate units, allied forces and the brigade headquarters.

Brigade leaders spoke about field feeding, transportation and other logistics topics that have changed over time to adapt to various mission requirements.

The importance of maintenance plans and standardized reporting procedures for all classes of supplies also was discussed.

For lunch, Soldiers took the team to the Muleskinner Consolidated Dining Facility, where they were able to see feeding operations in a garrison environment.

The 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion hosted the team for the afternoon. They talked about the unique capabilities of the CSSB and the importance of the support operations section in the unit.

After more discussions, the team was taken to a nearby motor pool, where several Soldiers briefed the team on some vehicles used for transportation of equipment, personnel or both.

Members of the team constantly asked questions, and they always got an answer from a subject-matter expert, whether it was Rios, a company commander, an NCO or a warrant officer. At the end of the day, the team departed with a wealth of knowledge and the support of new friends.

The Muleskinners met with the El Salvador soldiers the next evening to share a meal at the Fort Drum Commons before the visitors departed.

Lima said it was an honor to learn from the Muleskinners. He thanked the Soldiers for their hospitality and professionalism.

"It was an honor to host the El Salvador army soldiers," Rios said. "This visit afforded us an opportunity to share logistics concepts with them as well as learn and understand how they execute logistics operations. We wish them the best, and we hope that they can take what they have learned here and apply it within their organization with great success."

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