MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. - Quartermaster Soldiers out of Fort Bragg, N.C., produced, stored, transported and distributed potable water for displaced civilians and service members here during Vibrant Response 13, a major incident exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North.
Soldiers of the 127th QM Company, 352nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 77th Sustainment Brigade, worked with other Joint Task Force -- Civil Support units to demonstrate their ability to support local, state and federal authorities.
"Our mission is to provide logistical support in concert with the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to purify, store and distribute water to the American people in their time of need," said Sgt. Daniel Trowell, the water treatment supervisor for the company.
Water treatment specialists assigned to the company are responsible for providing purified water for civilians and other JTF-CS emergency response units in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.
During the training venue, Trowell and his Soldiers responded to a request from local civil authorities to provide 400 gallons of water to displaced civilians in the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
After purifying the water, the Quartermaster troops drove tactical vehicles from a training forward operating base at Camp Atterbury, Ind., to Muscatatuck to deliver the water to those in need.
"This exercise is going well so far," said Trowell, a native of Lakeland, Fla. "We understand our role is important, because without us the people wouldn't have clean water. We're essential to the mission."
Once the troops arrived in Muscatatuck, they siphoned the water from a transport trailer to the portable water trailer on site.
"It makes us feel good to be exercising our skills," said Spc. Felipe Sotomayor, a water treatment specialist from Puerto Rico. Sotomayor was responsible for monitoring the water levels and filling the reservoirs once the unit arrived on site.
After leaving Muscatatuck, the troops traveled back to their FOB on Atterbury to prepare for their next mission.
"I enjoy this training, because it's just going to help me at getting better at my job," said Sotomayor, who enlisted in the military two years ago. "I want to be very proficient in my job in case something should occur and we have to help people."
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