593rd ESC oversees joint, multinational Total-Force exercise

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - The 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command played a major role in a joint Combat Support Training Exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett Feb. 21- March 13.

More than 5,000 active and Reserve component service members took part in the exercise. Most of the active component troops came from the 593rd ESC, which acted as the higher command for the exercise.

Brig. Gen. Kurt J. Ryan, the commanding general of the 593rd Sustainment Command, said the exercise demonstrated the benefits of the Army's Total Force Policy, which adopts the best practice of training the active Army, Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve together as a single force.

"[This is] a model that works and marries active and Reserve components together so we can learn from each other, because particularly in my business of protection and sustainment, we must fight together," said Ryan. "We are absolutely interdependent on each other ..."

"For example; having a Reserve component unit being mission commanded by an active component headquarters or vice versa, we learn from each other, I call it osmosis," said Ryan.

Ryan's concept of osmosis took center stage during this exercise as active and Reserve component soldiers trained side-by-side.

The 593rd ESC's primary mission is to command the units that provide support in the areas of supply, maintenance, transportation, medical, engineering and biological detection and decontamination support.

Elements of the 42nd Military Police Brigade, the 62nd Medical Brigade and the 513th Transportation Company, all part of the 593rd ESC, traveled to Fort Hunter Liggett to take part in the exercise.

They were joined by several other units from JBLM, including the 110th Chemical Battalion the 8th Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 189th Infantry Brigade.

"It's really been a phenomenal experience for not just members from the 593rd ESC, but Joint Base Lewis-McChord in general. We were able to resource this rotation much larger than we have in the past - over 800 Soldiers from JBLM - and I think JBLM, I Corps and the 593rd ESC are setting new standards on how this should and can be done better in the future," said Ryan.

The Army's Total Force training was just one aspect of the CSTX. The 21-day exercise included joint and multinational medical training. Soldiers from the 593rd took part in exercises with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the Canadian army.

"It's a great opportunity for everyone to work with other branches. A lot of people don't get the chance to work alongside each other in a joint environment," said Master Sgt. Carla M. Hill, the CSTX command cell and support operations noncommissioned officer in charge for the 593rd ESC.

She said it was important to cultivate these relationships enhancing future joint mission capabilities.

As a side benefit of advancing joint, Total Force training objectives, some of the units that attended the CSTX are months away from deploying. The exercise afforded them an opportunity to fine-tune unit training objectives and cohesion.

"This [exercise] showed how their units will do in an environment that is a real-world deployment, an austere environment," said Maj. Gen. Paul Benenati, the First Army deputy commanding general for support.

Benenati also commented on the benefits of the joint, Total Force training offered at the exercise.

"The 593rd functioned as more than a higher command, they were right in there functioning as an ESC, so all the sustainment forces were working for them and that was extremely successful," said Benenati. "It was a wonderful opportunity for everybody to work together."