BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 10th Sustainment Brigade held a commanders' conference earlier this month for battalion command teams, oper- ations and intelligence officers here to better understand the brigade commander's mission intent and review current standard operating procedures for convoy operations.
The conference was a way for Col. Willie Rios III, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jose A. Castillo, brigade senior enlisted leader, to interact face to face with not only battalion command teams but also members from each battalion's operations and intelligence shops -- two sections upon which the first day of the conference entirely focused.
Maj. Melissa Ringhisen, brigade intelligence officer, and Maj. Josh Lunsford, brigade operations officer, discussed with battalion representatives the analysis of enemy intentions, attack operations with-in each regional command and disseminating information to Soldiers.
Other topics included previous operations, intelligence security and reconnaissance assets, convoy escort team academies and debriefings after missions are completed.
Ringhisen said the goal was to have an open discussion about the most important aspects of intelligence support for convoy escort team, or CET, operations.
Lunsford said the battalions were very receptive to the information.
One representative noted the information provided better situational awareness.
"Only by having an open, honest discussion about the art of intelligence analysis will we be able to learn from each other and identify better ways of providing analyzed intelligence to the Soldiers in our CETs," Ringhisen said.
The brigade's CET standard operating procedures have been updated, revised and published, Lunsford said.
Castillo said the conference was intended to assist the command with fostering a positive leadership command climate focused on mission command, initiative and empowering subordinates.
"The biggest for me is trust," he said. "Because we operate in the entire (Combined Joint Operations Area -- Afghanistan) as a decentralized organization, this re- quires leaders at all levels to know their environment, learn quickly, but most importantly, they are trusted to lead, manage and influence change."
The brigade commander, command sergeant major and battalion command teams were briefed during the second day of the conference, when Ringhisen and Lunsford provided a thorough play-by-play review of what took place the day before, along with topics not covered, such as force protection.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Crossman, brigade force protection noncommissioned officer, gave an in-depth explanation of the five-step process used for qualifying a leader for the position of convoy commander.
Another briefing covered the commander's top five priorities, which included the Sexual Harassment / Assault Response Prevention program, force protection and sustainment operations.
"This was a very useful conference that allowed all the members of the intelligence warfighting function in the sustainment bri-gade to meet together and share information," Ringhisen explained.
Lt. Col. James Turner, 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion commander, said he was pleased with the conference, and he gleaned as much information as he could in order to institute tactics and procedures with his convoys.
"I think the standardization of CETs will go a long way, so that we all have a base line throughout the CJOA-A," he said.
At the conference, it wasn't only battalion command teams who learned something new.
"The commanders conference was a tremendously helpful for-um," said Capt. Garrett Ruud, 10th Special Troops Battalion operations officer. "The (intelligence officers) brought forward great information, in particular the 'deep dive' on ISR assets. I was not aware that many of these packages have radio relay packages.
"We will definitely use this capability," he added.
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