Visit link for Video Message from MG Dorman ----------------------------->
Aloha 8th TSC Team,
One year ago I was honored to joint this PREMIER family as your commanding general, and as we reach the milestone of our first year together, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the incredible accomplishments we have seen over this short period of time. When we are engaged in the day-to-day fight, we can sometimes lose sight of the larger picture and where our efforts fit in. I hope the accomplishments I am about to cover will help us all see the value of our hard work in contributing to the overall mission.
I will start by stressing that all of our successes have been built on a dedicated team effort. From our military to our civilian workforce to our family members, every one of you has pitched in to get us where we are today.
As we begin a new type of relationship with the 45th Sustainment Brigade with their assignment to 25th Infantry Division, it is important to note their contributions in Afghanistan over the past year where they served as the U.S. Central Command Materiel Recovery Element. As the CMRE, they oversaw the retrograde process for 6,755 pieces of Theater-Provided Equipment valuing more than $300 million, and also commanded two engineer battalions and a combat sustainment support battalion with troops at 46 bases conducting deconstruction and retrograde operations across Afghanistan.
When the 45th deployed, the 8th Military Police Brigade took on the added responsibility of serving as mission command for rear elements of the 45th Sustainment Bde., and ensured a seamless transition during deployment and redeployment.
All the while, the 8th MPs continued their partner relationships with foreign nations, government agencies and the local community through exercises and community outreach. Watchdog Soldiers supported operations in Afghanistan, Australia, Columbia, Germany, Guam, Japan, Laos, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
The 728th Military Police Battalion provided more than 200 MPs daily to meet the law enforcement commitment on U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii, while the 303rd EOD Bn. provided EOD response throughout the Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. controlled landmasses throughout the USARPAC area of responsibility.
Our 130th Engineer Brigade provided support to the Joint team in Hawaii by building a firing range at Marine Corps Base-Hawaii and upgrading infrastructure on the Big Island Pohakuloa Training Area with culverts, parking lots and facilities, giving Soldiers in training a better standard of living.
Engineers also went beyond the islands, participating in Joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training during exercise Cobra Gold with the Royal Thai Army. A detachment from the 643rd Engineers also served as Civil Action Team Palau for a six month rotation assisting the nation with construction.
The 7th Dive Detachment worked with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Vanuatu, assisting in the incredible recovery of remains of World War II Soldiers underwater!
130th Engineers achieved excellence by winning the USARPAC level color guard competition and were named to serve as the color guard for all USARPAC events for a 12 month period.
At the headquarters level, we worked hard with a number of initiatives to improve Sustainment integration across the theater and across the Joint forces. We brought in enterprise partners for our first ever Industry and Academia day, and we worked with joint partners in the Strategic Sustainment Summit and the first-ever Joint Senior Enlisted Forum.
We also built relationships beyond the standard duty day, as we welcomed our Joint Sustainment family to the Joint Logistics Ball in Waikiki.
This spring the TSC also hosted a panel at the AUSA LANPAC Symposium where we really had an opportunity to discuss Sustainment in the Pacific with a broad audience.
Meanwhile, the TSC oversaw the Army watercraft operators engaged in a proof-of-concept for the PULSE-W mission, successfully operationalizing pre-positioned watercraft in Japan leading to a significant amount of savings.
Our Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team ramped up to provide support during possible typhoon relief in the Philippines, and although they did not deploy, they still helped show the TSC's relevance and responsiveness in this theater.
I also had the honor, along with our Army mariners, to commemorate an event recognizing a little-known bit of history as one of our LSVs participated in a Joint commemoration ceremony for the Pearl Harbor West Loch disaster of 1944. This little known tragedy claimed the lives of 196 personnel and injured nearly 400, yet due to the dedication of these Sustainers, the upcoming Operation Forager was delayed for only one day.
This year we made it a priority across our formation to build a unique leader development program that will help shape the Army of tomorrow. The Young Alaka'i Leader Development program graduated its first class in May, allowing a select group junior leaders a dynamic broadening opportunity that exposed them to a range of strategic and theater level knowledge.
TSC Soldiers from our 130th Engineer Brigade also rose to the top in the 2015 USARPAC Soldier and NCO Best Warrior competition. To take both of the top positions is a testament not just to the competitors, but to the team effort at the unit level and rigorous competition across the TSC that prepared our Soldiers to succeed at the USARPAC level. My personal thanks to everyone involved in this effort - job well done!
And finally, as of this day, our unit has reached more than 1,420 days without an accidental death. This is an extraordinary milestone, and every single member of the team has had a part in making us one of the safest units in the Army. Units don't reach numbers like this by accident, so thank you all for doing your part to build a culture of safety across our organization.
As always, thank you for all you do. As I think back on all of our accomplishments, it is clear that you have embodied every element of our PREMIER motto. Solutions are our business, and you have proven time and again that you are the Professional, Responsive, Engaged, Mission enhancing, Innovative, Ensuring readiness and Relevant warriors who make those solutions a reality.
It's an honor to serve with each and every one of you! Sustain the Force! PREMIER PRIDE! One Team!
V/R
Provider 6
EDWARD F. DORMAN III
MG, USA
Commanding
Social Sharing