CASCOM hosts future Deputy Commanding Generals for Support

By RYAN SHARPApril 18, 2024

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - Ahead of assuming their new roles as Deputy Commanding Generals for Support (DCG-S), ten senior field grade officers visited the Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) and Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE) April 9-11 for DCG-S Week.

Hosted by Maj. Gen. Michelle K. Donahue, CASCOM commanding general, the event allowed the leaders to gain a better understanding of CASCOM and SCoE’s essential role in modernization of the Army’s Sustainment Warfighting Function to support the Army of 2040 and beyond.

Col. Matthew Hardman, an infantry officer by trade and currently assigned to the Joint Rotational Training Center in Fort Johnson, La., said the event provided valuable insight on preparing for his new position.

“The biggest thing is the interaction with peers coming in and the senior leaders,” Hardman said. “It’s one getting an orientation, but secondly it’s coming away with the good questions of things that I've got to learn going forward.”

During the week, participants were provided a tour of the Quartermaster and Ordnance schools’ training areas.

At the Quartermaster training campus, the group spoke with Col. Jin Pak, Quartermaster commandant, and other Quartermaster senior leaders to discuss the Army Food Program, divestiture of equipment, and Rapid Reduction of Excess (R2E) which is a new program that assists commanders to unburden their units of excess equipment.

CASCOM hosts future Deputy Commanding Generals for Support
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - Col. Matthew Hardman, currently assigned to the Joint Rotational Training Center in Fort Johnson, La., takes a healthy gulp of cool, crisp and clear water freshly filtered through the 3000 Gallons per Hour (GPH) Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) at the Petroleum and Water Department’s 92W (water treatment specialist) training site.

Water Treatment Specialists are responsible for supervising and installing water purification equipment and making sure clean water is stored and available anywhere it is needed. They perform water quality testing and verification, in addition to conducting water reconnaissance and developing water source points.

To learn more about becoming a Water Treatment Specialist go tohttps://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/science-medicine/research/92w-water-treatment-specialist.html (Photo Credit: RYAN SHARP)
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Additionally, they toured the 92A (Automated Logistical Specialist) Objective-SSA (Supply Support Activity), a fully functional supply warehouse that allows Soldiers to exercise what they learn in a classroom and apply it in real time in a real environment.

Then they visited the Petroleum and Water Department’s 92W (water treatment specialist) 3000 Gallons per Hour (GPH) Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) training site and a demonstration of the school’s Digital training Enablers. The DTEs used in the department’s 92W - Water Purification Specialist - course have reduced the course length from 12 weeks to 10 weeks and four days, saving over $1 million annually for the U.S. Army.

CASCOM hosts future Deputy Commanding Generals for Support
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - Staff Sgt. Joshua Gulapa, Petroleum and Water Department instructor, demonstrates and discusses the advantages of the department’s 3000 Gallons per Hour (GPH) Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) Digital Training Enablers (DTEs).

The DTEs used in the department’s 92W - Water Purification Specialist - course have reduced the course length from 12 weeks to 10 weeks and four days - saving over $1 million annually for the U.S. Army.

To learn more about becoming a Water Treatment Specialist go tohttps://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/science-medicine/research/92w-water-treatment-specialist.html

(U.S. Army photo by Ryan Sharp) (Photo Credit: RYAN SHARP)
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At the 92G (culinary specialist) field operations training area they viewed the differences between the Army’s field cooking platforms and the ‘The Culinary Outpost’ which is a food truck program designed to bring fresh, healthy food to Soldiers while they support missions that make it difficult to travel to a dining facility.

CASCOM hosts future Deputy Commanding Generals for Support
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Francis, a 92G (culinary specialist) field operations instructor with the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the Assault Kitchen.

Adopted from the U.S. Marine Corps, the AK is a highly mobile and flexible, expeditionary field feeding system to prepare operational rations for forward or remotely deployed units. The tray ration heater cooks on the move, providing food service in transit, or feeding a company-sized unit within 90 minutes of arrival, able to serve multiple sites when operational conditions permit, and the AK can be dismounted and employed statically at a base or outpost.

To learn more about becoming a Culinary Specialist go to https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/support-logistics/creative/92g-culinary-specialist.html

(U.S. Army photo by Ryan Sharp) (Photo Credit: RYAN SHARP)
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While visiting the Ordnance training campus, the DCGs met with Brig. Gen. Stephen Allen, the 44th Chief of Ordnance, and other senior Ordnance leaders to discuss maintenance management at the division level, maintenance terrain walks, and the Command Maintenance Discipline Program.

Additionally, they toured the 91E (allied trade specialist) printing and CNC machine labs to see the Army’s 3D printing and metal fabrication capabilities.

CASCOM hosts future Deputy Commanding Generals for Support
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matthew Ditto, Ordnance School Allied Trades senior instructor, shows Col. Christopher Johnson, 25th ID Division Support Brigade commander, items that Allied Trades Soldiers have made using the Army’s 3D printing capabilities.

Allied Trade Specialists supervise the fabrication, repair, and modification of metallic and nonmetallic parts to ensure the Army’s equipment is operating reliably. To do that they operate lathes, drilling presses, grinders, welding machines, and other machine shop equipment while also serving as a welder.

To learn more about becoming an Allied Trade Specialists go to https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/mechanics-engineering/test-repair/91e-allied-trade-specialist.html (Photo Credit: RYAN SHARP)
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At the 91F (small arms repairer) indoor firing range they received a brief overview of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) consisting of Sig Sauer’s M7 rifle, previously known as the XM5, as well as the company's belt-fed M250 light machine gun based on the same platform. Both come with matching suppressors.

In the 91S (Stryker Systems mechanic) training bays the group gained insight into how the Stryker maintenance technicians receive their training as well as the reach back capabilities to receive unit training.

CASCOM and SCoE execute proponency of six regimental branches (AG, FC, LG, OD, QM, and TC) with 57 military occupational specialties and 20 warrant officer specialties,​ training over 240,000 students annually, including Joint & International students, operating three Noncommissioned Officer academies (largest in the Army) with over 12,500 students annually​, and oversee leader development and career management for over 100,000 Army Civilian Logisticians​.