In line with the general warrior ethos that exists among the civilian ranks of Team Tobyhanna, members of Tobyhanna Army Depot’s (TYAD) Global Response Instructional Team (GRIT) always put mission first and refuse to accept defeat.
One of the main functions of GRIT, a team within TYAD’s Field Logistics Support (FLS) Directorate’s Expeditionary Division, is readiness training. Working in concert with the other arms of TYAD’s forward mission that ensure our warfighters have the finest equipment to use through fabrication and repair, GRIT ensures warfighters use the equipment to the fullest extent of its capabilities.
This joint effort combined with the various trainings completed throughout a soldier’s service, make our warfighters ready to fight on any battlefield.
Although the team has gone by different names over the years and equipment has evolved, the mission has remained the same – ensuring our warfighters, and warfighters of partner nations, are ready to fight through a global support effort.
Several characteristics and capabilities position Tobyhanna GRIT as an excellent resource to our warfighters.
Tobyhanna GRIT prides itself on answering the call of warfighters whether that be in the continental U.S., on military installations, or on a battlefield across the globe. The combination of classroom instruction with one-on-one field training bridges the gap between instruction and application for soldiers.
Supervisory Equipment Specialist Brian Hosman said he can see firsthand the importance of going to the soldiers at the exact battlefield to train them on the exact equipment they’re using.
“Our Tobyhanna GRIT is going to the units. Soldiers aren’t coming to a classroom and using some strange piece of equipment they've never seen before. They're actually dealing with their equipment that's assigned to their unit under their command under their control,” said Hosman.
Hosman added that there is no replacing the heightened lifelong readiness knowledge achieved through one-on-one instruction often coming from a fellow combat veteran.
“What Tobyhanna GRIT is bringing is sustainment and longevity of knowledge. We're bringing that lifelong knowledge base to our soldiers.”
Hosman emphasized that the quality of information being passed along cannot be gained through reading a manual.
“The trainers and instructors we have are so knowledgeable on these systems. They know things that are just not put in manuals. Being able to bring that kind of information to the soldier, especially a young soldier out in the battlefield - just to see their eyes light up and get to see that glow of accomplishment is phenomenal for us.”
Each training opportunity answered by GRIT is invaluable to the soldiers they’re training, the GRIT team, and TYAD itself.
Training Coordinator Charles Middleton said TYAD gets the word out about its capabilities through each training and makes connections that allow Tobyhanna to identify future training opportunities.
Tobyhanna GRIT is staying busy – their globetrotting readiness mission has recently taken personnel to Poland for training through the Army Prepositioned Stock-2 program and Switzerland for Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station training. Upcoming missions include training of the Hellenic Army in Greece on the AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radar, AN/PSN-13 Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (dagger) training in Switzerland through foreign military sales, Korea for HVAC training, and Fort Cavazos for Department of Army civilian certification training.
In line with the Army’s belief that its greatest asset is its people, the greatest asset GRIT has is the people who comprise the team. Made up largely of veterans, the personnel of GRIT do not take the idea of mission success being non-negotiable lightly. Often, they are the last faces a deploying solider will see before leaving their homeland to defend the ideals they hold dear in a combat zone.
Both Hosman and Middleton have served our nation and feel a personal responsibility to equip this generation of warfighters with the best knowledge possible.
Hosman said GRIT members owe their very best to the soldiers making such a selfless sacrifice.
“These soldiers are putting their lives on the line for every one of us. It is absolutely a responsibility we have to make sure we have taught them to the best of our ability”, said Hosman. “We utilize every resource we have to ensure our warfighters are safe and can do their jobs at the highest level.”
Middleton added that this work is powerful to him because he understands the sobering realities that come with service in combat.
“I take a personal interest in it. As a combat veteran, I know the impact what we do on a daily basis can have and what it can mean,” said Middleton. “I know what it’s like to step on a plane and wonder if you’ll come back home. I know that anything we could do on a daily basis to help a soldier come back home is meaningful.”
Units interested in Tobyhanna GRIT's readiness training services can contact 570-615-9252 or 570-580-7743.
TYAD is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters.
About 3,000 personnel are employed by Tobyhanna. While the organization’s headquarters is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, Tobyhanna’s worldwide workforce includes employees in 43 fixed locations across the globe.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to deliver integrated C5ISR weapon systems, business systems, and medical sustainment to enable full spectrum combat operations at the point of need.
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