AFGHANISTAN - The austere environment in Regional Command Aca,!" North (RC-North) in northern Afghanistan is very different from what most logistics assistance representatives, or LARs, in that country are used to. While living conditions on bases in other parts of Afghanistan may include containerized housing units with a bathroom and shower, there can be as many as 10 people to a tent up in the Aca,!A"North Country.Aca,!A?
Such is life for the 21 military and civilian LARs of the Brigade Logistics Support Team (BLST) supporting the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The LARs provides technical expertise, assistance and training to the BCT, which arrived in the German Army-commanded RC-North in March.
The 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division BLST includes logistics management specialists from CECOM, the Army Sustainment Command, Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command and Joint Munitions Command and specialized contractors. They support Blue Force Tracker systems, digital combat ground systems, biometric identification collection systems and intelligence tracking systems, which all tie together to provide a common operating picture for the BCT.
While many of the BLST have deployed before, this is the first deployment for some, including CECOM Standard Army Management Information System LAR Tony Jackson.
Aca,!A"I did not know what to expect prior to arriving in Spann [Camp Mike Spann],Aca,!A? Jackson said. Aca,!A"Being a part of theAca,!A|BLST has been a great experience for me. Regardless of sleeping in an Alaskan tent or working out of an EELs [Early Entry LSE System] Tent, I believe it is what you make out of your deployment which determines your experience. Aca,!A"
The BLST is headquartered at Camp Spann, a forward operating base, or FOB, near a large city in Afghanistan. While Camp Spann had already been established, the 1st BCTAca,!a,,cs arrival caused the creation of Combat Outposts, or COPs, Kunduz and Griffin, which have since also grown into FOBs.
To accommodate the influx of the BCTAca,!a,,cs personnel, much of these three bases had to be constructed from scratch. The 1st BCT BLST played a major role in establishing the life support and communications infrastructure for these FOBs and additional COPs as they developed over the course of several months.
When the BCT Headquarters outgrew its Tactical Operations Center (TOC), the BLST assisted in their move into a new TOC in only 48 hours, working to ensure all communications packages were operational and in unison.
CECOM Sensor LAR Greg Janeczek spent four months at the remote FOB Kunduz as a radar expert. Besides establishing the radar site and resolving critical force protection issues, Janeczek helped in matters that were outside of his experience, including technical issues with power generation equipment and tactical wheeled wheels.
Aca,!A"Being the only LAR on the FOB, I was asked to assist in areas that I would not normally engage in,Aca,!A? Janeczek said. Aca,!A"However, at such a remote and austere FOB, I could not in good conscience tell a Soldier, Aca,!Eoeno.Aca,!a,,cAca,!A?
The 1st BCT BLST work together, eat together and sleep together in tight quarters up in the Aca,!A"North Country.Aca,!A? In doing so, bonds have been forged that will survive beyond this deployment.
Aca,!A"This deployment has been terribly fun for me,Aca,!A? said Jackson. Aca,!A"I hope I get to do this again with the same caliber BLST team I am with today.Aca,!A?
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