Guard Begins Training with 'Different Kind of Party'

CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. (Army News Service, Jun. 10, 2008) -- Like a G.I. party to clean up the barracks, the quartering party for the 2008 annual training here, June 9, had nothing to do with beer and barbeque.

Before the main body of Soldiers from Camp Grayling could move out to "Forward Operating Base Sustainer" to engage in training operations, quartering parties spent the day preparing the site.

"The quartering party is designed to set up the FOB to accept the main body of exercise participants and to speed up operational readiness," said Master Sgt. Donald E. French, noncommissioned officer in charge of the advance party to FOB Sustainer.

French said the FOB being prepared at Camp Grayling is much like what Soldiers would have experienced in Iraq, had they deployed there early on in the conflict.

"It's much more rustic," he said.

The quartering parties were formed from representatives of all participating units. Soldiers from the 237th Personnel Services Battalion, for instance, unloaded the ropes, pegs and tents that would become their FOB during the training. They spent the rest of the day pounding those pegs into the ground to support their new barracks and work areas.

"Basically, we set up the area of operations where our Soldiers will sleep, eat and work," said Sgt. Michael Brown, a section leader with the 237th.

After a long, hard day preparing the FOB for their comrades, the quartering party mounted their Humvees and returned to their barracks to spend one last night before joining the main element moving back out to FOB Sustainer for the remainder of annual training.