LOGEX 2011: A Review
During the past two weeks I really came to realize what a joint environment was really like. Having worked for the EUCOM J4 for only three months my experience was limited at best, despite three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan under my belt.
When we landed in Kiev, Ukraine, we hit the ground running and began training on our duties as the exercise trainers/advisors. After two days, the exercise participants arrived and we began working with them to get a feel of their knowledge base, allowing us to tailor the exercise injects to their skill and knowledge level. Once we felt everyone was on the same page, we held a mini exercise to work out any communication issues and allow personnel to build working relationships, since this was the first time personnel from five different countries were working together.
We successfully made it through the mini exercise, and were ready to start the full exercise. This was my first time in LOGEX and I wasn’t able to participate in any of the workshops and planning meetings, so it was an eye opening experience to see people from different countries working together on an exercise that took more than a year to plan and put together.
My assignment at EUCOM is similar to the job I had when deployed to Afghanistan as the Partnership Logistics Center OIC; I worked closely with the Afghan Special Forces to supply them with their logistical needs. However, instead of supplying actual logistical support, we taught and guided the participants to think short term and long term to provide logistical support to their countries – we never really moved any forces or equipment.
Despite being from five different countries, communication was never a real problem because everyone practiced using the English language...even our British colleagues.
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