Blog Posts tagged with "Ukraine"

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.

LOGEX 2011 Distinguished Visitors

The exercise participants enjoyed having the 18 distinguished visitors from fifteen countries come see what they were working on and it allowed the exercise participants to vocally express what they were learning and reinforce the need for LOGEX and more joint exercises. Among the visitors were Lt. Gen. Mukola Khyzhyi the commandant of the National Defense University; Rear Adm. William “Andy” Brown, EUCOM Director of Logistics; and Brig. Gen. Murray, Joint Staff J7 Assistant Deputy Director for Joint Training.

In all I look back at this great experience and realize that work that was accomplished during LOGEX 2011 couldn’t be done without the hard work and dedication of many nations and people working for a common cause the bonds and friendships that are built and strengthened during the LOGEX events are lasting ones and everyone looks forward to the next event to build on those bonds.  I look forward to sharing more about our LOGEX events.

Capt. Todd J. Morin, U.S. Air Force
EUCOM J4
Logistics Support Division
Multinational Exercise Cell Chief