BURLINGTON, Ky., –
The 2112th Transportation Company hosted the 1792nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion’s first Maintenance Terrain Walk of the year at the Burlington Readiness Center Jan.21, 2024.
The MTW is a leader development program for battalion commanders. Its purpose is to assure a high level of awareness and command interest in field maintenance by ensuring senior commanders understand how their maintenance program operates.
Each of these MTWs are supposed to happen no more than 180 days of a new commander taking charge or on a yearly basis but getting the program up and going took time and planning.
“This will be the first MTW that the state conducts after several months of diligent work on the structure of the program by the G4 M-Day and Full-Time maintenance staff,” said Lt. Col. Steven Engels, the logistics management officer for the Kentucky National Guard.
Senior leaders with maintenance background from across the commonwealth took part in a briefing to start the day that was led by Army Lt. Col. Justin Watts, the commander of the 1792nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
During the brief, Watts reiterated that this “was not an inspection, but an evaluation of our processes.”
The MTW is typically led by Kentucky’s Army component’s chief of staff. This year, the event was guided by retired Brig. Gen. Steve King, Kentucky National Guard’s state-level chief of staff. With his extensive experience as commander of the 201st Engineer Battalion, 613th Engineering Facilities Detachment, and Garrison Training Center, Brig. Gen. King brought valuable insight, enabling him to provide comprehensive and constructive feedback based on his assessments.
Following the presentation, King and his team conducted an on-site review of the training processes within the 2112th unit, evaluating how each Soldier engaged with and responded to their training regimen.
After reviewing the small arms training, the group proceeded to the command and control center, where each vehicle is tracked and managed. Soldiers there had the opportunity to engage with King and demonstrate skills they acquired through their training.
The next destination was the motor pool, where vehicle maintenance is conducted. The tour concluded at Field Maintenance Shop 7, located a few miles from the readiness center. There, they observed mechanics servicing an LMTV.
King was satisfied with the engagement and praised the active participation of the Soldiers there.
“What I saw was a lot of Soldiers engaged, a lot of leaders engaged in wanting to better understand the process of how we manage this very large mechanism that we refer to as sustainment,” he said.
As for the commander of the 2112th, Capt. Michael Evans, he appreciated the significant exposure his troops received from higher command, finding it beneficial for his unit.
“It was a tremendous opportunity to have that direct dialogue and be able to join in that conversation,” he said. “The leadership has been very personable speaking to my Soldiers. and really competent and knowing what they're about. It’s also helpful to actually see that there's a there's a person behind that name. Presence matters and I think important thing here is that they were present and actually knew what they were talking about.”
Engels summed up the event by saying that, ““No unit, no matter how well trained in the execution of its tactical mission, can expect to fight and win on the battlefield if it cannot maintain its equipment, maintenance and training exist together, both critical to mission success and survival of the Soldier.”
There will be 5 other MTW events happening this year in the following months within the other major commands as well.