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NEWS | Dec. 29, 2020

The 211th RSG Adds New Line of Effort to Existing Mission

By Maj. Thomas Piernicky and Maj. William Wratee 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

The 211th Regional Support Group mobilized in 2020 to assume the duties of the Fort Hood Mobilization Brigade and assist in the deployment and redeployment of Soldiers supporting Army operations across the globe. The 211th had three lines of effort; to transition personnel and equipment to and from theater, to assist with large scale mobilization planning, and to build relationships across Fort Hood with enterprise partners. The spread of COVID-19 in early March of 2020 added a new line of effort and changed operational business practices.  

Units that going into and out of operational theater move through an Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration (RSOI) site to properly posture for their mission. The 211th RSG manages an RSOI site at North Fort Hood, Texas. 

Large Scale Mobilization Operations, or LSMO, refers to the preparation and validation of large numbers Reserve Component forces for contingency operations through Mobilization Force Generating Installations, or MFGIs. Fort Hood, Texas, is one of two operating MFGIs. The 211th RSG’s role in MFGI expansion is to support Army mobilization enterprise partners. 

Coordinating with existing partners, and building on those relationships, ensures that enterprise partners maintain visibility on key issues regarding the mobilization and demobilization of Reserve Component forces. 

ROSI, LSMO, and Partnerships are all linked. During a Large Scale Mobilization Operations forum at Rock Island Arsenal from Sept. 16-18 U.S. Army Reserve Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels said that “In order to get the readiness you need post-mobilization, you have to have the coordination pre-mobilization.” Lt. Gen. Daniels noted that “Collaboration and coordination has to happen early and often before, during, and after mobilization in order to get to the objective.”

The COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the need for collaboration and coordination. The 211th RSG has provided “logistical life-support” to over 11,400 Soldiers that have passed through their area of operations. Quarantine has allowed them to test new methods for delivering services to Soldiers. The establishment of quarantine operations triggered a new decision-making process. The 211th RSG had to adjust to changes and create new rules, on the spot, for keeping Soldiers safe.

Under normal conditions Soldiers in the mobilization process travel from North Fort Hood to medical evaluations and administrative process sites. COVID-19 made that process more difficult. Col. David Dean, the Commander of the 211th Regional Support Group and the Fort Hood MOB Brigade said that “instead of going to locations, we brought locations to them.” Col. Dean also established a Task Force, made up of 211th RSG key leaders and Active Component Soldiers. The purpose of Task Force Quarantine is to coordinate and assist in the execution of all logistical support in a quarantine environment. 

The willingness and ability to adapt to a changing environment is key to logistical operations. The 211th RSG has shown that flexibility is a key to mission success.

The 211th Regional Support Group is a part of the 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). The command is made up of Soldiers, civilians and their families in units headquartered throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. As part of America’s Army Reserve, these units are trained, combat-ready and equipped to provide military and logistical support in any corner of the globe.