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NEWS | June 5, 2020

Army Reserve division hosts virtual Effects Coordination Board

By Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris 99th Readiness Division

The U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division once again led the way in making “virtual” the new reality as it hosted a virtual Effects Coordination Board June 3-4 from its headquarters here.

The ECB is intended to facilitate unity of effort across the Army Reserve by synchronizing and integrating readiness effects and building relationships with supported commands.

“The ECB process is not for the readiness divisions,” explained Maj. Gen. Mark Palzer, 99th RD commanding general. “It is for all the Soldiers in the Army Reserve, and this is the forum for input to all of those leaders to help us come up with the best solution sets to support the Soldiers.”

The ECB began in August 2018 to establish a quarterly mechanism for collaboration and interaction between the readiness divisions and their supported commands. During an ECB, various “Readiness Initiatives” are discussed with the objective of achieving specific readiness effects. ECBs are the forum for the RDs to leverage command relationships, create and sustain partnerships, and develop stakeholder engagement.

“Originally, the ECB was designed to be a quarterly meeting,” Palzer said. “What we look to do now is turn this into an ongoing process where we present solutions and resolve them for the Army Reserve.”

This ECB for the third quarter of FY20 was held virtually due to COVID-19 travel and social-distancing restrictions. More than 140 attendees called in to the event, to include senior representation from all four RDs, U.S. Army Reserve Command, and stakeholders.

“It’s a really unusual and different and emerging time that we’re faced with right now,” said Dr. Mikey Kloster, 99th RD chief of staff, referencing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “I want to tell everybody to please be safe in all that we do.”

The 99th RD has spearheaded several virtual initiatives in response to COVID-19, which were highlighted in the April 30 story found at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/368924/army-reserve-division-makes-virtual-reality.

“I want to thank the team here at the 99th for putting together this virtual ECB format,” Kloster said. “It’s been a little bit of a challenge, but it just might be the way of the future.”

The 63rd Readiness Division is scheduled to host the next ECB for the fourth quarter of FY20.