Soldiers with the 321st Engineer Battalion provided displaced equipment training to members of the Army National Guard and United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) units in July 2021.

The Army Reserve Engineers brought their institutional knowledge of the Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) to teach Engineer Soldiers on maintenance and operations of the platform. The AVLB consists of a scissors bridge mounted to an M60 chassis that provides a gap crossing capability to maneuver elements.

According to Capt. Joana Martinez, 321st Engineer Battalion plans officer, “the active component does a lot of things and they’re very good at what they do. You have the tactical. You have the technical. This is where we can help them. I think this is very important because you get all the components working together."

Martinez stated the 321st wants to make sure that their knowledge on the AVLB doesn't stay in one realm but goes out to everyone. Passing on that traditional knowledge base that other component lack at the time is a way to afford everyone the opportunity to learn.

"And if we can have any way of helping them out, it’s a pleasure to do, really. We get to show them that we’re not just the Reserve. Yeah, we are the Reserve, but we are also a wealth of knowledge and information.”

The AVLB training partnership (both the Field Level Maintenance New Equipment Training and Operator New Equipment Training) provided a chance to share institutional knowledge while enhancing a total-component mindset.