The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command conducted a Training and Mission Support Summit at Scott Air Force Base from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, 2024. The summit brought together planners from the command’s headquarters and active-duty transportation brigades, along with planners from SDDC’s Reserve force, the Deployment Support Command, with the goal to enhance readiness and training for the Reserve forces by integrating them into training opportunities with their active-duty counterparts.
Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis, SDDC commanding general, emphasized the importance of a total force integrated solution in support of the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise.
“Roughly half of SDDC’s power resides in the Army Reserve,” he said. “And around 70 percent of all of our Army’s sustainment elements reside with the National Guard or Army Reserve.”
The summit consisted of four phases.
First, the active-duty units developed and submitted "baseball cards" that outlined training opportunities. Next, the Reserve unit planners identified which of those initiatives would best suit their training requirements. Then, these assignments were submitted and validated in the Army Training Information Management System, a web-based database used to manage and track training events, missions and exercises. The final phase focused on briefings, connecting and coordinating between the respective units and brigades.
“Before arriving, I envisioned TMSS would be solely focused on signing our units up for training opportunities,” said Col. Matt Angliss, DSC’s G3 director. “I appreciate there were briefings, discussions and a chance to collaborate as well.”
The brigades were not the only ones who took advantage of the opportunity to network. Curtis took the time to familiarize Brig. Gen. Manu Davis, DSC’s new commanding general, with operations within U.S. Transportation Command and SDDC.
The summit concluded with a briefing on training expectations, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and teamwork.
Curtis stressed the need for seamless integration of active and Reserve forces to ensure global mission readiness, something he also discussed during a recent meeting with Maj. Gen. Justin Swanson, commanding general of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. The 377th is the DSC’s ADCON headquarters within the U.S. Army Reserve.
“When we go into the next fight, we need to be ready,” Curtis said in his opening remarks at the summit. “We need to be prepared in case that fight becomes a ‘bench-clearing’ brawl. We will rely on the DSC and Reserve forces.”
