Army National Guard, Reserves – side by side for Resolute Castle

1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 841st Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve and 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard, July 5th, 2016, at the Tactical Operations Center at the Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. Soldiers here review schedules for th… (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Mervin Bentley, Royal Engineer of Royal Monmouthshire, United Kingdom(UK) Army Reserves, Col. James Kyle, Medical Command, Tennessee Army National Guard, 1st. Sgt. Michael Ilko, 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard, July 5… (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Aaron McDaniel, lead construction coordinator and Sgt. Gerald Bonilla, construction site leader, 841st Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, July 6th, 2016, discuss construction during Resolute Castle at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. Reso… (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Charles Bell, 1st. Sgt. Stephon McAfee and Maj. Carlos Acosta, 841st Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, July 5th 2016, discuss the current operational posture during Resolute Castle at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. Resolute Castle i… (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, Bulgaria — The 841st Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, and 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard combine their efforts during Resolute Castle in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Resolute Castle is a U.S. led effort in Eastern Europe designed to improve military infrastructure and security in the region.

Sgt. Cody Geffre, 194th Eng. Bde., a logistical and personnel coordinator, said that the Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve do things a little different when it comes to logistics and personnel operations, “but we still make it work.”

Sgt. 1st Class Lester Ramirez, 841st Eng. Bn., assistant operations leader, said, “We merge well with the staff on ground and have a good flow between personnel.”

In order for things to run smoothly the unit Tactical Operations Center (TOC) tracks everything going on. Routine daily updates include a review of the 24 and 48 hour operations schedule, and the status of personnel and equipment readiness across Atlantic Resolve countries where the unit operates.

When asked about his experience participating in Resolute Castle, Sgt. Richard Corrales, 841st Eng. Bn., a communication specialist, said, “It’s a good experience being able to keep communication between the TOC and the construction sites. We have different sites in different countries and track the status of all of them.”

Integrating units during a deployment can be a serious challenge. It takes a considerable amount of flexibility on the part of a staff and soldiers for everything to go smoothly.

1st Lt. Aubrey Smoot, a member of the 478th Engineer Battalion, who was present for the integration of the 194th Eng. Bde. and the 841st Engineer Battalion said, “The capability for the units to adapt made it a seamless transition… we work well with each other.”

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