11th Transportation Battalion Ready! by SPC Lee Dear

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SGT Mendez of HHD, 11th Transportation Battalion recently conducted Sergeant's Time Training focusing on teamwork and agility. Using obstacle courses in training is a small part of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF). The Army established Comprehensive Soldier Fitness to enhance the resilience, readiness and potential of Soldiers, family members and Army civilians. CSF will develop and institute a holistic fitness program for Soldiers, Families and Army civilians to enhance performance and build resilience. As a result, the Army will be composed of more balanced, healthy, self-confident people whose resilience and total fitness enables them to excel in an era of high operational tempo and persistent conflict. Resilience is the ability to grow and thrive in the face of challenges and the ability to bounce back from adversity. CSF provides specific mental and physical resilience techniques that will increase physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and family strengths through a program of continuous self-development.  This physical training along with Master Resiliency Training produces Soldiers who are mentally and physically fit. Remember, well-rounded Soldiers focus on all areas of preparedness!!

Honoring Those Who Served by SPC Lee Dear

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The Soldiers of the 11th Transportation Battalion Honor Guard conduct memorial affairs to honor our fallen comrades. Their duty, in addition to providing support for burial ceremonies, is also the rendering of color guard honors at special events in and around the Hampton Roads area. The precision of the 11th Transportation Battalion Honor Guard is a product of hard work and countless hours of training. SGT Shawn Collins of 368th Inland Cargo Transportation Company said, “We practice several times a day and right before a funeral we always practice to make sure we are on time and on point.” Providing military honors for Army Veterans who served their country is a prestigious undertaking that the 11th Transportation Battalion Honor Guard has accomplished with professionalism and grace. 

Joint Combatives Training by 1LT Whitaker

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Army Field Manuel 3-25.150, which outlines Modern Army Combatives, states that “proficiency in hand-to-and combat is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern soldier.” Sergeant Jedadiah Eustaquio of 368^th Inland Cargo Transportation Company of 11^th Transportation Battalion at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEB LC-FS) takes the latter statement seriously. Last year, Sergeant Eustaquio served as an assistant instructor at Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE), aiding in the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP) Level 1 certification of over 200 Soldiers. He also competed on the JBLE Fight Team and in the 2010 All-Army Combatives Tournament. After graduating from MACP Level 3 Combatives Course at the United States Army Combatives School at Fort Benning, Georgia, Sergeant Eustaquio was then able to conduct his own course and certify Soldiers in MACP Level 1. As the senior instructor in 11^th Transportation Battalion at JEB LC-FS, Sergeant Eustaquio envisioned creating a joint service combatives academy where Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers could train and become certified in different styles of military combatives. He wanted to focus on techniques from the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP), the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), and the Navy’s Tactical Combatives Program (TAC-COM). With a little bit of ambition and coordination, Sergeant Eustaquio brought his idea to fruition by presenting it to senior enlisted members of each service. As a result, he planned and conducted the first-ever joint combatives training course at JEB LC-FC. Sergeant Eustaquio invited Master Combatives Instructor SFC Luis Romero from Joint Base Langley-Eustis to assist in teaching Marines, Sailors and Soldiers in the week-long joint course at JEB LC-FS’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Compound. The course, which was taught on January 18-21, 2011, offered participants the opportunity to become MACP Level 1 certified. The instructors also demonstrated new combatives techniques from the Army Combatives School at Fort Benning. Some of the new techniques taught included basic handcuffing techniques and the post, frame, and hook, a move that helps Soldiers control and maintain distance between themselves and their opponent. Sergeant Eustaquio and Sergeant First Class Romero also taught weapons retention training.  At the end of the week, 4 Sailors, 3 Marines, and 9 Soldiers graduated with a certification in Level 1 MACP techniques.

11th Transportation Battalion’s 2011 Events by 1LT Whitaker

2011 is going to be a busy year with a lot of great training going on for the Soldiers and Leaders of 11th Transportation Battalion. During the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2011, the battalion will hold a Rodeo, LFX, gunnery, and TOCEX. Three units in the battalion will be inactivated: 241st Seaport Operations Company, 159th Seaport Operations Company and 396th Harbor Master Operations Detachment. In addition, unit Supply Sergeants will be busy preparing their supply programs for inspection as they look forward to competing for the Army Command Supply Discipline Program (CSDP) Award. Similarly, Maintenance Sergeants will be preparing to compete for the Army Maintenance Excellence Award.

During the second quarter of Fiscal Year 11, HHD will be participating in an Intermediate Staging Base (ISB) mission at Camp Mackall, North Carolina in support of a 82nd Airborne and Airforce joint training operations. Additionally, 368the Seaport Operations Company will be training up for the Africa Lion mission and the Army Supply Excellence Award and Army Maintenance Excellence Award will be decided upon in the battalion. All Soldiers in the battalion will have the opportunity to compete for the coveted German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency. Soldiers can compete for three classes, gold, silver, or bronze. Competitors will be tested on their knowledge on Combat Lifesaver Course skills and face an intense physical test consisting of swimming, sprinting, the long jump, high jump, shot put, long distance running, marksmanship, and ruck marching.