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EDGEWOOD, Md. - The military's changing times have caused a major
increase in the amount of National Guard Soldiers. The National
Guard is the largest component of the Army, and states are working
harder than ever to ensure that their Soldiers are ready for their
commitments to the Guard. The Maryland National Guard is a program
that has evolved throughout the years and is ranked one of the top
programs in the nation due to its adaption and evolution of its
programs.
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Recruits get briefed before starting the Army Physical Fitness Test by Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Kevin McCluskey, a drill sergeant with A Company, Recruiting and Retention Battalion at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, Md., Oct. 17,
2015. The RSP trains recruits to be physically and mentally ready for Initial Entry Training. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Aimee Fujikawa, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
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Master Sgt. Buddy Houston, Senior Operations
noncommissioned officer of the Recruit Sustainment Program
at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, Maryland, has
been with the RSP since last October. His mission is to help
evolve the RSP into a more streamlined program to better the
future warriors for their initial active duty training as
well as provide their units with well-disciplined, qualified
Soldiers.
Within the RSP, groups are broken down
depending on their phase. Red Phase includes recruits who
have not yet been to a drill weekend before. White Phase
recruits have been to drill prior, and are more than 45 days
out from their initial active duty training starting date.
Blue Phase recruits are 45 or fewer days away from shipping
to Initial Entry Training. Gold Phase Soldiers have already
successfully completed IET and they are returning to prepare
for transition into their units as official Maryland
National Guard Soldiers. Each phase has a different schedule
that they follow, and the biggest change has been helping
the warriors who have not been to basic yet understand more
of what to expect.
“We have integrated our Military
Entrance Processing Station guidance counselors and our Gold
Phase Soldiers to paint a clear picture of what to expect
and dispel Basic Combat Training myths and overcome
concerns,” Houston said. “As a result of this collaborative
effort, we successfully shipped 90 percent of shippers with
97 percent accuracy.”
The Maryland's RSP has changed
a great deal pertaining to their gold phase Soldiers in
order to better prepare them for an easier transition into
their units. Their equipment is ordered and issued on time
through the RSP, they are all briefed on their education
benefits and the medical detachment brings in a team of
doctors to update their records. The gold phase Soldiers
have a set standard before going out into their units, and
the RSP ensures they are prepped and ready for whatever unit
they are moving into.
An obstacle that they overcame
was the physical readiness of all of the recruits who were
entering into any step of Initial Entry Training. Some
individuals were not meeting the Army's mandatory height,
weight and physical fitness standards. The programs created
were specific to the needs of each warrior and were able to
build up from their individual level of fitness.
“We
conduct a full Army Physical Fitness Test every month for
all our recruits to measure their physical readiness,”
Houston said. “Those at-risk recruits participate in a
Warrior Fit program, led by Maj. John Fincatto, and his team
of cross-fit certified NCOs, to teach these recruits how to
improve their fitness.”
The biggest difference
between the Maryland's RSP and other states' RSP programs is
the phase that is called “Grey Phase.” This is a prior
service orientation that helps prior service enlisted,
National Guard Inter-State Transfers or branch transfers, to
become more familiar with Maryland National Guard-specific
information. Grey Phase Soldiers are issued their equipment
prior to going to their assigned unit, and learn basic
information to help their transition into their Maryland
National Guard unit move smoother.
The changes
implemented to Maryland's RSP are proving to produce better,
more qualified Soldiers.
According to Maj. Latisha
Lewis, RSP executive office, the calculations stand at 89.7
percent in-training seat management (the ability of the RSP
to manage and properly ship recruits to training), a 0.8
percent in negative end strength (recruits who have been to
drill and consistently have not gotten paid) and a 97.3
percent in shipper quality (the ability of the RSP to ship
the recruits with minimal packet errors or deficiencies).
Their ratings for these specific RSP metrics excel the
average standards and earned them the rank of 36th out of 54
within the National Guard Bureau standings.
The
matrix has improved from the following year, specifically,
with improved advanced individual training graduation rates
for the Maryland National Guard Soldiers. The Maryland RSP
ship rate is 90 percent compared to the national standard of
85 percent. The Maryland RSP believes they still have work
to do to improve. The great efforts of the staff have
impacted the RSP, and their evolution of positive change has
just begun.
By U.S. Army Spc. Brianna Kearney
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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