Page 17 - The Dispatch August 2019

TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT

ities at home. So far he believes that Soldiers have been considerations just became another aspect of the overall
mostly supportive of the program. concept.

“At this point there are generally more favorable com- “Providing support is no different between the two types
ments than unfavorable,” said Cerniauskas. “The one uni- of training periods. It’s better for us because of repetition,”
versally liked aspect of the program was training in the said Mendoza. “We just mimic the first period with a few
field in April when it’s cool versus the heat of July for two minor adjustments.”
weeks.”
As the program continues to develop, Cerniauskas looks
Spc. Curtis Flanging, Texas Army National Guard engineer, forward to finishing out the second session ending in July
echoed the results of the 176th’s program surveys. to gather concrete data on the effect to readiness. He ac-
knowledges it will take time to evaluate if the program
“It can get overwhelming having a two-week annual train- achieves the desired impact on readiness but still believes
ing, so breaking it up is good,” said Flanging. “Also, if some- there is a way to expand the effect to the units the engi-
thing didn’t go right at the first session, you have time to neers support.
fix it for the next session.”
“We need to do more multiple annual training sessions to
One of the key considerations for the segmented annu- determine how sustainable this model is. It depends also
al training program is coordinating the logistical support on unit mission, training area accessibility and other fac-
needed to locate training sites, equipment and support tors,” said Cerniauskas.
not once but twice. According to Mendoza, the logistical

Soldiers from 551st Multi Role Bridge Company
conduct water survival and water rescue training!
(Courtesy photo 176th Engineer Facebook)

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