'Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 501st Sustainment Brigade, pull a generator to power the brigade tactical operations center during the Champion Thunder, combined exercise held the week of Dec. 1-7, in South Korea. The exercise brought together the 3rd Logistical Support Command Soldiers and the 501st Sustainment Brigade Soldiers whom all learned to work with each other.'
Story by Sgt. Ferdinand Detres
Photos by Sgt. 1st Class Norman Llamas and Sgt. Ferdinand Detres
501st Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs
DAEGU GARRISON — Soldiers of the 501st Sustainment Brigade finished a week long exercise that took them just a few miles short of the demilitarized zone Dec. 1-7.
The Champion Thunder exercise involved all the battalions under the 501st SBDE, to include the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 501st Sustainment Battalion, the 194th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, the 498th CSSB, and the 94th Military Police Battalion. The Republic of Korea Army's 3rd Logistics Support Command was also a key player in the exercise.
Champion Thunder's intent was to deploy and establish a combined logistical support area to train in the combined environment on mission command, logistical support, area and base security operations.
With the high turn around rate of Soldiers coming in and out of the Korean peninsula it becomes a challenge whenever there is a field exercise of this magnitude. One of those challenges was the fact that many Soldiers were not familiar with convoy operations.
"Some of the concerns of the younger Soldiers as they told me were, 'Yes first sergeant I'm driving because I have to but, it was briefed to me that at anytime you have an accident no matter if someone walked in front of your vehicle, drove a bicycle in front of you, or hit a car that pulled in front of you, it's always going to be your fault,' that's what they have on their mind," said 1st Sgt. Verlinzy Burns, first sergeant, HHC, 501st SBDE.
'Soldiers gather their gear to load onto their vehicles, which were headed to the Champion Thunder combined exercise.'
During the first day of the exercise Soldiers were met with below-freezing temperatures, which made setting up equipment in the middle of the night more difficult. Despite the obstacles, the brigade was able to establish operations within a little more than 24 hours.
"We are getting there," said Master Sgt. Victor Taylor, brigade operations noncommissioned officer in charge, 501st SBDE. "It was the first time a lot of people were able to work together between the brigade primary staff and the battalion primary staff. We have to be nested from the company to the brigade level."
"We have a lot of work to do, the best way to go after it is to focus small. We have learned that from an equipment and process standpoint we need to work on some areas. By process I mean battle drills, how we transfer information. The equipment speaks for itself, we need to do better with our equipment," said Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Willett, command sergeant major, 501st SBDE.
"We are going to start putting a lot of emphasis on sergeant's time training after the holidays," Willett continued. "From a brigade perspective we are going to make that our focus. If we start doing the small things right and more consistent, the overall operation on our next exercise will go much smoother."
Champion Thunder not only gave the command a clear picture of areas that needed improvement, it also brought a unique opportunity for Soldiers to work side by side with the Republic of Korea Army Soldiers and their equipment. It also created stronger bonds along the way.
Maj. Timothy Ryu, 501st Brigade chaplain, organized a religious event called Combined Interfaith, "Diverse yet unified," which brought Soldiers of the ROK Army and U.S. Army together. During the event there were five religions represented by speakers from the ROK and U.S. sharing their beliefs. Right after the event Soldiers from both the U.S Army and ROK Army were able to enjoy snacks and bond with one another.
"We really strengthened the ROK Army and U.S. Army alliance from all levels," said Willett. "I am extremely proud of our Soldiers and the ROK Army Soldiers. I've been in the Army for almost 22 years and this event was one of the more inspiring things I've seen."
Despite the cold weather and a few concerns in regards to the experience level of the Soldiers, both the 501st SBDE's leadership and the 3rd LSC's leadership agreed that Champion Thunder was a success. It helped strengthen the alliance between the U.S. Army and the ROK Army because the exercised allowed the two entities to work side by side and learn from each other.
Both units expressed their satisfaction with the results of the exercise and look forward to working with each other in the future.
'Soldiers assigned to the 348th Quartermaster Company, 194th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 501st Sustainment Brigade, instruct Republic of Korea Army Soldiers on mounted and dismounted convoy operations as well as Improvised Explosive Devices recognition and reporting procedures. Following the block of instruction, the Soldiers had a chance to put their newly learned skills to the test by actually going on a mounted patrol around their field exercise compound.'
'Republic of Korea Army Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Logistical Support Command, pose for a photo at the conclusion of field exercise Champion Thunder. All throughout the exercise, ROK Army Soldiers and US Soldiers had a chance to exchange patches, rank insignia, Meals Ready to Eat and other objects as a sign of support and acceptance for one another. Both units agreed on the fact that their bond grew stronger by the time the field exercise culminated.'
