Photo(s) by Sgt. Bradley Rhen, Spc. Sean Kimmons
Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, talks with Soldiers from 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. June 11 at Schofield Barracks.
Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, takes a ride in an OH-58 D Kiowa Warrior helicopter June 11 at Wheeler Army Airfield.
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| PACOM commander visits with Army
By Sgt. Bradley Rhen Editor
The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific region visited with the Army June 11 to get an idea of its capabilities now and where it's going in the future. Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, began his visit at Fort Shafter where he received a briefing on the Army's Transformation efforts. He learned that the 25th Infantry Division (Light) is on the forefront of the Army's Transformation efforts, with two of its three brigades having been selected to transform to Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. Next, Fargo took to the skies for an aerial tour of Oahu's training areas. From his seat in a UH-60 Blackhawk, Fargo got a birds-eye view of Kahuku Training Area, Dillingham Military Reservation and Makua Military Reservation. Next on the tour was a capability demonstration at the Military Operations in Urban Terrain site on Schofield Barracks. Fargo watched as Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment air assaulted into the site, cleared a building and secured a foothold in an urban area. When the Golden Dragons of 1-14 finished their demonstration, Fargo donned a kevlar helmet and flak vest and accompanied a squad from 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. into the building. Inside, the Wolfhounds of 1-27 showed Fargo how they clear a building. "As I watched that young squad go into the house and go through their paces, it made my day by a longshot, and probably the week and the month," Fargo said. Next, Fargo moved to Wheeler Army Airfield. There, he was shown a C-130 load demonstration, and then he suited up and took a ride in an OH-58 D Kiowa Warrior helicopter. Upon returning, Fargo visited the Division Tactical Alternate Command Post that was set up on Wheeler. There he saw how the Division would operate in a field environment. Lt. Col. Burt Thompson, Divison G3, said the Division wanted to show Fargo how the DTAC can expand to an Army Forces headquarters, similar to what it did at Cobra Gold, when it served as a Combined Army Forces headquarters. "In this case we'd be an Army Forces headquarters in charge of all Army forces in a particular area of operations," Thompson said. Fargo got a chance to see how the DTAC can maintain situational awareness during a battle, including the use of video teleconferencing with Pacific Command headquarters. "We have video teleconferencing capability here back to his headquarters, so if he wanted to talk to his J3 operations guy today, he could," Thompson said. "We can and do have connectivity with a joint-level headquarters, in this case, it would be PACOM." While at the DTAC, Fargo also got a briefing on the set-up and architecture of the command post, and how it can expand in size. Fargo also learned about JTF Warnet, a joint, common operating picture that the Division is testing with PACOM. "We're going through regional test one right now, which is testing the actual architecture and the linkage from an ARFOR headquarters -- in this case the 25th Infantry Division -- all the way up to PACOM," Thompson said. The Division will conduct an additional remote test after Lightning Thrust Warrior in September, Thompson said. Fargo said he took away from his visit an appreciation for the quality of training opportunities on Oahu and the Army's ability to communicate on the battlefield. "It's pretty clear the kind of acquisitions you're going to make and the efforts that are going to go on here in the near future will expand the training opportunities and this is going to make a clear impact," he said. Fargo also said he gained an appreciation for the Division's deployability and he hopes to take advantage of it in the future. "Above all else, my goal is to make sure that I can get you folks into the fight more often," he said. |
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