Delaware National Guard TROUPERS training comes to Delaware
By Officer Candidate Deborah Welch
Representatives from the Delaware Army National Guard's brigade and battalion headquarters attended a three-day class from February 26 to March 1 on TROUPERS - Training, Readiness, Operations, Unit Planning, Execution and Resourcing System.
"TROUPERS is intended to work as a bottom up management system," said Master Sgt. Bob Barnett, Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Evaluation System (ES) Chief, 185th Regional Training Institute (RTI). "It is a new, automated training tool that will enable unit Readiness NCO's to plan and conduct training based on personnel and logistics requirements."
Barnett and Sgt. 1st Class Sandra Lowmann, Iowa National Guard Headquarters Operations NCO have already trained 20 other states on the capabilities and benefits of TROUPERS.
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Sgt. 1st Class Sandra Lowmann, Iowa National Guard Headquarters Operations NCO, instructs Chief Warrant 3 Freddie Rios, Delaware National Guard, State Area Command (STARC) Training Officer. |
"Last year we trained 300 people on TROUPERS and this year already about 120 have gone through the program," said Lowmann. "Delaware is farther ahead than most."
Before the two Iowa National Guard representatives were scheduled to training the Delaware brigades and battalions, Master Sgt. Dwight Lacy began working with TROUPERS, inputting data and overviewing its capabilities.
Once the out-of-state representatives were scheduled to conduct training, Lacy worked with Sgt. Maj. Tom Blakeley, Information Processing Branch, to set-up computers and software. Blakeley was able to load the data with which Lacy had been working and then test the program for bugs.
"No bogus information had to be input," said Blakeley. "The real info wasn't live either, so it wouldn't hurt anything if it got messed up in training."
Planning efforts by Lacy and Delaware's Plans, Operations and Training Office (POTO) put Delaware ahead of the learning curve that each state experiences when implementing TROUPERS, said Lowmann.
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Master Sgt. Bob Barnett instructs brigade and battalion representatives on the new automated training tool - TROUPERS. |
By using the program with real data, students were able to predict training man-day costs and to identify requirments for all classes of supply by interfacing with other major personnel and logistics programs.
"They (the POTO) understood the benefit of the program and wanted to see how the units wanted to use and implement the program," said Lowmann.
Based on positive feedback from brigade and battalion representatives, like Sgt. Maj. Michael O'Brien, 2nd Battalion, 72nd Troop Command, training next year for unit representatives is likely.
O'Brien cites "more bang for the buck" and better budget stability as two immediate wins, as units begin to use TROUPERS. Units will be able to prioritize training events toward their Mission Essential Task List (METL) and secure the needed personnel and equipment for the training event.
The end result will be one-stop shopping with TROUPERS for long-range planning that should effectively meet the units' resourcing needs, according to Lacy.
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Col. Robert George, Plans and Operations Officer for The Delaware Army National Guard, presented certificates of appreciation to Barnett and Lowmann at the end of the TROUPERS training. |
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