Wichita-based Army Reserve unit preparing to deploy to Kuwait (+videos)

Col. Matt Melvin has been an Army logistics professional for more than two decades, and the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command has impressed even him.

“The unit’s excited – they’re well disciplined, they’re motivated and, I mean, they’re ready to go,” said Melvin, who has coordinated the group’s final exercise for the past two weeks at Fort Hood.

“It’s comforting to me to see that this unit that’s coming out of Wichita, Kansas, is more than well qualified to do this mission.”

The 451st, an Army Reserve unit preparing to deploy to Kuwait soon, has been training at Fort Hood since leaving Wichita in late February.

The unit has completed its final exercises at Fort Hood and soon will assume official responsibilities overseas.

Brig. Gen. Bruce Hackett has commanded the unit for only two months, but he said he is “very impressed” with the progress it has made thus far.

“We trained hard in a realistic environment that really put us through the wringer, so I think we’re really up for the challenge,” Hackett said.

Responsibilities in Kuwait

The 451st will provide sustainment and support, promoting regional security and stability in the Middle East.

It's the unit’s job to ensure supplies are properly and safely distributed to American troops and allies in the region.

It will advise and assist the Iraqi Army, as well as other allies in the region fighting against aggressors such as ISIS, the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The 250 soldiers in the unit are the “senior logisticians” in theater, and they will coordinate thousands of other logisticians in subordinate units, Hackett said.

One of Hackett’s concerns is that about 30 percent of his soldiers have never deployed overseas; however, their experiences in the civilian world will make the transition smoother, he said.

“I’m really surprised with the civilian disciplines they have,” he said. “It shouldn’t be an issue of transitioning and being able to tackle any kind of mission sets that we encounter.”

In the wake of the deadly bombings in Belgium, which ISIS has claimed responsiblity for, Hackett said the role the 451st will play overseas is vital.

“What we’re doing in the Middle East is so important, how that’s relative to what’s happening in these different areas,” Hackett said. “I think we’ll be doing some good.

“It’s our little part of what we do as experts to help fight global terror and specifically the fight against ISIS.”

When the United States had more troops on the ground in the area, multiple units like the 451st would manage sustainment across the Middle East, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jay Thomas. Now the 451st alone is responsible for overseeing sustainment in the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.

“What’s unique about us is we’re providing sustainment across that whole (area), between the Sinai, operations in Iraq, and operations in Afghanistan,” Thomas said. “We’re looking at three different fronts and providing the different sustainment for those.

“Our head is in three different games all at one time.”

Learning to work together

More than half of the soldiers in the 451st have been cross-leveled from other units, meaning they were not part of the 451st prior to the deployment, according to Hackett.

For a unit that has come together in about two months, its cohesiveness has impressed its leadership, Thomas said.

“From an outsider looking in, you probably wouldn’t think this unit has been together as short a time as what it’s been, the way everybody’s operating together,” he said. “It goes back to their attitude and their professionalism.”

Thomas, who advises Hackett on matters such as troop morale, said the soldiers in the 451st are in high spirits.

“A lot of times in the exercise, everybody comes in with a great attitude and a few days into it …you’ll see their attitude will start dipping, and I’ve not seen that here at all,” he said. “Everybody’s been on the up and up with their attitude. They’re thrilled to be here, really.”

Most soldiers interviewed said they are ready to leave the country and start doing their duties overseas. They will be deployed to Kuwait for about a year.

“It’s a challenge a lot of soldiers have to face,” said Capt. Josiah Fisher, the unit’s public affairs officer. “They’re excited for that challenge.”

Melvin, the active-duty officer training the 451st, said logisticians like those in the 451st don’t usually get the glory traditionally associated with infantry units on the front lines, but they play a vital part in accomplishing the Army’s mission.

“Our passion is just mission accomplishment. We have a passion for doing sustainment, the challenges and the problems that come with that,” Melvin said. “We don’t care about the glory or having ourselves on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

“We find satisfaction … when the combat arms guy, the fighter, he has his bullets. He has his food. He has his fuel. He has his medical support. … That’s what’s really important to us at the end of the day.”

Importance of Reserve soldiers

According to Melvin, “the bulk” of the Army’s sustainment units are Reserve components.

Army Reserve soldiers are required to attend one weekend of training per month at the unit where they are assigned, but beyond that, they are ordinary citizens working civilian jobs.

451st soldiers are cabinet-makers, mailmen, UPS drivers, small-business owners.

More than half of them serve in law enforcement in their civilian lives, which adds a “unique flavor” to the group, Hackett said.

“They’re very disciplined in their civilian occupation, which brings a lot of added benefit to what we have going in theater,” Hackett said. “We are so regimented in the way we think in the Army, and people from different civilian backgrounds just add that extra way of looking to solve a problem.”

The strength of the Army Reserve comes from drawing upon these diverse civilian skill sets, Melvin said.

“These guys have skill sets that normally we don’t see in active-duty,” he said. “All of a sudden they’re doing a skill set of their Army mission, but their private skill sets help (them) do their job sometimes even better than who they’re replacing on active-duty component.”

Representing Kansas

As an officer currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Melvin said he is glad so many soldiers from Kansas and other Midwestern states will be deploying to Kuwait.

“It’s good to have people coming over to that part of the world from Kansas, Missouri – their values and their beliefs – and exposing that part of the world to what great Americans we have,” he said.

“They do a very good job of representing our country, the state of Kansas and surrounding states, in a very positive way.”

Soldiers in the 451st come from 33 different states, and the unit has become a “melting pot,” Hackett said.

“It’s amazing the way individuals from Kansas interact with people from New York, from Washington state, what have you,” Hackett said. “I think it’s a cross representation of America.

“It’s just amazing how everybody’s come together.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Wichita-based Army Reserve unit preparing to deploy to Kuwait (+videos)."