The event was part of a Navy directive to decentralize and delegate local area coordinator for mobilization (LACMOB) authority to regional REDCOMs and other strategic locations. In years prior, policy has required Sailors to be processed only through ECRC.

“The Navy Reserve is at an inflection point as we transition to a new model for delivering warfighters,” said REDCOM FW Commander Capt. Mark Hofmann. “We are sharing more information than ever, and tapping into a deep well of experience as we build the Adaptive Mobilization model. We’ll use it to deliver our warfighters more quickly, and in greater numbers, than ever before.”

During the event, REDCOM FW conducted mobilization processing for multiple active-component (AC) and Selected Reserve (SELRES) Sailors scheduled to deploy to various overseas locations.

“The team is doing great work,” said Navy Reserve Lt. Cmdr. Brian Scott, the officer in charge of REDCOM FW’s Mobilization Department. “We’ve spent months prepping. We divided our team into sections - mobilization pay; medical; supply; and operations - to cover all of the in-processing requirements and to get each of our Sailors launched on time to the theaters they’re going to.”

REDCOM FW’s mobilization team coordinated physical and mental health assessments for the deploying Sailors and helped facilitate a series of pre-deployment briefs, which included legal counsel, presentations from Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP) representatives, and guidance from the Fleet and Family Support Center.

Sailors were also fitted for gas masks and received chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) defense training.

“The team has been very helpful,” said Navy Reserve Yeoman 1st Class Andre Polk, a SELRES Sailor assigned to Navy Reserve Center (NRC) New York City, who is scheduled for a nine-month mobilization in Qatar. “There has been ample information and various resources provided to ensure each of us have direct contact information for our command individual augmentee coordinator (CIAC).”

“I feel confident that I’m ready to go,” said Navy Reserve Lt. Cmdr. Eric Whicker, who is assigned to an undersea warfare unit attached to NRC Columbus and is scheduled for a one-year mobilization in Egypt. “It’s been a pretty lock-step process, but at the same time, it seemed tailored to meet each of our needs.”

REDCOM FW’s Mobilization Department Leading Petty Officer Navy Reserve Yeoman 1st Class Juanita Armstrong shared her enthusiasm and appreciation for the opportunity to have a more direct impact in mobilizing Navy Reserve Sailors to strategic billets around the world.

“I like the fact that we’re doing this,” said Armstrong. “I like that we as Reserve Sailors, who know exactly what other Reserve Sailors are feeling when they get tagged for mobilizations, are able to assist by answering questions and soothing the normal anxieties that come with making necessary preparations, whether it’s their first mobilization or their 20th.”

Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command Adaptive Mobilization Coordinator, Cmdr. Andrew Alvarado spoke about the significance of the event and praised REDCOM FW’s mobilization team.

“The Adaptive Mobilization process improves Navy readiness by allowing us to activate 50,000 Navy Reserve Sailors in a 30 day period if and when called upon,” said Alvarado. “We’re expanding our capability to perform mobilizations across the country at different sites. So, I’ve been working with the Adaptive Mobilization readiness teams at all of the REDCOMs. Lt. Cmdr. Scott has a really dedicated team and it’s been very rewarding watching them work.”