599th military, emergency essential civilians receive critical mission training.

The increase in Web-based training, like courses offered on Army e-Learning, can make it easy to forget that hands-on instruction is still a valuable tool for Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command personnel.

Servicemembers and EECs (emergency essential civilians) at the 599th Transportation Terminal Group can attest to that--the group recently participated in a productive "live and in living color" two-part training session on the Early Entry Deployment Support Kit.

According to the chief of the 599th plans and readiness section, Ron Day, getting hands-on training on systems is vital to mission success.

"If our personnel can't set-up and troubleshoot this system or any other system that is unique to SDDC, how can we accomplish our mission in supporting the warfighter? With EECs and military trained and knowledgeable, supporting the warfighter is the easy part," said Day.

The EEDSK system enables the reading and writing of Radio Frequency Identification tags as well as the upload of information to an in-transit visibility server via satellite or telephone.

The assembly allows 599th personnel to provide ITV of equipment and cargo that is moving from the Sea Port of Embarkation or the Sea Port of Debarkation. "Having these skills enables our people to deploy worldwide as an individual or as part of a team to capture the data that is so critical to keeping the warfighter abreast of where their gear is within the transportation pipeline," said Day.

To learn about EEDSK people go through inventory and application of the various set-up methods.

Sgt. 1st Class Sisi Fuluvaka, 599th traffic management noncommissioned officer, helped teach the class and said the focus is to prepare people for any circumstance. "The main concentration is to understand the different ways of setting up the system and to learn how it functions. We also want people to be able to troubleshoot different problem scenarios they may come across in a deployment."

For instance, many of the participants who recently returned from supporting operations in Southwest Asia and humanitarian aid in Thailand, were able to apply situational-based scenarios to help others execute EEDSK applications.

The training also offered an opportunity to integrate new employees, allow veterans to practice and receive refresher training, and helped to maintain the group's preparedness to deploy at any time. Additionally, the people had the opportunity to further their job knowledge and raise questions in a close atmosphere.

For Kevin Wagand, 599th Information Assurance Manager, the training time allowed him to strengthen his personal skill sets. "I believe an important aspect of being the information assurance manager is to understand and familiarize myself with the systems the unit uses," he said. "This increases my awareness on what IAVAs (Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts) and security measures will enhance or degrade the unit's mission."

Now, 599th members can better execute and utilize their skills during operational missions and exercises, said Fuluvaka. The hands-on training is a worthwhile contributor to mission success, especially since it allows for an array of task proficiencies to be accomplished.

Story and photos by Robyn Mack, Public Affairs Officer 599th Transportation Terminal Group