32 • THE GRIFFON • Fall 2021
Behind the Scenes: A Supply NCO Shares His Experiences and Insights Staff Sgt. Shuai Tang S upply Non-Commissioned Officer Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 104th Training Division (Leader Training)
JOINT BASE LEWISMCCHORD, Wash. — Are you a soldier who is in the supply field? I would like to share a little bit about myself and recent supply school experience with you. I have been in the military for seven years as a 92Y (unit supply specialist). I started as a 92Y because I understood that the Army wasn’t going anywhere without supply. This is culture shock coming from active duty to the Army Reserve.The way we conduct inventories are different. When on active duty, every soldier and every piece of equipment is present at all times, which makes it easier to conduct physical inventory of equipment. However, in the Army Reserve, neither personnel nor equipment is present at all times, which makes it harder for inventory, especially for a unit like ours. Most Soldiers are
assigned a laptop that they could take home with them. If they are conducting rescheduled training for a battle assembly weekend when we are conducting inventory, it will take longer to complete the inventor—to say the least. I attended the required professional military education three-week 92Y Advanced Leader Course at Fort Knox, Ky., this past summer. It was a mandatory in-person training that had 25 students in the class, 10 of whom were in the Army Reserve, and 15 in the Army National Guard; nine were E-6s and 16 of us were E-5s (I’ve since been promoted). We had two instructors—both military; one Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class as the primary instructor, and the other a staff sergeant who was in the Active Guard and Reserve program. We also had a contractor present as a consultant for the Global Combat Support SystemArmy portion of instruction, a site manager sergeant first class (AGR), and a course manager sergeant first class (AGR) on site.
Outside our 92Y ALC classroom at Ft. Knox. Standing to my right is Sgt. 1st Class Ho Nguyen, primary instructor and to my left Sgt. Feliz Vinluan, class leader.
