48 • THE GRIFFON • Summer 2015
Army Reserve Commander Strives for Mirror Image By Sgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton 108th Training Command (IET) Public Affairs
FORT JACKSON, S.C. — “The goal for me during my tenure here is simple: when you line my Reserve component drill sergeants up next to their active component counterparts you won’t notice a difference,” said Lt. Col. Shawn Cochran, commander of 3rd Battalion, 518 Infantry Regiment, 98th Training Division (IET). Cochran’s unit just picked up their first Echo mission of the year supporting E company, 3-60th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Each year, units from the Army Reserve’s 108th Training Command (IET), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, take on the task of supporting each of the Army’s four basic combat training posts through echo missions. Through these echo missions, a team of command personnel, drill sergeants, and support Soldiers take over a basic combat training company to provide new Soldiers quality training and mentorship during their first experience in the Army. “It needs to be seamless and I think it is. Our mission is to train the Soldiers who are going to either win or lose our next war. This is where our Reserve Soldiers are going to have the greatest influence on what the future force is going to look like and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Cochran said. This year Cochran’s units have taken on the task of instructing an entire phase during each cycle as opposed to the two-week training
Army Reserve Drill Sergeant, Staff Sgt. Kurt Schoeller, 3-518 Infantry, 98th Training Division (IET), checks targets at the qualification range during week four of Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, S.C. Schoeller, is performing his second echo mission in which a team of drill sergeants and support personnel take over a basic training company to provide quality instruction and mentorship alongside their active duty counterparts at each of the Army’s four initial entry training posts. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton, 108th Training Command (IET), Public Affairs
mission of years past.While the mission poses certain challenges for these Reserve Soldiers, Cochran feels they are up to the task. “This is a great assignment, but it’s not without its challenges. I have a lot of law enforcement officers and such that have certain obligations they can’t walk away
from.They get calls to appear for court and things that we try to make accommodations for. I myself have been doing disaster response in support of FEMA for 20 years now. I get calls day and night that I can’t walk away from. It’s a balancing act but our guys do a great job staying
focused on the mission at hand.” Cochran isn’t the only one excited about the opportunity to serve in these echo missions.Army Drill Sergeant, Staff Sgt.William Clifton, E Company, 3-60th Infantry, a drill sergeant for 32 months, now on his third cycle in these echo missions points out the extra
