Supply And Demand… Many, Many, Demands
By Capt. Robert K. Bryan, Assistant S-4, 50TH Brigade

Sgt. Paul Saindon in his office at the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry. Photo courtesy of Capt. Robert K. BryanImagine walking into a brand new supply room and being faced with the task of establishing accountability on millions of dollars of equipment.

In addition, a wall-to-wall inventory must be conducted, hand receipts, component listings, shortage annexes, and clothing records updated, submit and re-submit work orders, and equipment shortages requisitioned. And oh by the way, don’t forget to turn in the excess equipment; get those vehicles prepared for the domestic action missions; drop off loaned equipment at another armory in Sea Girt, yada, yada, yada...

These were the very challenges that faced Sgt. Paul Saindon, the new Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry Unit Supply Sergeant when he arrived at his new unit. Sgt. Saindon responded admirably to the challenge and came through the ordeal with flying colors. His unit not only received a satisfactory rating for the Brigade Command Supply Discipline Program inspection it also exceeded the standard by employing numerous systems that enhanced unit supply operations for the company.

As a result, the unit qualified for the Region 1B competition and on Nov. 7, the Riverdale unit competed against the other Supply Excellence nominees throughout the region and despite performing extremely well, was narrowly defeated by a West Virginia unit.

Both 1st Lt. Scott Lewis and Sgt. Saindon were commended for their outstanding performance. Sgt. Saindon was also recognized as the primary reason for the significant improvements made by this unit in supply accountability. The competition evaluators cited both Saindon’s organizational skills and painstaking attention to detail as instrumental in the remarkable strides made by this unit over the past year.

1st Lt. Lewis summed it all up. “The 2-113th proved that confidence and determination are the two most important factors in attaining success. The troops should take great pride in the fact that they stood tall and displayed clearly their unique brand of professionalism.”

Editor’s Note: Sgt. Saindon’s daughter Rachel was one of five winners of the 2003 Armed Services YMCA Art Contest. In addition to receiving a $500 U.S. Savings Bond, her artwork will also be used on a poster promoting Military Family Month in November 2003.