FORSCOM general visits 11th ADA Bde.
On a visit to Fort Bliss Monday, Forces Command Commander Gen. Larry R. Ellis paid a visit to 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. Ellis, briefed on 5-52 ADA Battalion's training plans, also met with soldiers preparing for an imminent deployment. He also listened to and addressed leadership concerns and a range of topics to include the families of soldiers that may soon deploy. "What we're trying to do is build young families that can sustain themselves independently and take care of the household once their soldier is absent," Ellis said. "I think strong family support groups are needed; family readiness groups are critical." Ellis described the nation as being in a state of war and stressed the need for readiness. Addressing the need for air defense capabilities, "A lot of folks depend on what you do; particularly now," he said.

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Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley addresses the conference before the opening ceremony for the SMA's Nominative Command Sergeants Major Conference held this week at Biggs Army Air Field. The conference brought together senior noncommissioned officers to discuss hot enlisted soldier issues.

'Dynamic forum' brings together NCO leadership

Phil Tegtmeier
USASMA PAO

More than 250 sergeants major are gathered this week at Biggs Field, taking part in the third annual Sergeant Major of the Army's Nominative Command Sergeants Major Conference.

The forum, hosted by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack L. Tilley, brings the Army's most influential noncommissioned officers together to meet with members of the Army staff and to develop solutions to challenges facing the NCO Corps. The U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command supported the event.

"This conference continues to provide our [NCO] Corps with a dynamic forum to discuss and craft initiatives to enhance our craft," Tilley said. He singled out areas for the group to address during the conference, including a new skills development test and other personnel issues. "It is my vision that these areas will enhance the awareness, capabilities and opportunities for our soldiers and the Army," Tilley said.

The keynote speaker, Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White, challenged the attendees to focus on four areas of emphasis to ensure the Army's continuing success.

The four areas - mental and physical toughness, marksmanship, combat lifesaver skills and small-unit drills - will provide soldiers the fundamentals they need.

"NCOs must know the standards their soldiers must train to, they must be able to perform É to those standards and they need to train their soldiers to those standards," White said. He said that by focusing on the four areas, and maintaining their units to the standards those areas require, that the NCO Corps will have done its job.

The Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, also addressed the conference attendees on the opening session. He shared images of soldiers in Afghanistan in action during Operation Anaconda, a battle fought last February in freezing temperatures at elevations above 10,000 feet.

At one stage of the presentation, Shinseki pointed to the picture of a soldier keeping watch from high atop a mountain ridge. "There's the soldier," Shinseki said, pointing to the seated figure, "and there's his 70-pound rucksack. That rucksack didn't get up there all by itself."

Shinseki said he made the point to demonstrate that, although soldiers can carry such a load on their backs and still fight, the questions remains as to whether "we want soldiers to do that in the future."

He said getting soldiers lighter combat loads was just one small part of the transition to an objective force to meet the Army vision of providing a more rapidly deployable Army. Shinseki charged the attendees with taking care of the NCO's main job in preparing the Army's future leaders.

"The Sergeant Major of the Army of the year 2025 is in the Army today," Shinseki said. "People are everything, and it doesn't matter how we're equipped or manned in the future. We have to remember our NCO Corps needs to focus on developing tomorrow's leaders. Our job is to grow the SMA of 2025 today."

"This conference truly leverages the experience of our NCO Corps," Tilley said. "We're using that experience to tackle complex issues and work them for the Chief of Staff. These are issues that will not only make our Army stronger, but will help ensure our soldiers remain the best trained, best equipped and best led in the world."

In the breakout groups, attendees prepared concrete recommendations to give to the Army's senior leadership. The issues came from the Army Training and Leader Development Panel's Phase II (NCO Study) report. The study, conducted last year, is the largest self-assessment study ever done by the Army. It focused on training and leader development requirements for NCOs. Subjects the attendees are forwarding recommendations on include ways to ensure NCOs have clearly-defined career paths and can measure their own performance toward meeting promotion and retention requirements, as well as thoughts on how to improve the Noncommissioned Officer Education System.

The conference is slated to end Friday morning with briefings from small-group leaders working the issues.