Fort Bliss Monitor

Troop Talk

In the southwest corner of Texas, where Old Mexico and New Mexico meet there was a little known outpost of the Army, which in 1848 became Fort Bliss. In this isolated hamlet on the banks of the Rio Grande little was known about this desert post as it evolved from infantry to cavalry to coast artillery to air defense. Some old Soldiers even told me when they received an assignment here they had to look at a map to find it, as they had never heard of the place. But that has all changed. In 1968, air defense became a branch and since that time it has gone from Ajax to Nike to Patriot and the future looks even brighter as the Army and the branch transform to meet today’s threat.

We are not just air defense, 12 different commands are represented here and each of them have their place in the makeup of Team Bliss, and add to the stability and diversity of the post.

Just last week, for the first time, a five-member delegation from the House of Representatives led by the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter, and accompanied by Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Roscoe Bartlett, Heather Wilson and Robin Hayes along with Scott Turner NFL player visited with Soldiers at lunch and thanked them repeatedly for their service to this country. Following this visit, they stood in line to greet returning Soldiers from the 31st Combat Support Hospital who had served in Iraq. It was a heroes welcome for these troops.

This week the ongoing Sergeants Major Conference brought senior sergeants major from around the world and Chief of Staff of the Army Peter Schoomaker and Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey were in attendance as guest speakers with a theme of “where we are, where we’re going.” The post is growing and emerging from that sleepy outpost to a vibrant star on the horizon. Air and missile defense is undergoing transformation, changing systems, leading the way in force stabilization, growing partnerships with MDA, SMDC and industry. Training is now focused on the Soldier, the Warrior Ethos concept and values with an increased effort on having a leader tactically and technically trained for combat.

This year, expansion of the post is here; the 1st Cavalry will begin arriving in May. We will start Phase II of the Basic Officer Leadership Course; the Warrior Training Center for Air Force and Navy personnel transitioning to the Army and the 88M course will be expanded.

One of the most exciting new things is really a creation of innovative thinkers. Take something, a system with proven capabilities and make it work quickly to help save lives in combat. So the Army is looking at a gun system to counter against incoming rockets, artillery and mortars. It looks good, I saw the test, it works and now we are moving out.

I would say that “Any day is a great day to be a Soldier and to be a part of Team Bliss.”

Maj. Gen. Michael A. Vane
Fort Bliss Commanding General



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	January 13, 2005

	Troop Talk In the southwest corner of Texas, where Old Mexico and New Mexico meet there was a little known outpost of the Army, which in 1848 became Fort Bliss. In this isolated hamlet on the banks of the Rio Grande little was known about this desert post as it evolved from infantry to cavalry to coast artillery to air defense. Some old Soldiers even told me when they received an assignment here they had to look at a map to find it, as they had never heard of the place. But that has all changed. In 1968, air defense became a branch and since that time it has gone from Ajax to Nike to Patriot and the future looks even brighter as the Army and the branch transform to meet today’s threat. We are not just air defense, 12 different commands are represented here and each of them have their place in the makeup of Team Bliss, and add to the stability and diversity of the post. Just last week, for the first time, a five-member delegation from the House of Representatives led by the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter, and accompanied by Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Roscoe Bartlett, Heather Wilson and Robin Hayes along with Scott Turner NFL player visited with Soldiers at lunch and thanked them repeatedly for their service to this country. Following this visit, they stood in line to greet returning Soldiers from the 31st Combat Support Hospital who had served in Iraq. It was a heroes welcome for these troops. This week the ongoing Sergeants Major Conference brought senior sergeants major from around the world and Chief of Staff of the Army Peter Schoomaker and Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey were in attendance as guest speakers with a theme of “where we are, where we’re going.” The post is growing and emerging from that sleepy outpost to a vibrant star on the horizon. Air and missile defense is undergoing transformation, changing systems, leading the way in force stabilization, growing partnerships with MDA, SMDC and industry. Training is now focused on the Soldier, the Warrior Ethos concept and values with an increased effort on having a leader tactically and technically trained for combat. This year, expansion of the post is here; the 1st Cavalry will begin arriving in May. We will start Phase II of the Basic Officer Leadership Course; the Warrior Training Center for Air Force and Navy personnel transitioning to the Army and the 88M course will be expanded. One of the most exciting new things is really a creation of innovative thinkers. Take something, a system with proven capabilities and make it work quickly to help save lives in combat. So the Army is looking at a gun system to counter against incoming rockets, artillery and mortars. It looks good, I saw the test, it works and now we are moving out. I would say that “Any day is a great day to be a Soldier and to be a part of Team Bliss.” Maj. Gen. Michael A. Vane Fort Bliss Commanding General