Troop Talk
The Chief of
Staff of the Army, Gen. Peter Schoomaker and Secretary of the Army,
Dr. Francis J. Harvey recently spoke at the Sergeant Major of
the Army conference here which gave many of us the opportunity to hear
first hand their philosophy on the Army, transformation and many other
items of interest to Soldiers and families. For those of you who
were not able to attend their presentations I would like to share some
of their key points with you.
The CSA has been in his position for some time and we have heard many
of his priorities. With his guidance and by his direction Army leaders
have followed the policies he has initiated and they are firmly in place
here at Fort Bliss. The CSA's comments that you enlist a Soldier
but retain a family is true in every sense and that is why we try to
make sure at this installation that every effort is made to ensure their
safety, security and that programs are in place to support families
across the board. The CSA also discussed quality of training, equipment
and reiterated numerous times the nation's appreciation and gratitude
for those serving and their commitment to establish peace in the region.
There were some interesting questions following the CSA's presentation
and he responded based on his responsibility as the Army chief of staff. I
will try and answer some of them from a local perspective and give some
insight into how we are managing change at the local level.
Q: The 4-lst Cavalry is scheduled to come to Fort Bliss later this year.
Sixty percent of today's Army is married. What is being done to
ensure schools, housing and other services will be available for this
influx of Soldiers and families?
A: My staff and I have been working a detailed plan for this unit's
arrival. All options are being worked with school superintendents
and they all have confirmed their support and they are prepared to handle
the additional students. Mayor Wardy just announced the purchase
of some 500 acres of land in northeast to build new homes, and the RCI
program will be in place on the installation, as well to begin renovation
and replacement of older homes and the building of new residences. Army
Community Services has working agreements with many off post agencies
to assist as needed. The University of Texas at El Paso recently completed
an economic impact study that compiles all the necessary data into a
future model for growth at Fort Bliss. The study includes what services
the community would need to provide based on any expansion. The study
can be found at http://iped.utep. edu/reports.
Q: As we are retooling it seems we have two Army's, the wartime
and the peacetime and they are not in sync. We are told that infrastructure
will be temporary for these restationed units and it will take 7-8 years
for permanent facilities to be constructed?
A: As the CSA said, until restationing and restructuring of the force
is complete and decisions are made about where units will go, the move
to permanent structures will take some time. We are fortunate here in
that we will be able to use a combination of permanent and temporary
structures to take care of 4-1 on their immediate arrival.
Q: Why does it take so long for individual replacements to arrive in
Iraq?
A: I can only comment from a local perspective. We are the CONUS Replacement
Center for Iraq. We send about 300 Soldiers, civilians and contractors
out every week and there is no delay on this end. As soon as they receive
their mandatory trainup they are on their way.
The Secretary of the Army was confirmed a short time ago, but he is
well versed in defense issues and has a strong business background.
He listed his key principles: leading with Soldiers as the centerpiece
of the Army; management of the land forces and their stabilization,
and to be successful must be focused on retention and recruitment; Soldiers
must be well trained before they deploy with the best equipment, with
weapons that are adaptive and effective in war; he called on senior
NCOs to be role models, to mentor and lead their subordinates; transforming
the Army, based on values, the best of the past and effective into the
future; effective use of Army resources, a balanced budget, best equipment,
best training; successfully executing the acquisition program; and,
developing effective personal relationships with the CSA, SMA, Secretary
of Defense, the Navy, Air Force chiefs and leaders in industry. Throughout
his presentation he thanked Soldiers and families for their sacrifices,
their loyalty and the difficult job they were doing in the global war
on terrorism.
I personally support the senior leadership of the Army and think they
are taking us in the right direction. After hearing their presentations
and speaking to them one-on-one, I believe them to be direct, frank,
knowledgeable, and honest in their efforts to lead this Army to meet
the needs laid out by the elected civilian leaders of our country. We
are fortunate to have such leadership while we are a nation at war,
and at the same time transforming and restructuring the force.
Next week I hope to be able to go back to visiting units and finding
out what concerns you have that I will be able to address in upcoming
Troop Talk columns. This is your forum, email, write, send your
questions to The Monitor and I will answer any questions you might have.
Maj. Gen. Michael A. Vane
Fort Bliss Commanding General