Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center commander, explains the important roles senior noncommissioned officers play on today’s information battlefield, during his address to Sergeants Major Course Class 58 students Jan. 23 in the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy East Auditorium.
Caldwell charges USASMA students to engage media, tell Army story
Sgt. Mary E. Ferguson, The NCO Journal
“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”
– Napoleon
With that quote projected behind him, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center commanding general, spoke on the important roles senior noncommissioned officers play on today’s information battlefield during his address to Sergeants Major Course Class 58 students Jan. 23 in the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy East Auditorium.
Prior to becoming the CAC commander, where he oversees the Command and General Staff College and 17 other schools, centers and training programs throughout the U.S., Caldwell served as the deputy chief of staff for Strategic Effects and spokesperson for Multi-National Force – Iraq, a position and experience he said opened his eyes to the importance of engaging the media and the power of the information field.
“I (came) here today because I need your help,” Caldwell told the senior NCOs who, upon graduating the nine-month course, will become the Army’s next generation of sergeants major.
Caldwell encouraged the students to join him in trying to think beyond the Army culture that many of them were brought up in, which he said promoted the mentality that “the press is the enemy, and we must avoid the enemy, therefore we must avoid the press.”
“This is the 21st century – we can either put our heads in the sand and ignore (the media’s influence), or we can get engaged … understand the importance of relaying information – and be a part of it,” he said. “And nobody is better at (reflecting) the Army story than young Soldiers, and who better at recognizing those young Soldiers and knowing what is going on in (our units) than their command sergeants major.”
Caldwell highlighted his four A’s – annoyance, avoidance, answering with facts only and access – of the Army’s current culture regarding the press that, he said “need to be changed in order to break through the culture barrier – and view the press as a means to tell the Soldiers’ stories.”
“(We’ve) got to stop looking at the press as just an annoyance that we avoid,” he explained. “But, when answering (press) questions … (we) have to look at it differently and realize (we’re) not talking to another military person, (we’re) talking to the American public through the press – and (we’ve) got to give the press access … if we want them to report what’s going on, they have to see what’s going on.”
He also gave Class 58 students his four E’s – encourage, empower, educate and equip – of how they, as future’s sergeants major, can help make those culture changes.
“I realize that as Soldiers, we selflessly serve and it’s just not in our nature to seek recognition or attention,” but there are Soldiers out there who are doing great things and they aren’t going to talk about themselves, engage the media and public, or tell their stories “if (sergeants major) don’t recognize and encourage and empower them to,” he said. “But they’ve also got to be educated and equipped to do that – just like any other mission, you have to prepare yourselves and your Soldiers for engaging the media.”
His message to Class 58 parallels the call that senior leaders throughout the Army have recently made for all members of the Army to engage the media and tell the Army story. And it’s a message that Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston each highlighted when addressing the Army’s top enlisted Soldiers during the 2008 Sergeant Major of the Army Nominative Command Sergeant Major Conference held here Jan. 6 through 9.
Caldwell explained why Army leaders are targeting sergeants major with this message – “We can go out and talk to commanders, lieutenant colonels and colonels about (engaging the media) and telling their Soldiers’ stories … but without sergeants major on board, it’s just not going to happen.”
He said that after sharing this important message with the students, he can now confidently tell the commanders and Soldiers he visits in the future that Class 58, the Army’s next generation of sergeants major, will be on board.