FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, September 1, 2015) ̶ Making a day-long stopover, at Fort Bragg, 23 members of the Secretary of Defense Senior Leader Engagement Program spent time with Soldiers from U.S. Army Special Operations Command, 18th Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division, Aug. 27, 2015.
Welcoming the group was Maj. Gen. Clayton M. Hutmacher, USASOC deputy commanding general, and Col. Brett Funck, Fort Bragg Garrison commander.
"The most important thing you will see here today is our investment in our Soldiers," said Hutmacher. "We invest heavily in the men and women in the special operations force."
Participants in the Senior Leader Engagement Program are guests of the Secretary of Defense and attended briefings by senior military and civilian officials at the Pentagon earlier in the week. The program is an outgrowth of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a public liaison program in the Department of Defense.
"The Fort Bragg visit was part of the week long engagement with the military services starting with a Monday morning briefing with Ashton Carter, Secretary of Defense," said Christine Thompson, the program director for the tour. "The visits are a way to familiarize the senior leader participants about the strengths and readiness of our military."
The participants were from all across the United States. Selected by each of the service chiefs, they were high level executives or CEOs representing business and commerce, education institutions and the entertainment industry, said Thompson.
Among the group was the president of the American Bar Association, the executive vice president of business at Fox Sports and the senior vice president of U.S. International FedEx Express.
The tour included meeting with special operations Soldiers on a Fort Bragg firing range. The SLEP members received hands on training on many of the weapons and equipment used by the SOF Soldiers.
The participants took in a Meals Ready to Eat lunch before proceeding to the 82nd Sustainment Brigade for a parachute packing demonstration. Then they went to Fort Bragg's 34-foot tower where several of the team donned training harnesses and took the leap from the tower.
"The men and women who are here today are just overwhelmed by the professionalism and skills these Soldiers have," said Thompson. "Most of these folks were not aware of the military, and today, with this visit, it gives them a connection with the Soldiers. It gives them the opportunity to see what things these Soldiers do every day in the Army."
"I have been very impressed, in particular, by the younger talent here in the Army and how much responsibility these Soldiers have," said Ceree Eberly, chief people officer, Coca-Cola Company. "If you translate that into people coming into the work place, these Soldiers have the maturity and ability to execute the work skills that is required by employers."
"These folks have not only come away with a new-found respect for the military, but we have people looking to commit some of their resources with their own companies or in cooperation with other companies to find more ways to help veterans and Soldiers who are leaving the Army," said Master Sgt. Robert Couture, Army team leader for the tour. "Just this alone has had a profound impact of the group."
It was like coming home for him, said Couture. He had spent six years at Fort Bragg before taking over his current position in Washington D.C.
"It is just so humbling for me to come back here to show the SLEP members what life is like for the paratroopers and special operations troops," said Couture. "I am so proud to be a Soldier and show off the Army here at Fort Bragg."
As the tour of Fort Bragg came to an end, the SLEP tour members had a meal at a dining facility before climbing aboard a C-130 to fly up to Virginia.
In his closing comments to the SLEP members, Funck said, "These are Soldiers who protect our nation ̶ without equal--without fail."
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