FORT MONROE, Va. (Oct. 27, 2009) - Command Sgt. Maj. David Bruner, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's senior enlisted advisor, hosted a summit with senior enlisted advisors from across the Army to focus on synchronizing education and leader development within the Army Force Generation model here today.
Bruner opened the agenda and set the tone for a productive day of frank discussion.
"TRADOC is here to serve and we must continue to lead change," he said.
"I am excited about the Institute for Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development's role in this. We must ask ourselves a few questions today: How do we ensure that we adapt our education to fit the needs of the operational Army and meet the Chief of Staff's intent' How can we leverage technology in this process to close the gaps created by distance and deployments' How do we measure our progress' Finally, how do we do all this with challenges in resources and manning while still ensuring that we are acting as good stewards of the taxpayer's money'"
The ARFORGEN model manages the force and insures the ability to support the demand for Army forces. The process ensures that the forces are combat ready and have adequate time for reset and training.
Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Laidlaw conducted the first briefing, outlining the challenges posed by the Army Force Generation Model.
"To help the Chief [of Staff, Gen. George Casey] balance the Army, we must start now," Laidlaw said.
Sgt. Maj. Willie Robinson, FORSCOM G-3/5/7, added, "We have to remind Soldiers that just because they've been in combat, that doesn't mean they don't need to go [through the NCO education system]."
Throughout the day the Senior Enlisted Leaders discussed Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, the Institute for NCO Professional Development, the Army Career Tracker, Mobile Training Teams and other solutions for balancing the Army within the ARFORGEN process. After a day of discussion a consensus emerged:
"We need to change our culture over time-and education is the answer," concluded Mr. John Sparks, the Director the Institute for Noncomissioned Officer Professional Development and former TRADOC Command Sgt. Maj.
"We cannot fix problems caused by a flexible environment with inflexible solutions."
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