KABUL, Afghanistan -- Paying special attention to the details, Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most senior of non-commissioned officers in the U.S. Armed Forces, spent the week touring the major commands here getting a firsthand look at the progress of the transition and delivering the Chairman's message to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.
Within hours of touching down at Kabul International Airport, Battaglia met with International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, NATO Training Mission Afghanistan, and Afghan National Security Force senior leaders at ISAF headquarters.
"Of course I'm here to transmit the Chairman's messages, but I'm also here to receive," said Battaglia, making it clear to the assembled leaders that he expected to bring their issues and concerns back to the decision makers on Capitol Hill.
In addition to visiting the top of the command at ISAF headquarters, the SEAC, accompanied by Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Capel, the ISAF and U.S. Forces--Afghanistan's senior enlisted leader, spent the week visiting troops, leadership, and Wounded Warriors.
"We've been to four of the major regional commands, and there are unique differences and challenges in each; one thing resound loudly in all of them," said Battaglia. "Transition is happening here," he added emphatically.
"Training and assisting the ANSF doesn't just stop because we'll have handed over the reins," Battaglia told Marines gathered at a town hall at Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand province. "I just want to thank you all for raising your right hand."
Echoing the SEAC, Capel said, "You have done amazing work to get the ANSF to the place where we are now. They are proving capabilities, planning, executing, and taking the lead in the protection of their own people. You should all be proud of what you are accomplishing. With the help of our coalition partners and our ANSF brothers and sisters you are making Afghanistan and the world a safer place."
Battaglia presented the Chairman's four priorities to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines at town hall gatherings and small group forums in each of the Regional Commands he visited.
(The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey's four priorities can be found at his website, http://www.jcs.mil/.)
Battaglia touched on achieving the nation's objectives in the current conflicts, developing Joint Force 2020, and keeping the faith with the military families, but he focused on renewing servicemembers commitment to their Profession of Arms.
"Gen. Dempsey wants nothing more than to see us re-commit ourselves to the profession of arms," said Battaglia. "It's our duty to remain ready, relevant, competent, trained, proficient, educated and prepared."
Part of the re-commitment he spoke of involves servicemembers taking responsibility for their fitness. The SEAC endorses Total Force Fitness which takes a new holistic approach to the definition of what it means to be resilient, capable, and fit to fight.
Launched in 2010 by the U.S. Armed Forces to combat the effects of a decade at war, the more comprehensive approach to resiliency training and holistic fitness asks servicemembers and leaders to address personal, medical, and family related issues that may have been neglected or dismissed in the past as non-mission essential.
The new approach identifies these issues as now critical to maintaining the resiliency of the U.S. Armed Forces and essential to the well-being of its servicemembers.
Servicemembers expressed concerns regarding the reshaping and refitting of the military in light of the transition and drawdown of U.S. Armed Forces.
Battaglia addressed retirement questions, concerns over proposed changes to Tricare and family medical coverage issues, and workforce transition programs which are in place to assist servicemembers move from military service into the public and private workforce.
Following the town hall meetings with servicemembers and detailed operational briefs with regional command leaders, Battaglia and Capel set aside time to visit coalition Wounded Warriors and medical professionals at Role 3 hospitals in Bagram, Kandahar, and Helmand provinces.
"Our men and women on the battlefield, as well as their families back at home, take great comfort knowing they have the very best, most advanced, and most professional medical care professionals and facilities in the world right here on the battlefield," Capel told trauma staff at the Role 3 facilities.
Battaglia encouraged injured coalition servicemembers thanking them for their commitment and their sacrifices.
Speaking to an injured British servicemember in the Helmand province, Battaglia related his own experiences on the battlefield, and the two spoke about the differences and similarities in their shared service to their nations.
During their six-day mission, Battaglia and Capel met with thousands of troops and conveyed Chairman Dempsey's key themes and answered servicemember's concerns for the future. They met with and battlefield commanders and leaders, and received multiple operational briefs on the progress of transition.
Most importantly, according to the SEAC, he was able to receive the detailed feedback from his deployed servicemembers and can advise the Chairman on their behalf.
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