Looking back on the almost two years he has spent commanding the Army's largest Initial Entry Training installation, Maj. Gen. Bradley Becker takes pride in sharpening focus on Fort Jackson's mission, adding a 10th battalion and improving contact with the community outside the post. He says that those actions, among others, will leave his successor an installation that emphasizes teamwork and efficiency.

Before a massing of troops, Becker will relinquish command to Brig. Gen. Roger Cloutier at 9 a.m. Friday, at a ceremony on Victory Field.

Becker said one of the achievements he was most proud of during his tenure was the implementation of the four lines of effort -- training, leader development, quality of life and command outreach -- that support Fort Jackson's strategic plan. Working groups that include leaders from all units and activities on Fort Jackson plan the implementation of the lines of effort.

Initially, Becker said, the working groups expressed resistance. But, he said, the feedback he has received since then shows that leaders across the installation feel more connected to what happens on post.

"(Focusing on the lines of effort) is one of the things I felt strongly when I got here that we needed to do, so we could implement the strategic plan," Becker said. "Early on, there was enough resistance that I was concerned that maybe it wasn't right for Fort Jackson.

"Now, based on what I've seen and the recommendations that have been brought to me for decision, we are clearly going in the right direction."

Becker also credits the working groups with improving the teamwork across different commands on post, one of his goals when he took command.

"As the Army gets smaller, we all have to work together," Becker said. "I think the lines of effort have helped our collaboration tremendously, and our teamwork."

Another highlight of Becker's time at Fort Jackson was establishment of a 10th training battalion, he said.

The battalion -- which will be designated the 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment at the beginning of the next fiscal year in October -- eliminates the need for costly nonpermanent buildings to house the sixth companies of training units. It also ensures that all training companies will be close to their battalion headquarters.

"Because we've been able to stand up a provisional battalion," Becker said, "by the end of this fiscal year, we'll be completely out of relocatables for Basic Combat Training. We'll have no more detached sixth companies, except for one Reserve company that only fills twice a year."

Eliminating six-company battalions also has a positive impact on training schedules, Becker said.

"It allows us to get to a core training week of five days, Monday through Friday," he said. "Now, drill sergeants will still work on Saturday because we still have Soldiers and we still have training. But we don't have to pay overtime for bus drivers and range operators and all those things we were doing when we had to conduct core training six days a week."

Becker also praised some of the initiatives of post Command Sgt. Maj. William Hain, who made sure drill sergeants could attend professional development, such as Ranger School, Air Assault School and the Army Physical Fitness School.

"I think that has had a pretty big impact on the morale of our NCOs," Becker said.

Becker also credited Hain with redesigning some of the training ranges on post to introduce more elements of critical thinking into the training process and -- in collaboration with post deputy commander Col. Mark Shade -- with improving the process for the Central Issue Facility and Clothing Initial Issue Point.

Becker also said he was proud of Fort Jackson's command-outreach program, which has become more streamlined with the implementation of TiGRNET, a tactical system that provides information on which unit engages with parts of the community.

"The reason why I wanted to take this on as an installation wasn't to become more directive about who or how we engage but to get a more clear picture of (the distribution of the units' outreach efforts)," he said. "We were probably oversaturating some places and not engaging at all in other places that are pretty important to us, based on the number of Families we have living in those areas."

Becker's next assignment will be as commanding general of the Military District of Washington and Joint Force Headquarters/National Capital Region.

Becker's advice to his successor, Brig. Gen. Roger Cloutier, is to continue to focus on training, leader development, command outreach and quality of life.

"If we do those things -- if we're providing the best training possible for our future Soldiers; if we are developing our leaders to be successful in this complex, rapidly changing world; if we are providing a quality of life that makes people want to be at Fort Jackson -- we'll attract quality people, both military and civilian," he said.