10th AAMDC Warrant Officers execute staff ride in Bastogne

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany (Rhine Ordnance Barracks) -- Warrant officers from the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command conducted an off-site leader development staff ride August 31 in Bastogne, Belgium. The event provided an opportunity to execute two key objectives through the lessons learned from the Battle of Bastogne.

First, understanding how the optimization of human performance remains paramount relative to forging individuals into cohesive teams garnering positions of advantage. Next, how the ability for these teams to thrive in strategic environments of complete ambiguity are required to win our nation's future wars.

The leader development training began in the Jacques Woods in the Ardennes Forest with a comprehensive examination of force dispersions, readiness levels and a holistic battle analysis review.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Douglas Wyatt, a systems integrator with the 10th AAMDC, said the on-site visit helped him better understand the battle that took place here more than 70 years ago.

"The emotional impact of actually being on site where so many brave soldiers fought and died made the history of the battle even more real for me," Wyatt said.

Next, each warrant officer explained how their current Military Occupational Specialty contributed to the successful allied defense of Bastogne. Through each warrant officer's contribution, the team collectively garnered the importance of how their efforts are interconnected with each MOS and the overall success of an organization.

The collective education, training and experience each warrant officer shared helped make the visit more exciting said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Willie Thomas.

"I truly enjoyed experiencing my fellow warrant officers combining their knowledge in the battle analysis of the events that enabled the successful defense of Bastogne," Thomas said.

After sharing their expertise, the 10th AAMDC teammates had an opportunity to study the finer details of the battle at the Bastogne War Museum, Mardasson Memorial and Bois de la Paix. As leaders, the training event offered value-added insights into the criticality of maintaining technical and tactical expertise, the art and science of mission command, integrated thinking and the Army profession, while simultaneously recalling the past investments leaders made in helping maximize their individual potential.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Justin Evans, a Property Accounting Technician, said "It is our responsibility to continuously pay this forward for all others in our Army today, tomorrow and into the future."

Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Jones, the 10th AAMDC Command Chief Warrant Officer, said continued investments in the Army's human capital are required to build future teams of trusted professionals. The future force must be comprised of agile, adaptive and resilient leaders in support of the Army Chief of Staff's priorities, the approved Warrant Officer 2025 Strategy, the Army Operating Concept, Army Strategic Planning Guidance and Joint Vision 2020.

"Future wars will require the U.S. Army's warrant officer force to remain comfortable with the uncomfortable, maintain a decisive edge in the human dimension, win in complex strategic environments while dominating our adversary from a multi-domain battle perspective in support of a deluge of 'Fight Tonight' scenarios," Jones said.