FORT KNOX, Ky. -- Command Sgt. Maj. Lynice Thorpe-Noel assumed responsibility of the Army's Human Resources Command (HRC) Thursday, as its first female senior enlisted advisor.
During a ceremony hosted by Maj. Gen. Jason T. Evans, HRC commanding general, held on Fort Knox, Jan. 17, Command Sgt. Maj. Wardell Jefferson officially relinquished his duties to Thorpe-Noel.
"It is an honor to lead and continue the legacy of the 15 Command Sergeants Major before me who represented and cared so well for our Soldiers and civilians," Thorpe-Noel said. "My focus is on motivating, inspiring, and leading from the front while supporting my Commander to advance HRC's priorities. Through modernization, reform, talent management initiatives, and most importantly, taking care of Soldiers we will realize the future of Army readiness."
Thorpe-Noel, who spent the last few years as the HRC Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate sergeant major, now takes on the leading enlisted role for HRC. The command conducts distribution, strategic talent management, and information technology for a full spectrum of human resources programs and services, Army wide. Those programs and services enable the Army to deploy, fight and win our nation's wars.
"The main focus from my foxhole is setting the right environment for ambitious strategic thinkers to optimize the Army's lethality; getting the right Soldiers, with the right capabilities, in the right position at the right time. What we do at HRC is critical to the overall mission of America's Army," she said.
"This may sound simple, but there is an art and science to getting human resources right and our team does just that on a daily basis."
In terms of the direction she sees HRC and the Army going, Thorpe-Noel said readiness is key.
"We are the execution arm of Army G-1. Our collective efforts will result in the implementation of IPPS-A, providing more tools in our manager's tool kit to support the officer and enlisted talent management market places," she said. "As talent managers we need to be ambitious in our strategic thinking. Let's envision a future for Army human resources which optimizes talent management and make adjustments now to realize success. Preparation is essential to readiness."
Jefferson, who assumed responsibility of HRC in August of 2015, now heads to the Pentagon where he will serve as the Sergeant Major for the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, G-1.
Under his watch, HRC was instrumental in the formation and manning of Security Force Assistance Brigades. He spearheaded the Enlisted Talent Management system which optimized readiness and leader development through force alignment and career management. Jefferson continues to work in unison with Army G-1 in the development, fielding and roll-out of the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army.
"One of the biggest initiatives that we accomplished as a team during my tour as the HRC CSM is improving the way we manage the enlisted population. Although Talent management (TM) doesn't fall completely on the shoulders of HRC, we do play an important role in that," Jefferson said.
Jefferson also said he feels his transition to G-1 will be seamless.
"Our missions go hand in hand," he said. "G-1 writes policy and HRC executes it. This requires a considerable amount of communication, and day-to-day interaction between senior leaders. We have improved and maintained that over the past 3 plus years."
With Jefferson's tenure coming to a close and Thorpe-Noel's just beginning, Thorpe-Noel sees a bright future for the Soldiers in her care and for the next generation of Army leaders.
"Our nation's strength stems from its diversity and that diversity should be reflected in the ranks of our Army. That's what the American people expect - Soldiers and leaders who look like themselves and their loved ones - and that's what they will get from HRC," Thorpe-Noel said.
"In America's Army, the only barriers that exist are the ones that Soldiers choose to see. I think if you choose to ignore those barriers, you can realize endless possibilities."
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