IMCOM commander teaches customer service through combatives

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- Soldiers and Civilians got a taste of leadership and customer service through Army combatives training at the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Garrison Leader's Course Feb. 6, 2012.

The combatives training took the group out of the classroom and into the gym as they learned the basics of the Army's hand-to-hand combat technique.

LTG Michael Ferriter, IMCOM commander, led the training and told the group that the principles of combatives: "close the distance," "establish a dominant position" and "win" apply equally well to customer service and leadership.

Ferriter described the non competitive process as: "getting closer to other people," "establishing yourself in that relationship" and "winning that person over".

"This is all about customer service and inspired leadership," he said. "That needs to be our focus. Your rank was a symbol of servitude -- it's not about authority."

Ferriter compared IMCOM to corporations in America: Disney, USAA and Chick-fil-a. He discussed their focus on customer service training and that he wants IMCOM to emulate that ethic.

The class was made up of Soldiers and Civilians from senior positions across the command and is taught at the IMCOM Academy here.

About the U.S. Army Installation Management Community:

IMCOM handles the day-to-day operations of U.S. Army installations around the globe -- We are the Army's Home. Army installations are communities that provide many of the same types of services expected from any small city. Fire, police, public works, housing, and child-care are just some of the things IMCOM does in Army communities every day. We endeavor to provide a quality of life for Soldiers, Civilians and Families commensurate with their service. Our professional workforce strives to deliver on the commitments of the Army Family Covenant, honor the sacrifices of military Families, and enable the Army Force Generation cycle.

Our Mission: Our mission is to provide Soldiers, Civilians and their Families with a quality of life commensurate with the quality of their service.

Our Vision: Army installations are the Department of Defense standard for infrastructure quality and are the provider of consistent, quality services that are a force multiplier in supported organizations' mission accomplishment, and materially enhance Soldier, Civilian and Family well-being and readiness.

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