FORT GORDON, Ga. - (Dec. 6, 2013) Ordnance Soldiers from around Fort Gordon gathered at Friendship Chapel Dec. 6 to get a firsthand account of the state of the Ordnance Corps from the chief of ordnance.
Col. Jack Haley, commandant for the U.S. Army Ordnance School at Fort Lee, Va., visited Fort Gordon to share his insight about where the Ordnance Corps is headed for the Army of 2020. He described the future of the Army as facing many fiscal constrains that will require leaders to think of adaptive solutions for a very different army.
"I learned a lot just sitting in there. The insight to what's going on with the drawdown and how everything works, logistics, money, missions, funding," said Staff Sgt. Walter Figueroa, a platoon leader with B Company, 73rd Ordnance Battalion. "I appreciate just listening to the feedback from senior officers, which was great learning experience."
Combined Arms Support Command, which oversees ordnance, is the Army's sustainment think tank and premiere learning institution, delivering game-changing professionals and solutions. CASCOM leads the Army in credentialing Soldiers in their professional skills.
Haley sees credentialing as preparing Soldiers for the life after the military. To him, it's also mainly about being in the profession of the Army.
"If you're in a leadership position and you have a vision for a squad, platoon, or company, if you are not repeating that mission statement over and over again, it won't ever sink in," he said.
The Army is significantly overstrength and the force structure is going down, where the Army will have to dramatically rework the way it trains, develops, and educates its force. The numbers will be reduced, but the force will still be capable and more agile with brigade combat teams.
As chief of ordnance, Haley has to make decisions for what happens to ordnance related military occupational specialties, which takes a lot of time to initiate.
"The "The Army is going to be the smallest it has ever been. We're getting smaller, but we are going to keep our best and highest quality Soldiers, NCOs, and leaders," said Haley. "It starts with getting back to the basics and getting really good at it after more than 10-years at war."
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Combined Arms Support Command, Fort Lee, Va.
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