TRADOC CG to senior NCOs: Paint the big picture

By Sgt. Maj. Jose Velazquez, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Public AffairsMarch 26, 2014

TRADOC CG to senior NCOs: Paint the big picture
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. David G. Perkins, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, sat down with TRADOC's senior noncommissioned officers March 21 to discuss how NCOs can help explain the "big picture." Perkins took command of TRADOC March 14, 201... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT EUSTIS, Va. -- Rounding out his first week as the new commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Gen. David G. Perkins sat down with command and staff sergeants major at the unit's headquarters here, March 21.

At the invitation of Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Dailey, TRADOC command sergeant major, Perkins spent time with the sergeants major to discuss how TRADOC, "the architect of the Army," needs its senior NCOs to help explain why; to paint the big picture, Perkins said.

"We can have the best concepts, equipment and doctrine, but without the NCO corps' buy-in, it's nothing more than a PowerPoint presentation," the general continued.

TRADOC is responsible for the U.S. Army's training, leader development and doctrine. The organization not only serves as the architect of the force, but also in some respects, the general contractor and designer.

"To America's Soldiers, many of the senior-leader decisions may seem like they were developed the night before," Perkins said, "but I need your help in explaining that the initiatives they hear about, which have been worked on -- sometimes for years -- have had input from Soldiers at every level."

NCO 2020 is one of the TRADOC programs noncommissioned officers and enlisted Soldiers are most interested in. Perkins said he wants Soldiers to know it's a deliberate, data-driven, analytical process examining the current model of developing NCOs. He asked TRADOC's senior noncommissioned officers to help Soldiers understand the program and the work that has gone into ensuring this is a collaborative effort between the force and the institution.

"He has always made it a point to sit with his senior noncommissioned officers very early on in his command," Dailey said. "He believes in the NCO corps and has always involved us in the process."

To Perkins, involving his noncommissioned officers is a careerlong business practice he believes in to accomplish the mission.

"We are the iron fist of our national defense. When all else fails, our nation calls on us" said Perkins, "and in accomplishing the mission, I call on my NCOs."

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