FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 7, 2014) -- The Army's second-highest ranking officer wants Fort Benning to know just how important the combined arms training conducted here really is.
"The ability to understand that and the science and the art behind it is crucial, and no place else in the world does it better than Fort Benning," said Gen. John Campbell, vice chief of staff of the Army.
Campbell came to Fort Benning Friday to preside over the retirement ceremony of Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter, interact with post leaders and speak to Soldiers, NCOs and officers.
He addressed a packed room in McGinnis-Wickam Hall's Marshall Auditorium.
In his talk, Campbell discussed the importance of resiliency and trust-trust between Soldiers, between Soldiers and leaders, and between the Army and the American people.
"We've got to be transparent," he said. "We've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard. When our nation asks us to go do something, as it will always do, we have to be prepared to go do that, because that's what they expect."
Campbell also talked about the Army's Ready and Resilient Campaign, which aims to align many programs that already exist to provide services that contribute to resiliency, such as the Exceptional Family Member Program, Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness and the Army Substance Abuse Program.
"Resiliency is really about readiness," he said. "If we can have resilient Soldiers that equates to better readiness, and we need resilient Family members that stand behind them."
Fort Benning, Campbell said, is an excellent duty station for developing resiliency and growing professionally. His biggest piece of advice for junior NCOs and officers was to take advantage of the opportunities the installation offers for growth.
"Share your experiences and learn from the instructors and the cadre that you have, because you have a great opportunity to kind of take a knee, to read, to study, to understand the profession, to interact, and we don't get an opportunity like that very often," Campbell said. "Also, have some balance. Think about spending time with Family."
The vice chief of staff also stressed that the Army will continue to be a place where Soldiers will find interesting and challenging assignments.
"People talk about all the downsizing and that we'll never use our Army, and I think that's completely false," Campbell said. "It's a complex and dangerous world we live in today, and our Army's going to be needed more than ever."
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