FORT JACKSON, S.C. (July 17, 2014) -- Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Culbertson, command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Adjutant General School and U.S. Army Adjutant General Corps regimental command sergeant major, is retiring after more than 30 years of service.
Culbertson said the way the Army trains Soldiers has "changed drastically" since he enlisted in 1983. And he is in a position to know. His role in the Adjutant General Corps makes him one of the Army's major proponents in training.
"We've gone from pencil and paper to the computer age," Culbertson said. "We've revamped how we teach Soldiers. Most Soldiers my age learned from a legacy mindset, which was all brick and mortar. We learned inside a building. Now, we've taken that to mobile sites and have been able to send instructors to advanced locations to teach and facilitate our periods of instruction."
Although "new" doesn't always equal "better," Culbertson said the Army has managed to harness changing technology to create better Soldiers.
"We're able to keep up with the contemporary environment that we fight in -- that we work and play in -- and that's given us the ability to remain adaptive to situations," he said.
Culbertson, a native of Statesville, North Carolina, enlisted in the Army Sept. 6, 1983.
"My best friend and I had already agreed we were going to college," Culbertson said. "We already had room and board and were planning on going later that fall. One day after school, we ended up going by a recruiting station. For some strange reason, he ended up coming out and told me he signed up."
A few days later, his friend had convinced Culbertson to enlist, as well. Their plan was to bargain for an enlistment agreement that allowed them to attend Basic Combat Training together.
It didn't work out that way.
"We didn't go to the same location," Culbertson said. "He went to Fort McClellan, Alabama." Culbertson attended BCT and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
"When I made the decision to join, I'd planned to serve for about three years, maybe get some education and see the world. Then I'd come back home and go to school," he said.
Culbertson was a motor transport operator for three years before reclassifying as a human resources professional.
The path from private to command sergeant major relied heavily on chance, he said.
"To make it from private to sergeant to command sergeant major, it takes a lot of being at the right place at the right time," he said. "With each position there are skills, knowledge and abilities that you have to have. When you perform these skills and abilities at a better-than-average level, most of the time leaders above you recognize your accomplishments and talents."
Culbertson has had a presence at Fort Jackson since 2009, when he became the garrison command sergeant major here. In 2012, he became command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Adjutant General School and regimental command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Adjutant General Corps.
That assignment was accompanied by an array of responsibilities that extended beyond Fort Jackson to Army installations all over the world.
"I travel to all posts, camps and stations all around the Army, talking to our HR professionals, giving them the latest and greatest of what's going on in the Army that affects a human resources professional," he said. "I am the senior enlisted Adjutant General/human resource guy from a mentor standpoint, from an educator standpoint, from a master trainer standpoint.
"When you talk about the instruction that's being taught, I'm part of the process (of making the decision) of what is actually taught to more than 31,000 enlisted Soldiers," he said.
The role doesn't only involve searching out better training methods, but to ensure that existing training is being conducted to Army standards.
"As the command sergeant major for the school you are also the adviser to the commandant on all matters pertaining to officers, officer training, warrant officer training, and recommendations for new personnel at the AG school," Culbertson said. "You become one of the trusted advisers to the commander."
Because of his career path, Culbertson said he never had the opportunity to teach at the Adjutant General School or Soldier Support Institute.
"I've been in charge of the instructors during the time frame that I was stationed here," he said. "But, instructors are usually staff sergeants and sergeants first class. When I got to SSI, I was past my days of being able to instruct."
Still, he said his role as training proponent for the Army has put him in a position to observe the growth of the American Soldier. And, while some things change, others stay the same.
"One of the first tasks that I can remember doing, a long time ago, was employing the M18A1 claymore mine," he said. "That was my particular task as a private. Watching Soldiers in the field today still perform that task makes me think back to the time when I had to teach it to my battle buddies in Basic Combat Training. It's the same task, but the way it's taught now versus the way I taught it then, it's more effective. It's more efficient. And the Soldiers are learning faster."
Social Sharing