FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Oct. 9, 2014) -- Maj. Gen. Bradley Becker, Fort Jackson's commanding general, invited members of the media to Fort Jackson Oct. 1 to look back on his first year in command here and to provide a glimpse into what installation personnel can anticipate in fiscal year 2015 and beyond.
Becker said that in the last fiscal year Fort Jackson trained about 70,000 Soldiers, 45,000 of them in Basic Combat Training. That means 54 percent of the Army's new Soldiers and 61 percent of the Army's new female Soldiers receive their initial training here, making Fort Jackson the largest Initial Entry Training installation in the Army.
However important, Becker emphasized that numbers are not his primary focus.
"What's been important to me and what I've tried to focus on isn't about the numbers, but really about the quality of the Soldiers and leaders that we're producing," he said.
He explained that Fort Jackson has taken a number of steps over the last year to maintain and improve the quality of training and leader development.
"We instituted the Army Learning Model 2015, which, to break it down very simply, is about experiential learning," Becker said.
Becker referenced Benjamin Franklin, who is credited with saying, "Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I learn."
"And that kind of gets at the heart of experiential learning -- getting the Soldiers involved in understanding what they're doing so they are learning as opposed to just being able to repeat something through rote memorization," he explained.
In cooperation with his senior enlisted adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. William Hain, Becker said he has also taken steps to make sure that the installation's drill sergeants get a chance to attend career- and leadership-enhancing schools, such as the Ranger School, Airborne School or the Master Resiliency Training School.
In the past, drill sergeants were often unable to attend those programs because of mission requirements.
"Yes, we're busy. And, no, we don't have a lot of excess drill sergeants, but we owe it to these non-commissioned officers who are the best in the Army to get them to the schools that they need," Becker said. "We want to send these NCOs back out to the Army the very best they can be."
Another focus last year was the installation's command outreach program, which also is a new line of effort in the post's strategic plan. Becker said Fort Jackson actively cooperates with numerous schools, the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the University of South Carolina, Benedict College and local and state political and business leaders. In addition, the post has hosted numerous Come See Your Army tours for the public; the 282nd Army Band has played various concerts in the region; and Fort Jackson Soldiers, civilians and family members have volunteered in organizations across the Midlands.
"I feel really good about what we've done to strengthen our bonds with Columbia and the Midlands community, and we're going to continue that in 2015 and make it even better," Becker said. "I want to get more folks onto the fort and see what we do and understand what we do and make a connection with their Soldiers here."
OUTLOOK
Becker said the priorities for Fort Jackson will remain on training, leader development, quality of life and command outreach in fiscal year 2015. The number of Soldiers who will train here is projected to be unchanged from last fiscal year.
"The bottom line, I'm very optimistic about 2015. I'm excited about how we've come along with training and how we ... apply the Army Learning Model and experiential learning," he said.
However, the situation beyond fiscal year 2015 is less clear, he said. Depending on upcoming legislation, the Army's budget may be cut significantly with the beginning of fiscal year 2016, which could force the Army to lower its number of Soldiers to 420,000 from the current projected end strength of 450,000.
Becker emphasized that, at this point, it is unclear what the impact on Fort Jackson would be and that no decision has been made by Army leaders how specific installations will be affected by possible further troop cuts.
"What do I tell my leaders here? Like I said, this is going to be another great year of training here at Fort Jackson," Becker said. "There's a lot going on in the world. And so we, here at Fort Jackson, looking at what we can control, we've got to continue to produce Soldiers and leaders who can succeed in a complex and rapidly changing environment. ... My job as the commanding general here is to make sure that we get the resources we need to be able to train those Soldiers and develop those leaders who can be successful in that future environment."
Fort Jackson has been part of the Army's Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Analysis, which analyzes the environmental and economic impact of personnel cuts on 30 Army installations.
Becker said a public listening session is planned for early next year, during which members of the local community will have a chance to voice their opinion about possible cuts at Fort Jackson to Army leaders. A date and location for the session has yet to be determined.
Becker expressed gratitude at the outpouring of support from the local community to prevent cuts on Fort Jackson. About 17,000 people signed a petition by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in support of the post.
"We are the largest Initial Entry Training site. It's difficult to replicate what we do somewhere else, though it's not impossible," he said. "I don't think any installation in the United States Army should feel safe if sequestration-level cuts go into effect in 2016."
Despite the challenges budget cuts may pose, Becker remained optimistic about Fort Jackson's mission and its ability to execute it.
"We have great drill sergeants. We have great cadre. We have great leaders here. We have great non-commissioned officers," he said. "And I'm very confident that we are producing the best Soldiers and the leaders in the world. And I'm very confident that they are going to be successful whatever the Army asks them to do in a very complex and rapidly changing environment. For that I sleep well at night."
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