REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- The chief of staff of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command opened a developmental position in late 2014 to give members of the command valuable leadership training while also delegating some responsibilities to help ease a demanding schedule.
Col. Dewey A. Granger, USASMDC/ARSTRAT chief of staff, selected Craig Cowell to assume the position of deputy chief of staff to assist the chief in the management and direction of the staff.
"As the commanding general stated during town halls, we continue to seek out training and developmental opportunities for our personnel allowing them to grow and learn," Granger said. "To that end, please help me welcome Craig Cowell who will serve for four months in a developmental position as the deputy chief of staff.
"Serving on our liaison team to U.S. Strategic Command, Craig already brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the headquarters," he added. "He has hit the ground running and assumed numerous duties and functions on my behalf. Craig will assist me in making staff processes more efficient while providing some depth within the small command group office that currently exists. I would ask that you provide him with your full support."
Cowell talked about why the command leadership wanted to initiate the deputy chief of staff position.
"Since the command is split-based in both Colorado Springs and Huntsville, as well as having offices at USSTRATCOM and Washington, D.C., creating this developmental position offers the opportunity for our work force located away from Huntsville to become more exposed to the staff here on Redstone," Cowell said. "Col. Granger has given me specific items of interest that are ongoing projects that the staff is working and he has asked me to maintain awareness of the progress of those projects to try and help drive those to completion."
As part of the command's G-3, Cowell is part of the SMDC/ARSTRAT forward detachment to USSTRATCOM at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb.
"There are only three Department of the Army civilians on Offutt Air Force Base. Including one active duty officer, that's the entire makeup of the forward detachment," Cowell said. "Because of sequestration and budget cuts, I never had the opportunity to come to the headquarters here in Huntsville. When this position was offered, I spoke with the leadership in G-3 and I thought this might be a great professional development opportunity for me. The G-3 agreed and I applied for the position.
"At the forward detachment, we liaise and help USASMDC/ARSTRAT across the entire staff, including (Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense), with the goal being to increase the command's decision space. We are the (commanding general's) eyes and ears at the higher headquarters," he continued. "I believe that by coming to Huntsville and working for the command group, this would help give me a greater perspective as far as what the command does on a da- to-day basis, as well as help me to understand our interaction with the Department of the Army, which I don't see as much from my desk at USSTRATCOM. At the forward detachment, we are very much focused on our interaction with Adm. Haney and the USSTRATCOM staff; often times we don't get to see all the different types of correspondence and interaction that occurs with the Department of the Army.
"This has been a great learning experience for me in that respect," Cowell added. "Plus, ever since I started working at the forward detachment the many different co-workers in Huntsville with whom I have developed a relationship with I only knew through phone calls and e-mail. This has been a great opportunity for me to personally meet the staff and further strengthen relationships with them, which I believe is going to help the forward detachment, and the command, down the road."
Cowell talked about how the staff has treated him since he arrived and what the chief expects from him on a daily basis.
"It has been really great," Cowell said. "If I look up the definition of southern hospitality in the dictionary, I see a picture of the SMDC/ARSTRAT staff. Since day one, from getting badged to meeting the staff principals, everyone has been very, very helpful in teaching me the wide variety of actions and activities going on across the staff.
"The chief has me sit in on many of the meetings that he chairs for my professional development," Cowell said. "Generally, we meet first thing every morning and I update him on the status of the projects I am tracking, as well as take a look at the commanding general's calendar, the deputy commanding general's calendar and his calendar, and decide which meetings I need to be at. We also look at other actions and projects he may want me to take the lead on."
Cowell said he recommends this developmental position to staff members outside of Huntsville who would like to better themselves and also learn more about how members of the command interact to accomplish the mission of defending the nation.
"The vision for this developmental position was to provide a venue for further professional development for those civilians in the outlying areas such as Colorado Springs, Colo., the forward detachment, Washington, D.C., etc." Cowell said. "It is developmental and the intent is for it to not be permanent so we can keep developing more staff members. There is no doubt that working at the headquarters and seeing the depth and breadth of what goes on here will help educate those in a way that being away from here cannot."
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