Army Materiel Command's top officer addressed a room of military and civilian leaders from the headquarters during a Supervisor's Town Hall, Jan. 18. Gen. Gus Perna laid out the command's mission, new vision and strategic priorities to chart the path ahead for the workforce.

"Good leaders are always assessing facts, revalidating assumptions, working through courses of action, assessing risk, and then driving forward; this is what I've been trying to do for last 90 days," said Perna, who took command Sept. 30, 2016. He noted that the intent now is to move the command forward.

Perna emphasized his commitment to operationalize the command, and took time to explain the concept.

"Operationalizing the command means our ability to connect our work and processes to the output that is desired," he said. "In our case, it's about meeting the Chief of Staff of the Army's priorities and Combatant Command requirements; it's the thought process that everything we do is about the output. It's not about AMC equities."

As the materiel integrator for the U.S. Army, Army Materiel Command ensures that the best equipment and capabilities resonate on the battlefield, Perna said. Operationalizing the command is about the entire workforce embracing what the command is responsible for, and holding themselves accountable to that end state.

"The world is changing. The friendly force is changing. The enemy is changing. We have to change," Perna said. "We have to change to ensure our output is not process-oriented, but about what is best for the battlefield."

He stressed that the supervisors are critical to leading that change.

"Supervisors are the ones who are going to make it happen with those people who work for you," he said. "You are going to lead us through this. You are going to have to do the hard government work. I realize the center of gravity for this organization -- this headquarters and the 120,000 people across AMC -- is you."

Within any organization, the core values, the core example and the core leadership starts with supervisors, said Perna. The supervisors of an organization make change occur.

Perna committed to applying resources and time to ensure the workforce is trained and ready. He charged supervisors to always treat people with dignity and respect, and be fair, firm and consistent every day in their actions.

"We need to shape the organization for efficiency, and have the right people in the right positions," he said. "Our business is warfighting; it's the number one thing we have to do. We have to hold ourselves accountable to that."

A global town hall is scheduled Feb. 9 where Perna will address the entire Army Materiel Command workforce about the way ahead for the organization.