WIESBADEN, Germany -- More than 50 senior enlisted leaders representing U.S. Army Europe, U.S. Army Africa, NATO and U.S. Department of the Army came together here Nov. 15-17, to share ideas, plans and best practices during the 2017 U.S. Army Europe Senior Enlisted Symposium.
The symposium was hosted by U.S. Army Europe Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Sheryl D. Lyon. This years' theme was "Integration through Leader Development: Empowering NCOs."
"This year we have seen a lot of turnovers among our command sergeant majors," said Lyon. "We want to use this forum to integrate them into the organization and to ensure that everyone here understands the current operations; current changes in our Army; and U.S. Army Europe's mission and vision as leaders incorporate 'Year of Integration' guidance into their planning and exercise schedules."
Early last month, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, U.S. Army Europe commanding general, declared fiscal year 2018 the "Year of Integration." He said the "Year of Integration" signified that the U.S. Army in Europe will increase its integration with its allies, partners and sister services as it continues its strategic efforts of assurance, deterrence and protection of U.S. interests and U.S. personnel.
The conference kicked off with an opening message from Hodges.
"Increased multinational participation in joint exercises must make 30,000 assigned, forward-stationed Soldiers look and feel like 300,000." Hodges said. "We can't do that without strong senior enlisted leaders who understand the mission and can relay that mission to the young men and women in their formations who are out there doing the work. Our senior enlisted leaders are just as an important strategic communicator as our senior commanders."
Hodges went on to explain that during fiscal year 2017, U.S. Army Europe Soldiers participated in more than 120 joint and multinational training exercises in 52 countries. Though it's still early in the 2018 fiscal year, there are more than 50 multinational and joint exercises currently planned.
Some of the subjects discussed during the three-day leader development event included U.S. Army Europe operations; U.S. Army doctrine; NATO updates; and changes in human resources processes.
In addition, retired Sgt. Maj. Kenneth O. Preston, the 13th Sergeant Major of the Army, addressed the audience to discuss the importance of leader development through his personal experiences.
"This week's symposium was really an NCOPD [Noncommissioned officer professional development] session for all command sergeants major and sergeants major to take back to their teams," Preston said. "This is the information that will be used…..to grow our future sergeants who are our future leaders."
Command Sgt. Maj. Craig Copridge, senior enlisted leader for 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, said he was grateful for this opportunity to attend this year's symposium.
"Being the RAF [regionally allocated forces] unit coming from Fort Riley, Kansas, this was a great session because I was able to meet all the sergeants major from USAREUR [U.S. Army Europe] at one time," he said. "I was able to make connections with them…so that I will know who to reach out to for assistance as the brigade continues to move forward."
---
U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
Social Sharing