FORT GORDON, Ga. -- Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey visited Fort Gordon on March 28-29.
Dailey, who is the Army Chief of Staff's personal advisor and the Army's top enlisted Soldier, said the visit was an important opportunity for Soldiers to communicate face-to-face their needs to senior leadership. Being on the ground with Soldiers also gave him a chance to be able see and accurately depict critical missions Soldiers conduct every day to senior officials in Washington, D.C.
"Soldiers need to be able to see and talk to senior leadership, and say 'these are the things I need you to go back to (Department of the Army) staff and be our advocate for,'" Dailey said.
During his stay, Dailey joined Soldiers for physical training on Barton Field, attended a Soldier's re-enlistment ceremony, received a windshield tour from the Garrison command team, listened to briefings, toured facilities, and attended the installation's Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month opening ceremony.
Prior to his visit, Dailey had never been to Fort Gordon. But as military brat, he heard stories about the installation as a child from his father, who was stationed at Fort Gordon in the 1960's as a Signaleer. Seeing the installation firsthand for the first time, Dailey said he was most surprised by the massive amount of growth happening in a short amount of time.
"Fort Gordon has gone from being a predominately training base to now being a truly multi-functional installation," Dailey said.
Dailey was able to see and hear for himself about the evolution of Fort Gordon -- specifically the cyber force -- after visiting several of the installation's facilities and listening to Soldiers talk about their roles.
"In today's environment, our vulnerabilities from a digital perspective are increasing every day, and our adversaries' capabilities are increasing every single day, so the criticality of developing the cyber force is something that is on the forefront of the senior leadership of the Army," Dailey said. "Their job is a big part of our defense and a big part of the overall mission that we have."
As Fort Gordon continues its transformation to becoming home of U.S. Army Cyber Command, Dailey noted that Soldiers aren't the only ones who play a vital role in ensuring a successful transition and mission. The installation relies on its civilian counterparts and surrounding communities.
"We need that continued support and we need that continued collaboration so the leaders here can continue to represent and say that 'this is your Army; it's not just ours,'" Dailey said.
Fortunately, achieving the aforementioned is not much of a concern.
"We have great communities outside all of our installations, and I just want to say I appreciate the hard work and dedication that communities outside the gates of Fort Gordon have been doing -- not just now, but have been sustaining for a long time," Dailey said.
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