The top enlisted leaders of U.S. Army Medical Command gathered for a two-day summit focused on the future of enlisted talent management with the Army Medical Department.
Hosted by MEDCOM's command sergeant major, more than 30 sergeants majors discussed developmental and operational overviews along with best practices to ensure the Enlisted Medical Corps stays relevant, adaptive and responsive to the Army's need for medical care.
"We are here to move Army Medicine forward," said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Gragg, MEDCOM command sergeant major. "We need to drive our people back to our Soldier skills."
"We've done a great job of collaborating and building understanding. We want to develop individual Soldiers as we move them up into the system."
Hot topics of discussion included the upcoming changes to the Expert Field Medic Badge, which will consist of a refocusing on weapons qualifications, PT test scores and overall training requirements.
"The discussions are focused on how we improve the mission. One of the things we talked about is the EFMB," said Command Sgt. Maj. David Rogers. "Back when I came into the Army in the 80's, if you didn't have it, people looked at you and wondered if you really were a medic. Could you really do your job? We went away from that, and we're bring our focus back to it. We think it's important because it builds skills, builds confidence and shows people we're going the extra mile to develop our medics and all the 68 series MOS."
These changes and discussions are designed to create a seamless career path for the Army Medicine Soldiers currently enlisted and those who will join the force in the future, said Gragg.
"For the young PFC, this is seamless to you. What this does is secure a future for you to be able to grow and be a future leader in Army Medicine, without you having to try and put in the effort to find the right job," said Gragg. "The right career path will be designed for you. All you have to do is perform your mission phenomenally and you will be rewarded with exceptional leadership along the way."
"This is all based off our experience, the current picture, and what we see Army Medicine doing in the future," said Regional Health Command-Atlantic Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Brady. "We understand as we make these decisions and recommendations now they will likely change in the future one way or another or could become a hybrid of what we're looking at now."
"It's important for all Soldiers at all levels to communicate up the chain how they see things and their recommendations," said Brady. "We should always be improving and a part of that is for them to voice their recommendations for change."
"We are going to put the Soldier back in Army Medicine and Soldier-medics," said Gragg. "Our job is to ensure they're Soldiers first and Soldiers who are medically trained."
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