ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, Director, Army National Guard, visited First Army Headquarters here on November 2, 2020.
Jensen and Lt. Gen. Thomas S. James Jr., Commanding General of First Army, met face-to-face and opened the lines of communication about their Total Force partnership and training Army National Guard Soldiers for the duties of war.
“Since becoming the Director, I decided First Army had to be my first stop,” said Jensen. “First Army and the Army National Guard partnership is the key partnership to Army success.”
It has been said on several occasions by Forces Command’s Commanding General Gen. Michael X. Garret, that the Army could not win the nation’s wars without the support of the Reserve and National Guard, a sentiment echoed by James.
“The total Army is what we focus on,” said James. “We cannot compete with near-peer adversaries without our National Guard and Reserve partners. We are humbled to be a small part of that team.”
The partnership of First Army and the Army National Guard becomes even more important as the Army has put out its plans for the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM. ReARMM is a concept to transition the Army from counter-insurgency operations to great power competition with near-peer adversaries. Overall the goal is to shift the Army to a multi-domain capable force, and Jensen believes that transition relies heavily on First Army and their National Guard and Reserve partners.
“I believe really good subordinate commanders solve any problems that arise for their bosses,” explained Jensen. “This is where our partnership shines. We can come in during this (transition) and identify where there are issues, challenges and obstacles, and make recommendations on solving those problems."
Maj. Gen. Troy D. Galloway, Deputy Commanding General-Operations, First Army, said this sort of transition just amplifies First Army’s role and highlights the importance of our partnerships.
“The strength of the leadership in First Army and the Army National Guard puts us in a position to build momentum,” said Galloway. “That momentum will forever change the Army and will be irreversible.”
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