JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas ─ Gen. Edward Daly, commanding general of Army Materiel Command, didn’t mince words when he opened his visit here Dec. 17, 2020, to collaborate with and provide guidance to the leadership of U.S. Army Installation Management Command.
“I love coming to this command. Your mission set is targeted directly at the Chief and Secretary’s top priorities. IMCOM is the main effort for the Army’s number one priority, people,” said Daly. “The great progress you’ve all made in a COVID environment to sustain such excellence in so many critical areas is powerful!”
Daly uses quarterly updates to execute mission command for AMC’s 11 major subordinate commands, and the visit to IMCOM headquarters was chocked full of news about progress made by IMCOM’s global team and their plans for 2021.
Daly, along with AMC’s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Alberto Delgado, and IMCOM’s commanding general, Lt. Gen. Doug Gabram, led the other leaders through an in depth discussion of IMCOM’s service culture and how it integrates the tenets of the Army’s Project Inclusion. The discussion included a review of IMCOM headquarters’ recent command climate survey that showed while the organization was trending positively, there are areas that must be improved through accountability and communication.
“We talked a lot about people, and it shows that is where your focus is,” said Daly summarizing the discussion during his closing comments. “It’s all about communication, accountability, and outcomes.”
Extending the discussion was so important to Daly that his team re-arranged his busy afternoon calendar so he could remain with the IMCOM leadership team for the rest of the day.
The group gathered in San Antonio was joined virtually by the leaders of IMCOM’s directorates around the world. These directors and their assigned garrison command teams are at the tip of the spear implementing solutions that improve Army readiness, infrastructure, power projection, and quality of life for Soldiers and their Families.
Much of the discussion centered on recent innovations in Soldier, Civilian and Family readiness. For example, the SMART Voucher is a new CAC enabled web platform that greatly enhances the Permanent Change of Station process for Soldiers and Families at the 17 installations where it is currently active. The SMART Voucher guides Soldiers through completing a PCS or Temporary Change of Station or TCS (non-DTS) travel voucher, allows them to complete vouchers on their own with less chance of errors, expedites processing so they receive their PCS travel entitlements quicker and sends text updates as their voucher moves through the various stages of processing and payment.
Much progress has been made on many fronts and by many people to improve housing in the Army. Leaders have integrated efforts with their counterparts from Residential Communities Initiative partner companies through regular, meaningful dialogue and coordination.
“The best battle rhythm event we do is the one with our RCI partner leaders” said Daly.
The group also discussed important Army initiatives like the Facility Investment Plan – an Army-wide, multi-year, prioritized plan of attack for constructing facilities that support Army strategic priorities – and the Housing Implementation Plan that will result in an estimated 40% turnover of housing inventory by 2035 through major renovation or replacement.
“You are setting the course right now for 2030-2040 and beyond” concluded Daly at the end of the session.
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