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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- (May 24, 2022) Soldiers and civilians from the 923rd Contracting Battalion and Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Riley Contracting Office, Kansas, participated in a staff ride and leadership professional development luncheon event May 20 at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
Battalion leadership coordinated the event as part of the 1st Infantry Division’s Operation Victory Wellness Foundation Day program. This event focused on historical events that illustrated the effects of operational contracting during World War 1 and how they related to the future of contracting operations supporting large scale combat operations in a multi-domain environment.
Foundation days are monthly events organized by Fort Riley, Kansas, units that enhance the relationships between leaders and Soldiers to increase unit cohesion and strengthen the character of its members. Leaders plan and conduct unit training that strengthens relationships, emphasizes character-building, and reinforces unit cohesion.
Mikhael Weitzel, Army Contracting Command command historian, guided the staff ride participants through a tour of the museum with discussions focusing on the acquisition aspects of warfighting, important insights into military operations, and concepts of leadership through vignettes and topics on the development of contracting which impacted warfighting efforts during World War I.
“Staff rides are a unique Army tool for leaders to gain insight and wisdom from past conflicts for present-day application,” said Lt. Col. Randy Garcia, the 923rd CBN commander. “The objective is for participants to exercise and improve their critical thinking skills, essential creativity, and decision making capabilities.”
The staff ride teaching methodology provides examples of leadership, tactics, operations, strategy, communications, the psychology and response of people in a crisis environment. The examination of these factors and choices of the past compared to today and facilitates professional development.
“The staff ride opened my eyes to see where contracting was at the time during World War 1 and how far it has come to be where we are today,” said Maj. James Berry, the 923rd CBN Contracting Detachment Alpha commander and Mission Support Division military deputy. “I can really see why we have the rules and regulations we must follow because so many things have been attempted to find out what works and what doesn’t.”
The 923rd CBN conducted the event as part of the 1st ID’s Operation Victory Wellness program. The program is a comprehensive, enduring operation to make every Soldier, civilian, and family member on Fort Riley more resilient and stronger across the five dimensions of strength: physical, emotional, social, family, and spiritual, and to improve unit cohesion.
About the MICC
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,300 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. As part of its mission, MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitate training in the preparation of more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.
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