It has been one month since Gen. Andrew Poppas, U.S. Army Forces Command’s commanding general, took command, and one of his first initiatives was to visit Fort Hood, Texas, to meet Soldiers and tour the installation.
Upon arrival to Fort Hood August 8-9, 2022, Poppas was greeted by the III Armored Corps commanding general, Lt. Gen. Pat White, who took him on a tour to see various operations and units, and to see Fort Hood’s unique People First Center.
Poppas’ stated that his visit was to gauge Fort Hood’s formation, to engage with leaders at all echelons, and that he was interested in feedback from all leaders about their vision and what they see in their formations to make the Army more lethal.
“The Army exists for one reason,” Poppas said, “that is to fight and win our nation’s wars, and as Forces Command, we are in charge of readiness.”
Throughout Poppas’ visit at Fort Hood, he came across various units and Soldiers which allowed him to touch on multiple areas of readiness such as training, retention, capability and People First initiatives.
Poppas’ itinerary included meeting with Soldiers of 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, training with robotic combat vehicle prototypes, and visiting Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav Div., showcasing the unit’s tanks in the motor pool.
“The lowest echelon can dominate the fight,” Poppas said. “It’s important we synchronize at the highest echelons to bring all the warfighting functions and capabilities together.”
Poppas’ engagement with 1-7 and 1-9 were a key role in his 90-day assessment of Fort Hood unit’s readiness, capabilities and synchronization.
“People take pride in being part of a winning team,” Poppas said, “and the III Armored Corps is a winning team.”
Poppas spoke with Soldiers on the III Armored Corps security detail and talked with them about their time at Fort Hood.
“It makes a big difference to me, personally, that he took the time to get to know me,” said Spc. Adam Thacker, air and missile defense crewmember, 6th Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery, Division Artillery, 1st Cav. Div.
Poppas also officiated the re-enlistment of Spc. Mathew Oliver, an infantryman assigned to Lightning Troop, Thunder Squadron, 3d Cavalry Regiment.
“That’s a great Soldier, who is a part of a great unit,” Poppas said.
In order to touch on all aspects of the Army’s people first initiatives, Poppas closed out his visit to Fort Hood at Fort Hood’s People First Center, a centralized training facility focusing on leadership fundamentals.
“I’m walking away from Fort Hood extremely pleased with our methodology for training and our engaged leadership.”
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