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JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – For the first time in three years, roughly 20 leaders from 11 Army garrisons gathered here Monday for the Installation Management Command Directorate - Training, or ID-T, Senior Leaders Forum.
The four-day event serves to synchronize new garrison commanders and command sergeants major; dissect practices, policies and procedures common to their domains; and allow them to share concerns in support of service delivery and readiness goals, according to organizers.
Col. Matthew Scalia, ID-T deputy director, said the exchange of information amongst attendees looms most significant for such an occasion.
“Events like this are most valuable for the crosstalk among the team members who are geographically dispersed across the country,” he said. “They’ve seen each other on MS Teams and other video forums, but they haven’t had the face-to-face interactions. … So, the real value is sharing individual experiences [through which] others may gain lessons, identify challenges they weren’t aware of and just help each other solve problems.”
The first two days of SLF included opening remarks and brief discussions with Vincent E. Grewatz, ID-T director. A fair amount of time, however, focused on familiarizing participants with ID-T’s command structure and meeting staff members.
“It’s important for garrison leaders to know who the supporting staff of their higher headquarters is,” said Scalia. “It allows them to cut through some of the rumors and perceptions of why things are they way they are and get real answers.
“It’s equally important,” he continued, “perhaps even more important, for the staff to have direct talks with the garrison leaders, to understand their challenges … and to understand what its like at that garrison.”
Michael D. Formica, executive deputy to the commanding general, Training and Doctrine Command, shared his experiences with attendees Tuesday afternoon. Formica is former director, IMCOM, Europe.
Wednesday’s agenda items include informal training and discussions. Thursday’s schedule of events is highlighted by a teleconference featuring Lt. Gen. Omar J. Jones IV, IMCOM’s commanding general.
IMCOM Directorate - Training, headquartered at JBLE, oversees base operations and common services such as housing and Family and MWR activities at 11 installations located throughout the country. It is a subordinate of IMCOM, headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
ID-T plans to continue hosting the SLF at least yearly to help acclimate leaders to their new positions. It has not been conducted since 2019 due to the threat of COVID-19.
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