FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – More than 65 of the Army Sustainment Enterprise’s nominative command sergeants major and sergeants major attended the Sustainment Leading Change Summit Dec. 12-13, at Larkin Hall here.
“The SLCS is a platform that codifies sustainment requirements by synchronizing the four focus areas, Warfighting, Delivering Ready Combat Formations, Transformation in Contact, and Strengthen the Army Profession,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers, Army Materiel Command’s senior enlisted leader. “This summit allows us, as senior sustainers, to share best practices across the multidomain operational environment in the support of large-scale combat operations.”
The ASE and senior sustainment noncommissioned officers must be prepared to meet current, surge, and future Army requirements by continuously modernizing sustainment operations to ensure sustainers are positioned to build the bench with the right talent, in the right position, and in the right place at the right time, according to Sellers.
“The SLCS serves as a conduit of communication for the sustainment community, brings prevalent topics to the forefront, and synchronizes planning and execution of agreed-upon courses of action,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Marco Torres, command sergeant major of the Combined Arms Support Command, Fort Gregg-Adams. “Moreover, the SLCS provides clarity on the roles and responsibilities for each sustainment element, and how they integrate to support the greater Army.”
As the Army continues transforming sustainment operations to delivery ready combat formations that can fight and win against a near-peer competitor, the sustainment initiatives require sustainers to bring in new capabilities and force structure changes to enable commanders to win decisively on the battlefield.
The summit allowed senior sustainers to focus on barracks, food service modernization, excess equipment turn in and to establish and empower a culture of maintenance and supply accountability.
To enable the Sustainment community, the Army must recruit, train, educate, protect, and prepare Sustainment Soldiers, while also improving quality of life, shared understanding, lessons learned, and communicate consistently to enhance the ASE.
“As a senior sustainer, I know we are committed to building a modernized food ecosystem to ensure Soldiers have access to affordable, healthy food options, geared toward how, where, when and what they want to meet their dining needs and preferences,” said Sellers. “We need to modernize food service to meet the needs, wants and desires of today’s Soldiers, by increasing healthier and accessible food options that translate to an increase of Soldier utilization of food entitlements. Modernized infrastructure will support increased quality of life and is needed alongside the roll-out of dining facilities, kiosks, food trucks, and modernized signature weapon systems.”
During the SLCS, ASE senior leaders improved continuous lines of communication that effectively enable sustainment operations.
“We have to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate to create synergy, action, and momentum that drives sustainment operations,” said Sellers. “As the senior ASE’s command sergeants major or sergeants major, we have to move the sustainment community forward through synchronization, action, and momentum.”
The summit also promoted open dialogue and ASE’s senior leader discussions on the Chief of the Staff of the Army’s four focus areas.
Since the Army’s most valuable assets is its Soldiers, where Soldiers live and work is a fundamental part of Army life.
“Our Soldiers deserve top-quality housing and barracks,” said Sellers.
To delivery ready combat formations, it’s the responsibility of NCOs to ensure our Soldiers have quality food options, barracks, and housing which enables leaders to build high-performing cohesive teams, that are well-led, trained, educated, and ready to support large-scale combat operations, he added.
“The CSA’s four focus areas encompass operating concepts from across a wide spectrum of military operations,” said Torres. “A broad understanding of sustainment is essential to operate, survive, and win in an increasingly dynamic and dangerous battlefield.
Furthermore, the focus areas have resulted in relooking how we deliver professional military education and how we certify multifunctional logistics non-commissioned officers.”
On day two of the summit, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer provided his insight on sustainment operations and initiatives as it relates to sustainment operations during large-scale operations.
Wiemer stated that sustainment Soldiers must be brilliant at the basics.
“As senior leaders, we get together to identify hard problems and create solutions,” said Weimer.
With the advice of Weimer, ASE senior leaders also focused on excess equipment and equipment modernization during the summit.
“We must ensure Soldiers have the right parts, equipment, and materiel when and where needed,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Escobedo, command sergeant major of Army Sustainment Command.
“Right now, we are turning in approximately 10,000 pieces of excess equipment and have identified more than 18,000 pieces of equipment to be turned into the modernization displacement and repair sites between Fort Liberty and Fort Stewart.”
“As elements of AMC continue to identify excess and obsolete equipment across the force, they are determining the most efficient and cost-effective way to rapidly remove it from the Army’s property books and unburden company commanders,” said Sellers.
It’s summits like the SLCS that allows ASE senior sustainers to develop a culture of maintenance and supply accountability, while also improving the quality of life for Soldiers.
“The SLCS sets the fundamentals that contribute to the Army by displaying, developing, and defending logistics, financial management, and human resources,” said Sellers. “This summit enables the ASE’s nominative command sergeants major and sergeants major to make long-term decisions that facilitate the attainment and protection of the welfare and well-being of the sustainment force.”
ASE senior sustainment leaders, he added, remain laser-focused on enhancing sustainment operations, processes, and procedures to establish a culture of maintenance and supply accountability.
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