FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Having visited installations stateside and abroad the wife of the chief of staff of the Army had never visited the Great Place.
Patty George, wife of Gen. Randy A. George, chief of staff of the Army, conveyed that the motivation for her two-day visit was to interact with and assess the needs of Soldiers, discover process improvements and advocate for service members and their Families.
“I come with the chief of staff and connect with the spouses to encourage and show them that we care,” Patty said. “But also, to listen to their great ideas and report back to the chief of staff so they can see if there are patterns across the Army and find ways to mitigate those. Also, to share the chief of staff’s vision as far as having ready, strong Families. Making sure that people are welcomed, making sure that they feel like there’s reliable community unit information and they know where to get it, how to get it and they’re empowered.”
As a military spouse, and former Soldier, Patty conveyed that it was important to learn more about how the installation maintains quality of life for Soldiers, other military spouses and Families. Accompanied by Jayne Bernabe, wife of Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general; Monica McDwyer, wife of Command Sgt. Maj. John McDwyer, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos command sergeant major; and Deena DeLaura, wife of Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos deputy commanding general; Patty gained valuable insight from military spouses who know Fort Cavazos best.
Spouse connection was the focus of the briefing at the Fort Cavazos United Service Organizations where George was joined by representatives from several departments and organizations to discuss the newcomers orientation, the Cavazos Connector mass transit system and the MyArmyPost phone application. These all connect Soldiers and Families stationed at the Great Place with the community, installation facilities and current information.
Patty also took the opportunity to learn about spousal employment, both on and off the installation. Fort Cavazos has continued to make great strides to stay connected with Soldiers and Families and ensure they receive hands-on support from the time they touch down at the airport, up to and beyond in-processing and signing into their new units.
Sitting down with military leaders at the Installation Reception Center, Patty wasted no time delving into the process of integrating newcomers, highlighting what works and assessing what methods could be improved. She was pleased to hear about the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, the Army’s top human-resources modernization effort which provides one system of record to help streamline and modernize in-processing for Soldiers and their Families. She praised efforts by the center to ensure Soldiers and their Families can comfortably settle into their new duty station.
“I’m really impressed with the in-processing and the welcoming of Families. You can tell that everybody is excited to welcome Families and Soldiers here,” she expressed. “Families can be mighty combat multipliers for our Soldiers and any way that we can help them to understand that and to see what a difference that they can make to be part of the team, I think it’s a worthy effort.”
She met with some of the Soldiers working at the IRC and learned more about their military occupational specialties and specific duties.
“What’s one thing you wish you could change, if you could wave a magic wand, what would that be,” Patty asked Sgt. Maritza Pena-Hernandez, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, III Armored Corps.
“More manning,” Pena-Hernandez replied. “Being able to have 42s (human resources specialist) on the cadre side as well, helping them with that administration side.”
Many of the programs and organizations here depend on the same aspiration of helping one another to succeed.
Santa’s Workshop at Fort Cavazos, Operation Deploy Your Dress, Cavazos Community Thrift Shop, the Fort Cavazos Family Scholarship Fund and the Fort Cavazos Spouses Club are just some of the organizations making a big impact on post and within the community thanks to dedicated volunteers.
After seeing the abundance of toys given away to military children and the racks of designer gowns, dresses and accessories provided by ODYD, and hearing about the thousands of dollars in scholarships the Great Place provides each year, and how the thrift shop up-cycles used items and saves military families money, Patty shared that giving back is something she wants to encourage within the military culture and that no amount of effort is too small.
“It just indicates that we really do consider people — our new Soldiers and their Families — part of our family and that’s important,” she said. “If each of us just gave a little bit back, what a difference we could make.”
That commitment to Soldiers and families is represented in the installation’s multi-million-dollar plan to renovate thousands of outdated homes. During her tour of a homes in the Heritage Heights housing area, Patty was able to see first-hand the Great Place’s commitment to quality of life. No detail was spared to provide families with modern and efficient homes, something Patty said is indicative of the Army’s dedication to family.
“It speaks to having a ready Family, it helps to have ready Soldiers and it also indicates how important we think Families are to the Army team,” she said.
When asked what she hoped her visit has inspired, Patty conveyed how the military community at Fort Cavazos had inspired her.
“The Great Place is great,” she stated. “I feel like I can go out and share some of their best practices with the rest of the installations across the Army. That’s part of why we love being in the Army because it’s a great life, but it’s not an easy life and we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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