from Florence, S.C., light the cauldron outside the Solomon Center. VIEW ORIGINAL
When Maj. Gen. Jason E. Kelly passes leadership of Fort Jackson to Maj. Gen. Daryl O. Hood in a ceremony next week, he will leave a proud legacy behind.
This legacy is nested in preparing the future of the Army for any potential conflict.
“Our mission is vital and demands our very best,” Kelly said. “Our legacy must be one of selfless service, strong leadership, and adaptation. I think we’ve accomplished this and built our legacy based upon our deeds, not our words. Robert Louis Stevenson’s quote about the future, ‘Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seed you plant,’ should guide our team as we strive to ensure that Fort Jackson remains a highly coveted destination of choice for Soldiers, Department of the Army Civilians, and their Families.”
Kelly espouses the motto, “We make American Soldiers” as a mantra guiding the post’s actions.
“As the Army’s largest training base, we have a tremendous impact on the day-to-day readiness of our Army,” he said.
“We are impacting and changing our Army everyday by our actions with Basic Combat Training, the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, Advanced Individual Training, Victory Holistic Health and Fitness, the Drill Sergeant Timothy Kay Soldier Performance Readiness Center, and Foundational Skill Training to name just a few.”
These activities are all nested in the post’s four lines of effort: Strengthening the Professional, Training and Developing Leaders, Quality of Life, and Engaging Communities. Kelly called these “the playbook” the post uses to turn ideas into action.
“The entire essence of the installation is geared towards providing trained Soldiers and leaders today, who are relevant tomorrow,” Kelly said. “Whether it is training chaplains at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership; conducting Advanced Individual Training at the Soldier Support Institute; providing graduate courses in psychophysiological detection of deception at the National Center for Credibility Assessment; or training Soldiers in Basic Combat Training ... training is what we do at Fort Jackson.
“We generate readiness for our Army today and tomorrow.”
Kelly will miss the Fort Jackson community and its partners in the Midlands when he leaves to become the Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, with the Army Corps of Engineers, in Washington, D.C.
He called the relationship with the areas surrounding the installation as “tremendous” and an integral part of the post’s successful mission.
“The Midlands community, the state of South Carolina, and Fort Jackson are interlinked and must remain nested and on a common path for the future,” he said.
He called on Fort Jackson to continue being at the forefront of Army readiness.
“Never lose sight of what we do here,” he said. “We make American Soldiers! We create disciplined, trained, physically-fit, resilient and morally-grounded Soldiers for the Nation. The leaders and Soldier we provide the Army are our legacy.”
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