It isn’t always easy to learn how to start a career on the right foot, but Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from schools across the Carolinas visited Fort Jackson Feb. 21 to meet senior leaders at the Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty LPD Symposium to learn just that.
The annual event, first hosted in 2017, allows cadets from various universities and colleges in the areas surrounding Fort Jackson to meet with general officers and get mentoring first hand.
“I put this on my calendar every year because it is one of the most important things that I have done in the last three years,” said Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army Inspector General, who has been to multiple LPD symposiums.
The symposium is about “sharing knowledge,” Martin said. “It’s about talking to the next generation. It’s about sharing lessons learned and then finding out what you think leadership is and then answering those questions for you. It’s important that we talk about what leadership is and what leadership in not.”
The symposium began with general and company grade officer panels, before moving to the 1917 Club, where they went through speed mentoring sessions.
Officers and senior enlisted leaders rotated between tables of cadets to speak about their careers and to answer any questions.
Gen. Gary Brito, Training and Doctrine Command’s commanding general, spoke to the cadets virtually.
“Thank you so much for starting this journey of leadership,” Brito said to cadets assembled in Fort Jackson’s post theater. He added the cadets will face challenges in their careers and they are getting the “first foundations” of leadership were being taught in their respective ROTC programs.
Brito stressed the significance of noncommissioned officers in the Army and how basic military skills form the basis of war-fighting readiness.
He stressed that cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants who are not expected to “be the best battalion commander in the Army,” but rather the “best second lieutenant who will continue to develop the war-fighting skills and leadership within their respective branches.”
They must continue to develop, Brito added.
“Do take your job seriously,” he said. “Do continue to improve every single day but also understand that our Army exists to fight and win our nation’s wars. So do take that seriously as you continue to make yourself better and provide the best leadership for those you serve with.”
The generals attending in person were:
Lt. Gen. Donna W. Martin, Army Inspector General
Lt. Gen. David Wilson, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9
Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) William Green, Chief of Chaplains
Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Marsiglia, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support)
Maj. Gen. Daryl O. Hood, Fort Jackson commander
Maj. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace, 81st Readiness Division commander
The event is part of a broader Army strategy to develop leaders and increase lethality and warfighting ability.
Field Manual 6-22 states, “Army leaders are the competitive advantage the Army possesses that technology cannot replace nor be substituted by advanced weaponry and platforms. Today’s Army demands trained and ready units with agile, proficient leaders. Developing our leaders is integral to our institutional success today and tomorrow.”
FM 6-22 adds that developing leaders is “an important investment to make for the future of the Army because it builds trust in relationships and units, prepares leaders for future uncertainty, and is critical to readiness and our Army’s success.”
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