CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - The top noncommissioned officers of United States Forces-Iraq, gathered at Al Faw Palace, Oct. 5, to discuss the challenges faced by the command as it prepares to enter the final year of operations in Iraq.
Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur L. Coleman Jr., the senior enlisted advisor for the USF-I deputy commanding general for operations, organized the DCG-O Command Sergeants Major Conference to develop a common operating picture with the command sergeants major, sergeants major, command chief master sergeants and command master chiefs from brigade and higher-level headquarters.
"This is a huge command, ... it makes a difference when we know what each other is doing and how our roles intertwine and plug in to one another, because one way or another we are all in this together," Coleman said.
Sergeant Maj. Richard Jones, the USF-I operations sergeant major, helped Coleman organize the forum and said getting all the top NCOs together for the conference has huge implications for ensuring everyone, from the top down, understands what needs to be accomplished in the next 15 months.
Topics discussed included the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces throughout the country, the challenges faced by the U.S. divisions as they work to advise and assist their Iraqi counterparts, and the daunting task of dealing with the considerable quantity of supplies and equipment that has to be inventoried and shipped to Kuwait.
"It gets us all one common picture (of) what the challenges ahead are going to be, from everybody's perspective," Jones said. "We're sharing individual and collective training techniques and some of the things across the board that different divisions and different units are doing." he said, adding that the ideas and standards shared at the conference will affect the junior Soldiers who have to execute the missions.
Command Sgt. Maj. Terrence Murphy, 36th Engineer Brigade command sergeant major, also appreciated the opportunity for units to coordinate their efforts.
"I think it's very important because the information that comes out here is something that needs to come all the way down to the lower levels," he said.
"We know exactly what's required and when the sergeant major, the folks who own those decisions, put it out and own the plan, we all are synched together," Murphy said. "We can make sure that supply discipline and Soldier discipline comes together from the bottom up as well as the top down to ensure that all the standards are met and that we can make this thing happen as an organized entity."
Jones put it in more direct terms.
"Let me just sum it all up by saying noncommissioned officers make things happen," he said. "We're the heavy hitters; we're the movers and shakers. When you get a room full of senior enlisted together to make things happen, then good things happen."
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