Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, accompanied by several senior leaders from the Army, visited Fort Stewart and the Soldiers of the Third Infantry Division Today, as part of a weeklong "Health of the Force" assessment.
During the week-long tour, Austin, along with Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III; Surgeon General of the Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho; and Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter, commander, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, and assistant chief of staff for installation management, will look at programs, services, resources and best practices pertaining to the health of the force.
"The health of the force remains our top priority," Austin said. "We are continuing to make progress in many areas and that is largely a reflection of leader involvement. That said, we recognize that we still have a lot of work to do and we must keep getting better."
The week-long trip, Austin said, is an effort to see firsthand the impact of Army best practices, and to see where the Army may need to apply more resources or affect policy changes.
During the trip, the group will take a look at the Integrated Disability Evaluation System process, installation-level programs and services specific to suicide prevention, Wounded Warrior care efforts, sexual assault and harassment programs, and additional health and discipline-related issues.
Fort Stewart, five time winner of both the Commanders in Chief Award for Installation Excellence and Army's Community of Excellence, was one of six installations selected to visited to review best practices; with the tour including Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Fort Gordon, Ga.
" We're visiting these six installations because they represent a good mix of reserve component, corps, division and TRADOC units and they are home to large populations of Soldiers," Austin said. "As such, we believe we can have the greatest impact in the shortest amount of time at these locations. Ultimately, the goal is to make our Army better and to ensure we're providing quality care and support to our troops and families."
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