REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. - Army Materiel Command leaders around the country heard first-hand from the organization’s top leader about the roles and responsibilities of serving as a senior commander at the 2020 Senior Commander’s Course.
Senior commanders are responsible for driving the strategic vision for Army installations, encompassing everything from Soldier and family readiness programs to readiness of strategic power projection platforms.
Gen. Ed Daly, AMC commanding general, highlighted the importance of serving as an installation senior commander to the group of AMC general officers and sergeants major, saying that it is their job to drive strategic vision from a mission perspective.
“Garrison commanders are in support of you,” said Daly who previously served as senior commander at both Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, and Redstone Arsenal. “You set the priorities, gauge and drive readiness on your installation.”
Daly emphasized that they can set the installation’s vision by prioritizing the strategic initiatives outlined in AMC’s seven lines of efforts, which include Soldier, civilian and family readiness; installation readiness and training support; industrial base readiness; munitions readiness; strategic power projection; supply availability and equipment readiness; and data analytics and logistics information readiness.
“Senior commanders need to understand the bigger picture and the second and third order effects of the enterprise approach,” said Daly. “Don’t settle for the status quo.”
As the Army looks to improve quality of life programs for all Soldiers, civilians and families, one of the key initiatives is ensuring its people have access to safe and secure Army housing.
Lt. Gen. Doug Gabram, commanding general of Installation Management Command, led the discussion on the Army’s efforts and the role of senior commanders in improving housing and barracks conditions.
“At the Army level, we are taking a holistic approach,” said Gabram.
To set an enterprise wide vision for these improvements, AMC followed Army senior leaders’ guidance and developed the Facility Investment Plan, a 10-year strategy that focuses Army investments on quality of life facilities, strategic power projection and installation readiness.
One effort in the FIP is to renovate all barracks that fail to meet the Army’s minimal standards, known as a Q3-rated or Q4 rated facilities by 2030, an announcement made by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston during the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in October.
“We are working with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop the standard design for barracks and present that to Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James McConville,” said Daly.
The housing and barracks discussion continued with a virtual panel including four current senior commanders who shared their perspectives and lessons learned.
“You cannot invest in too much dialogue with your privatized housing partners,” said Maj. Gen. John Evans, commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command and senior commander at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Commanding general of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington and Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, Maj. Gen. Omar Jones, echoed Evans’ remarks about the Residential Communities Initiative partners adding that it is important to build and maintain strong relationships with your housing partners as well within the local community to set the installation up for long-term success.
“Think about the seeds you are planting, not the crop you are harvesting,” said Jones.
