Courtesy Photo | Lt. Gen. Michael Tucker, First Army commanding general, operates the TALON, a...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Patricia Deal
402nd Field Artillery Public Affairs
FORT BLISS, Texas – Some people learn by reading and absorbing information, while others, such as First Army’s commanding general, Lt. Gen. Michael Tucker, learn by using a more hands-on and face-to-face approach.
The 402nd Field Artillery and 5th Armored brigades here recently were among the first stops on Tucker’s “get acquainted” tour of First Army’s divisions and brigades after assuming command in August.
Tucker spent some time in the brigade conference rooms to talk about why he headed out to “where everything happens.”
“It’s important to have that face-to-face with the leaders on the ground, in their environment,” said Tucker. “You can tell so much from their expressions, their tone. In just a few minutes of talking to these trainers/mentors, I could tell they were professional and knowledgeable. But more importantly, they were enthralled with their mission and their enthusiasm was obvious.”
Tucker tried out various pieces of equipment that Soldiers use during engineering route clearing training exercises. He shocked his peers as he moved inside the cabs of Husky and Buffalo vehicles and operated remote-controlled robots.
Col. Raul Gonzalez, 5th AR commander, said he was not surprised to see the general be so hands-on.
“Knowing his leadership style and his background in armor and as a mechanic, I knew he would want to get out there and experience what the soldiers experience,” said Gonzalez. “Throughout his visit, he took his time and really listened, not just to the commanders, but the soldiers, too.”
The general’s sincere interest in learning the brigades’ missions was not lost on Col. Carolyn Birchfield, 402nd FA commander. Birchfield gave Tucker a snapshot of the 402nd’s consolidated Continental U.S. Replacement Center, which processes individual Soldiers, Army civilians and contractors for deployment and redeployment from theaters of operation worldwide.
“It was important for him to understand that the CRC is a multi-component undertaking and that we’ve only been successful because of the help and support we’ve received from our enterprise partners and 1st Armored Division,” said Birchfield.
After meeting with the trainer/mentors, enterprise partners and Maj. Gen. Sean MacFarland, 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commanding general, Tucker said he could only describe the CRC mission at Fort Bliss as “win/win.”
As he got acquainted with the brigades’ missions, Tucker also shared a bit of the way ahead for First Army.
“The Army is transitioning now as missions wind down in Afghanistan,” said Tucker. “We’re taking a hard look at ourselves to make sure we’ve got the proper organization and that we’ve got the right size and right strength to continue to meet our critical mission as the U.S. Army’s premier provider of reserve component training support.”
Both brigade commanders said they appreciated the insight and guidance Tucker provided and the feedback he collected from them during his visit as First Army looks at ways to transform itself.
It was especially helpful for Gonzalez who just took command of 5th AR in July.
“He shared great vision, helping us and the 402nd see the future and look at potential solutions to some of the challenges we face,” said Gonzalez. “Good leaders are needed in hard times and I’m confident in the First Army Division West leadership that we will all live up to challenge.”
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2013 19:02 |
| Story ID: | 114036 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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