Staff Ride gives Golden Acorn leaders chance to learn, grow

Photo By Dustin Gautney | Soldiers from the 87th Army Reserve Support Command - East visit the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tenn., as part of the unit's Staff Ride held March 22-23.  

BIRMINGHAM, AL, UNITED STATES

03.23.2014

Story by Sgt. Dustin Gautney 

87th Training Division

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the U.S. Army Reserve the Staff Ride is a time honored tradition that brings leaders together to learn from our military past. This tradition is no exception for the leaders of the 87th Army Reserve Support Command – East as eight members of the command visited the sites of two Civil War battlefields near Nashville, Tenn., March 22-23.

The Army has used Staff Rides for generations in order to develop and educate leaders while learning from past military battles and improve unit morale and cohesion.

“For our Staff Ride we chose the Western Theater of the American Civil War because it is of community significance, the abundance of educational resources, and number of near-by battlefields,” said Col. John Diaz, 87th ARSC-East Chief of Staff.

During the two-day Staff Ride, the members of the 87th ARSC-East visited two major sites of the Civil War. The first site included the Battles of Stones River and Murfreesboro. The second site included the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of 1864 and the defeat of Hood’s Army. To accommodate the history behind both sites national park rangers shared their knowledge to help the Golden Acorn staff appreciate the dynamics of the battles, according to Diaz.

“The staff ride and associated training was amazing and a great time of sharing, leaning and reflecting,” said Diaz. “These staff rides help build our Soldiers individually and collectively. Walking on these hallowed grounds, learning of sacrifice, courage and heroism gives one true perspective of the sacred profession of arm of which we belong.”

For Command Sgt. Maj. Jay Preston, 87th ARSC-East, the staff ride represented an ideal opportunity for the Golden Acorn command staff to not only learn about the history of military battles but of his peers as well.

“To me the greatest take away from the Staff Ride is that I was able to learn more about the Soldiers I work with personally as we learn together about our military history,” said Preston.

For Preston, the experience was a personal bonding experience.

“With the nature of the Army Reserves, we do get to spend time with our coworkers consistently to get to know each other on a personal level. Getting outside of the normal confines of the unit and learning together on the historic battlefields of this country creates a lasting bond among Soldiers,” said Preston.

Preston also said that one of the most important take away from the Staff Ride was the ability to see how far we have progressed as a military.

“It is fascinating to see how much we have grown as an Army. From Soldiers blindly walking through hails of gunfire and even firing into their own Soldiers,” said Preston. “As a strategist it is amazing to see how the progression of warfare has changed over our history.”

• Date Taken: 03.23.2014
• Date Posted: 04.17.2014 12:36
• Story ID: 126442
• Location: BIRMINGHAM, AL, US