Photo By 1st Lt. Nicole Rossman | Maj. Gen. Les Carroll, commanding general of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command...... read more read more
NEW ORLEANS – Just weeks after taking the reins of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, Maj. Gen. Les Carroll set out to explain the way forward to senior leadership and units within the U.S. Army Reserve’s largest command. Carroll, along with his senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Nagee H. Lunde, are spending the first 90 days of Carroll’s leadership talking to Soldiers about building a Culture of Excellence — Carroll’s stated vision for the command.
Carroll first unveiled his strategy Aug. 17, the day after becoming commander of the 377th TSC. During a huddle with the top leaders from the 377th’s six subordinate commands, Carroll laid out his guidance that will position the command to meet the operational demands of the future.
“I was able to articulate the vision, have a discussion with them on the direction we are going in and things we need to do to meet our mission requirements,” said Carroll.
He challenged his leaders to focus on five leadership priorities that embody a culture of excellence: man and care of the force, leader development, training management, stewardship and mission command. They’re objectives that resonate within the non commissioned officer corps, according to Lunde, which is why he says NCOs play an important role in creating a culture of excellence.
“We have a saying in the Non Commissioned Officer Corps: 'non commissioned officers don’t run the Army, they make the Army run.' It’s because they make the Army run, their technical and tactical proficiencies in which they must always remain and maintain, that they have to have and develop consistently their character, their commitment and their competence and that becomes part of the stewardship of the profession.”
Carroll stressed the importance of recruiting, training and retaining high quality Soldiers, achieved in part through reducing attrition, improving mentor and sponsorship programs and increasing senior level promotions and accessions. While the message is aimed at leaders, the goal is for Soldiers at all levels to understand and live the culture of excellence principles. Carroll acknowledged the challenges facing leaders in meeting established end strength targets pointing to lessons learned from his own command experience.
“I have commanded every level of command from company all the way up to brigade and Expeditionary Sustainment Command; taking the 4th ESC to Afghanistan three years ago. I have been in these guys shoes; I have done sustainment at the theater level. I have met the challenges they are trying to meet of strength management and training management in the reserve component,” said Carroll.
“The key for us as leaders in the 377th is to man our force and take care of leader development which is critical in an Army of preparation.”
Carroll referenced Army history to illustrate why emphasis on command development, individual and unit-level leadership, is so important. After World War I, Army force structure was cut dramatically. Then, a young, Army staff officer named George C. Marshall remained in France as Eighth Army Chief of Staff and later served as Commanding General John J. Pershing’s aide-de-camp. In this role, Marshall had the opportunity to tour Europe, understand the causes and effects of the war and meet with many future Army leaders who would later be in command during the Second World War. Marshall’s years in Europe helped him develop the foresight to focus on leader development as a priority for future contingencies. When WWII broke out, the Army had a cadre of strong leaders trained and ready to lead the nation to war.
“That’s how he made such a huge advance in the size of the Army; filling it with leaders who went on to become the Eisenhowers and Bradleys,” said Carroll. “Those guys were studying leadership and doctrine during the inter-war years. That is the same thing we have got to do now in our Army is focus on leadership, in these years.”
After 12 years of rotational operations in the Middle East, the force is shifting to an Army of preparation, said Carroll, and that shift requires diverse training.
“We have to pool our resources in order to train for all contingencies. We can’t just focus now on training for the counter insurgency fight. We can’t just train for a deployment to Afghanistan. We can’t just train for security and assistance missions. Now, we have to go back and train ourselves first,” Carroll said.
For Carroll, training and leadership are combined, it is the profession of arms, and it is character building. He challenged 377th leadership to re-examine what it means to be an officer, noncommissioned officer or warrant officer.
“The focus now must be on creating and enforcing world class training,” said Carroll, as he emphasized that 377th leaders must train according to doctrine using the training environment to teach, coach and mentor. Commanders are responsible for training management, he stressed, and it’s their job to not only understand training doctrine and impart expectations to subordinates, but protect training time so Soldiers can hone individual and unit skills. Lunde calls this a pivotal piece for non commissioned officers because they are responsible for individual Soldier training.
“Soldier training belongs to the non commissioned officer, therefore I will be putting emphasis on the squad leader, team leader [and] platoon sergeant to ensure that their Soldier is one — ready for training, and is trained and ready for the collective training event.”
377th TSC — 2020 and beyond
The Army of 2020 is recognized by leaders as a vastly different strategic scenario than planners envisioned at the beginning of this century. The challenges of 2020 include changing operational priorities, different operating environments, and budget constraints. The Army’s strategic goal is synchronizing planning and operations while maintaining readiness, affordability and relevancy. As the former chief of staff of Army Forces Command, Carroll saw first-hand senior Army leaders lay out a strategic plan for the 2020 goal. FORSCOM is the Army’s force provider and largest command. According to FORSCOM officials, Carroll is among the first Army Reserve officers to hold that position. He says the unique opportunity allowed him to observe Army leaders at the most senior levels in their decision making process and the way they think strategically. The experience helped inform the vision and priorities he has set for the 377th TSC.
“Any vision that you have has to be framed and shaped by the environment that you are in. That is part of the core of one of my priorities which is to execute mission command across the 377th,” said Carroll. “It is a different operational tempo that we are used to. Regionally Aligned Forces [RAF], where we are going to be supporting Combatant Commands around the world in non combat operations, theater security cooperation missions, the environment that we are in has shaped what my vision and priorities are,” he added.
Regionally Aligned Forces is part of the Army’s strategy in adapting to that environment. The 377th TSC is regionally aligned with U.S. Army South and U.S. Southern Command, which is one of eight Unified Combatant Commands. Additionally, several 377th units are part of U.S. Northern Command’s response plan for emergency operations that include natural disasters or a terrorist acts.
“We are definitely engaged in (Homeland Defense) plans and operations. Many of our units are part of NORTHCOM’s immediate response plan for enablers, for sustainment operations, to support their disaster plans for any contingency … The 377th is a big part of that,” Carroll said.
He added that 377th unit commanders are eager and empowered to support the homeland through the National Defense Authorization Act and Immediate Response Authority.
“They are all aware that beyond the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 … we also have a responsibility as military commanders for immediate response for our local communities for life, protection of life or property. Commanders can act, even in the Army Reserve. In case of a natural disaster we can act to use our resources,” said Carroll.
The 377th manages more than 40 percent of the logistics capabilities of the U.S. Army with nearly 36,800 Soldiers and civilians across 34 states. In the recent past, the Army has tapped the command’s Soldiers and capabilities to support a variety of operations including relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and ongoing rotations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. But in a new, modern operating environment peppered with a range of contingencies, Carroll says the 377th, must adapt its training and preparation to meet those demands now and in the future.
“I think, we will continue to adjust our training and what we are doing based on the missions that are given to us and the environment in which we find ourselves operating in, or anticipate operating in,” predicted Carroll. “So in 2020, we have got to be a manned force, we have got to be a decisive action trained force, and we have got to be a well led force. Those are the things that I see us attaining in 2020.”
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2014 14:08 |
| Story ID: | 143796 |
| Location: | NEW ORLEANS , LA, US |
| Web Views: | 412 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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