By Yalonda Wright
Army Recruiting Command
SAN ANTONIO – Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command, spoke at the soldier heroes breakfast held at Sunset Station in San Antonio Jan. 5.
The message, although brief, focused on three main points: Establishing the conditions for the Army in 2014, focusing on preparedness rather than short term readiness and the Army as a profession of arms.
“The world as we know it is going to change,” said Cone. “I would argue that as we look to the future, we think more about being an Army of preparation.”
Cone said this concept has significant impact on the “professionals” in terms of how they prepare the next generation of leaders.
The challenge will now be investing in the right things to make sure we’re ready.
One of those investments starts with understanding the ideal of the Army as a profession. A professional is committed to a set of values, a profession has standards and discipline; it enforces itself and has a unique body of professional knowledge.
“That’s what we do,” said Cone. Ours is “the ethical application of lethal force to achieve this nation’s objective.”
With soldiers evaluating their role as professionals, there is a need to look at the standards and discipline. Trust is a big part of what holds the program together and soldiers must be able to trust that the leaders are enforcing the standards of qualification and that discipline is at the forefront of their lives.
The final point to the message was the center of it all: the importance of leader development.
In talking about an Army of preparation, Cone said you have to focus on leader development.
The three components of leader development are experience, institutional development (education) and self development.
In looking to the changes to come with the cutbacks and downsizing, Cone assured the soldiers of the success of the Army.
“We’ll be OK,” he said, “if we hang together and trust each other and continue to communicate.”