377th Theater Sustainment Command CSM Summit

Photo By D. Keith Johnson | Maj. Gen. Les Carroll presents Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder with a minuteman statue at the Dining-In concluding the 377th Theater Sustainment Command’s Command Sergeant Major Summit held in Southbridge, Mass., April 1, 2015. Command sergeants major from across the 377th TSC attended the three-day training event. Carroll is the commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 377th, the largest two-star command in the U.S. Army. Schroeder is the command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Forces Command. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. D. Keith Johnson/Released)  

SOUTHBRIDGE, MA, UNITED STATES

04.01.2015

Courtesy Story

377th Theater Sustainment Command

By Master Sgt. D. Keith Johnson

SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. – Command sergeants major from across the 377th Theater Sustainment Command gathered here recently for a Command Sergeant Major Training Summit, with the theme, “A Culture of Professional Excellence.” The 377th TSC command team, Maj. Gen. Les Carroll and Command Sgt. Maj. Nagee Lunde hosted the event.

“As the Army transitions toward a future with fewer resources, our operational environment remains one of emerging threats and diverse challenges,” said Carroll. “Success will require adaptive, agile and flexible leaders.”

“The 377th Theater Sustainment Command is committed to fostering a culture of professional excellence,” said Lunde. “This week, we will focus on leader development… Professional excellence is not part of just a motto, it is our way of life.”

After 13 years of war, the desire is to change the way the Army Reserve prepares troops. Prior to 9/11, and for several years after, medical and dental, as well as other readiness issues waited until the mobilization station. That resulted in some Soldiers either having to wait to address the issues, or going home, leaving deploying units short of personnel. The training presented during the CSM Summit will enable those command sergeants major to improve their Soldiers capability to deploy.

“The training was on point and supported what the commander intended for us to do,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Keith Rinehart, of the 38th Regional Support Group. “It gave us the training and tools to get down to that lowest level so they can impact the readiness factors to keep their Soldiers ready for deployment.”

This was the first CSM Summit conducted by the 377th TSC and the first of its kind in the U.S. Army Reserve. The command sergeant major for Forces Command, and the Army Reserve as well as subject matter experts from across the Active and Reserve components provided training on topics such as manning, taking care of troops, promotion boards, unit sponsorship, NCOER revisions, personnel flags, profiles, Army Training Network, Combined Arms Training Strategy, Digital Training Management System and Army Doctrine.

“This training is great. It’s about leadership,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder, the command sergeant major for the U.S. Army’s Forces Command. “Maj. Gen. Carroll is making an investment in the leadership of this organization so we are ready to defend our homeland or go fight our nation’s wars.”

The 377th TSC has a vested interest in creating an environment that nurtures leaders and gives them the tools necessary to accomplish the task. More than 35,500 Soldiers fall under the 377th TSC making it the largest command in the Army Reserve and largest two-star command in the Army. The readiness of its Soldiers and quality of its leaders impact the total force.

“Training the leaders and making them competent, making them strong and agile in their ability to execute mission command and that is the key to the whole thing: executing mission command,” said Lunde. “We are getting away from command and control and developing leaders who are confident in their abilities, who are mentally agile and can execute mission command for the sole purpose of achieving an objective and exploiting it.”
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Schroeder emphasized the importance of maintaining the readiness of reserve component Soldiers.

“The only Army we have in the United States consists of three components; active, Reserve and Guard. And we can’t deploy any one of them without the support of the other two. Readiness has to be a priority.”

Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas, the U.S. Army Reserve command sergeant major, agreed with that thought.

“What does the U.S. Army do?” he asked rhetorically. “We fight and win wars, or we prepare to fight and win wars. That’s all we do.”

One of the topics mentioned several times was the ongoing budget issues and dwindling resources. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drawing down, the services are competing for what is available from Congress. Schroeder has seen his share of budget issues.

“This is not the first time the Army has been in a resource constrained environment. Set your priorities, then put your resources against priorities first,” Schroeder said. “Don’t allow the dialog of reduced resources be a crutch.”

To be successful, and stay relevant in an ever-changing operational environment, the Army Reserve has to change to meet new challenges. By presenting this training to the 377th TSC command sergeants major, Maj. Gen. Les Carroll and Command Sgt. Maj. Nagee Lunde are focused on providing deployable Soldiers and creating a Culture of Professional Excellence.

• Date Taken: 04.01.2015
• Date Posted: 04.07.2015 15:17
• Story ID: 159308
• Location: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA, US