Courtesy Photo | Army Lt. Gen. James C. McConville, U.S. Army deputy chief of staff, G-1, discusses the...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Army Lt. Gen. James C. McConville, U.S. Army deputy chief of staff, G-1, shared words of wisdom with service members and civilians during the third installment of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Moral Leadership Luncheon series July 7.
Founded by Maj. Fred Wendel, joint base chaplain, the quarterly program provides active duty service members and the joint base community with an informal dialogue with some of the premier leaders in the National Capital Region.
McConville’s speech focused on what he called some of the most important aspects of any successful Soldier – commitment, competence and, above all, character.
“In the Army, leadership is probably the most important thing that we do, especially as we’re drawing the force down,” he said. “As we bring the Army down and resources become more constrained, bringing the right people into the Army and developing the right leaders is really important.”
He demonstrated these traits through a number of personal stories and anecdotes from his career and the Army’s history.
Growing up just outside Boston, McConville said he and many kids his age demonstrated resilience and smarts.
But McConville highlighted one kid in particular – a boy named Joe who lived not far from the McConville household.
That boy would grow up to be Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., 36th commandant of the Marine Corps and soon-to-be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
McConville said many of the people he grew up with are successful, but he highlighted the strength of character it took for Dunford to achieve his current status.
“When you look at the experiences that we’ve all had, you can build character,” McConville said.
He also told the story of a command sergeant major who lost his leg during combat in Afghanistan but was up and running in the Army Ten-Miler nine months later, exhibiting extraordinary commitment.
“When you see him out there running in front of the troops, you don’t see many troops falling out because of that kind of commitment,” McConville said.
He later remembered meeting a veteran of World War II during the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. The veteran had parachuted behind enemy lines into France when he was only 16 years old, McConville said, but that was only the beginning of his story; the man had served with Army Lt. Col. Robert Cole, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for leading a bayonet charge that secured a crucial bridge near Carentan, France.
McConville called Cole a “competent leader who inspired his Soldiers.”
“If the Germans had held Carentan, there would have been no success at D-Day,” McConville said.
Even if new service members come from tough backgrounds, McConville said the Army can help mold them into great leaders if they each have the right outlook and attitude.
“A lot of folks that have never had structure, if they can accept the discipline, the standards in the military, with moral background, they can turn out to be great Soldiers,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2015 17:59 |
| Story ID: | 170261 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 475 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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