Photo By Terrance Bell | Quartermaster Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers is the senior enlisted Soldier of the QM...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. - Few things are more honorable in the military than shaping and molding young recruits into Soldiers.
That’s the opinion of Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers, the Quartermaster Corps CSM. He is frequently reminded of his former responsibilities as a drill sergeant – the patch on his uniform pocket is a dead giveaway – and calls it “the thing I’m most proud of in my military career.”
Ever mindful of the impact Army instructors have on new recruits, Sellers said initial-entry QM Soldiers should be afforded the best noncommissioned officers to teach and mold them. It was a thought he turned into fruition as of late. Establishing an instructor certification program was among the first accomplishments of his nine-month tenure.
“I have a big push to get the most qualified individuals here to help train and develop Soldiers into logisticians,” said the 12th CSM, who wore the drill sergeant campaign hat from 1997-1999 at Fort Jackson, S.C.
The Instructor Certification Program is an addition to longstanding courses required of individuals who take the podium at the QM School. All instructors are required to complete the self-paced professional development program designed to make them more proficient, said Sellers.
To gain the certification (and the badge representing the achievement), instructors must complete a list of 15 tasks, appear before a board of senior NCOs and demonstrate a comprehension of policy and procedure, he explained.
“The intent is to keep them focused on all the different tasks they must perform during their time and duration as instructors,” Sellers said.
The certification program is one box on a long list of goals the CSM hopes to check off during his tenure. At the top of that list is creating the means to better communicate with corps’ Soldiers, he said.
“It is one of my most important initiatives,” said Sellers, “reinforcing the Quartermaster General’s messages, ensuring the field has a clear understanding of our responsibilities and goals.”
Seller’s primary means of message distribution is through a monthly online publication.
“It’s a one-page newsletter and focuses on topics that I think are important to the corps,” he said. “It is sent out through the Army Career-Tracker website, which touches everyone from sergeants major to the lowest levels.”
Of equal importance, said Sellers, is the issue of individual readiness, a subject the Sergeant Major of the Army has given much attention. He explained how – for example – roughly 25 percent of advanced and senior course students in recent Logistics Noncommissioned Officers Academy courses “were not able to perform all three events on the PT test,” he said.
The wars in Southwest Asia may be partly to blame for the profile numbers, said Sellers, but nevertheless, they push career-broadening opportunities – drill sergeant, recruiter and instructor among them – to personnel based on availability rather than talent, skills and abilities.
“There is a very small population of Soldiers being tapped for certain career-broadening jobs,” he said. “Soldiers should only be assigned to one or two of these positions throughout the course of their careers. Because there are so few who are qualified for them, we’re tapping the same individuals again and again, sometimes one to two years following the prior assignment.”
Sellers said the corps is taking a hard look at ways to reduce profile numbers. “At some point, we have to take a look back and figure out how we can get well,” he said. He suggested re-evaluating profiles more frequently “to see how we can enhance or increase Army readiness.”
Also within the readiness arena, Sellers said he wants to see more Soldiers take initiatives to increase their skill sets for career-enhancing opportunities as well as for life after the Army. That includes everything from improving aptitude test scores to earning degrees and certifications, he said.
To support Soldier’s self-improvement efforts, the corps’ proponency activity is working to refine a career map designed to outline what Soldiers should accomplish at specific points in their careers, said Sellers. It also will include features allowing users to make comparisons to those in their career field and the Army as a whole. It will be supported by a talent management strategy geared toward matching skills with positions throughout the course of a career.
“It will put the onus on the Soldiers to better manage their careers,” said Sellers.
An older version of the career map is available through the Army Career Tracker website. The new and improved tool also will be featured on the website and is expected to be implemented sometime in the very near future, said Sellers.
The new career map also is among the management tools necessary to offset assignment redundancies, said Sellers.
Aside from career management issues, Sellers has set his sights on credentialing. He said Soldiers in the career field need to at least consider the opportunities.
“The Army has a 100-percent separation rate,” he said. “Whether you ETS, get chaptered out for some unfortunate reason or retire, Soldiers have to set themselves up for success in the outside world.”
Credentialing opportunities within the sustainment community have increased in the past few years. In the QM Corps, seven of its nine military occupational specialties offer certifications.
The mortuary affairs specialist along with shower, laundry and clothing repair specialist are the MOSs without opportunities, but there is much progress in at least one.
“We’re very close to getting a program for mortuary affairs,” he said.
On the issue of personnel strength as it relates to the Army’s drawdown, Sellers said the QM Corps looks to be in good shape and should not see any dramatic reductions, despite being more than 6,000 Soldiers over its 30,000 active duty authorization.
Most of the excess can be attributed to Soldiers being assigned to positions outside their core competencies, said Sellers.
Force-shaping actions such as the Qualitative Management Program will have a minimal impact on overall numbers, he added, but it is reasonable to expect they will not change much in the next five years.
Sellers said the corps has made significant progress on issues such as suicide prevention and sexual assault and sexual harassment but indicated the leadership remains in a vigilant posture.
The QM Corps, commanded by Brig. Gen. Ronald Kirklin, is responsible for developing doctrine, training, leader development, organization, and materiel requirements for the current and future Army. It trains 30,000 enlisted Soldiers, officers and warrants officers each year.
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2016 12:55 |
| Story ID: | 187908 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sill much to do: Senior enlisted quartermaster reflects upon nine-month tenure, by Terrance Bell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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