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FORT BLISS, Texas -- Hundreds of members of the El Paso community gathered at the Fort Bliss Centennial Banquet and Conference Center Aug. 11 for the State of the Military event, hosted by the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
Maj. Gen. Pat White, commanding general, 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, was the keynote speaker for the address with the theme “America’s Army – Always Ready!” White spoke about what encompasses true readiness.
“The Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley’s big theme is ‘readiness is our only priority’ – that everything we do every day has to build that readiness,” White said. “And if that readiness gets built, it has to be sustained.”
The El Paso community plays a critical role in sustaining readiness, White said.
“I can tell you, that’s what you help us do. I can give a unit as many bullets as they need. I can give them all the greatest equipment in the world and they can train, but when that unit leaves Fort Bliss and goes somewhere else, the families that stay behind need your support,” White said.
White talked about his priorities for sustaining the readiness of Soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas. His key themes were highly trained and ready force, physical and mental fitness, discipline and lethality, care of Soldiers and families and community relations.
“We have to know our jobs inside and out and be able to take action when called upon,” White said.
Fort Bliss and El Paso have a lot to offer servicemembers and their families. White aims to make Fort Bliss the “station of choice" in the Army.
“I talk to every Soldier that comes to this post. Normally, it’s on a Thursday morning around 9 a.m. and I tell them is that there is no better installation than Fort Bliss anywhere in our Army, continental United States, Hawaii, or Europe. When the Army invested in Fort Bliss and made it what it is today, they made it the premier installation in the Army,” White said. “You should want to come back here, you should want to raise your family here, you should want to retire here. If we can do that then we have met the objective.”
White thanked the more than 650 community members who attended.
“El Paso is way ahead of any other military installation I’ve ever seen in 30 plus years. This community and this city is tremendous in supporting our families, so please don’t stop,” White said.
The State of the Military is a unique event, one most communities don’t have, and is a priority for the El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
“This is the one and only time each year when the civilian community can come out here and listen to the commanding general address them and speak about what’s most important to the Army today,” said Richard Dayoub, Chamber president and chief executive officer.
John Baily, of Tigua, Inc., said the El Paso community is here for the more than 30,000 active duty servicemembers assigned to Fort Bliss.
“We’re here today to say we’ll support you and embrace your families,” Baily said. “We’re proud to have one of the strongest military communities in the country.”
Because El Paso and Fort Bliss are so close geographically, it gives the entire community a better chance to work as one team, and that’s the spirit White wants to continue to grow.
“So the Army cannot generate readiness without the complete support of the communities that surround our Army in the United States of America,” White said. “So the theme was, America’s Army – Always Ready, (and) the takeaway was, it can’t be done if we’re not all on the same team.”
During the event, Chamber officials recognized the 1st Armored Division best noncommissioned officer, Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Dey, assigned to 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and best Soldier, Spc. Vicente D. Torres Vasquez, 3rd Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 1st Bde., 1st AD, for their outstanding achievement.
| Date Taken: | 08.11.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2016 11:40 |
| Story ID: | 207117 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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