48th Infantry Brigade begins leadership development program

Photo By Maj. Bryant Wine | A slide from the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's leader development program introduction is used to discuss mission command in a seminar Nov. 29, 2021. The seminar is the first LDP session for the 48th IBCT under U.S. Army Col. Jason Baker, the commander of the brigade. (U.S. Army National Guard graphic by Capt. Bryant Wine)  

MACON, GA, UNITED STATES

12.01.2021

Story by Capt. Bryant Wine 

48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

When U.S. Army Col. Jason Baker took command of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in October 2021, he defined leadership development as one of his three main priorities. Now, he is putting those words into action.

Baker led the first session of a leader development program on Nov. 29, 2021.

“This is our first time doing a leader development piece, so I just wanted to kick off what we’re doing a little bit more and lay some groundwork, some foundation of our leader development plan going forward,” said Baker.

The ultimate goal for LDP is to develop leaders and embolden within their current assignment and the future. By placing Soldier welfare and development first, the 48th IBCT can grow into a more professional and lethal force.

Baker briefed his first LDP seminar to battalion command teams and brigade staff primaries via teleconference. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Dwayne Wilson and Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Logan, commanding general and state command sergeant major of the Georgia Army National Guard, dialed into the session.

Baker himself wrote a memorandum of instruction dated Nov. 18, 2021, for the program. He used the first LDP seminar to introduce the memorandum complete with a schedule, discussion topics, assigned presenters and audiences.

Currently, the LDP sessions are scheduled to occur monthly through September 2023. Topics vary from broad concepts, like multidomain operations, to employing warfighting functions across the brigade, like intelligence, fires and sustainment.

Audiences vary from topic to topic, but will typically include the brigade staff, battalion command teams and staffs, and occasionally company command teams. Here, Baker expressed his vision for battalions and companies to implement their own LDP initiative in order to mentor Soldiers at lower echelons.

Baker’s LDP also begins a shift in how the brigade conducts command and staff meetings.

Previously, the 48th IBCT held formal command and staff briefs on a monthly basis, typically a week prior to state command and staff brief.

Now, Baker intends to hold command and staff meetings less frequently to only once every three months, leaving the other two months dedicated to LDP sessions.

Wilson commented that he’s eager to see the 48th IBCT’s new approach to command and staff and LDP for consideration at implementing at the state level.

The next LDP seminar in December will discuss unit status reporting and management. Then the 48th IBCT will open second quarter of fiscal year 2022 with command and staff in January 2022.

“There’s two big things that the Army does: it trains units and develops leaders,” said Baker. “But in order to train units, we have to have leaders that are developed to achieve the Army’s missions that they want us to be able to do based on the way the Army wants us to do it.”

• Date Taken: 12.01.2021
• Date Posted: 12.01.2021 13:59
• Story ID: 410254
• Location: MACON, GA, US