Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Spc. Nickolas D. Shults, an air defense artillery Soldier with the 2/44th ADA...... read more read more
The sergeant major of the Army listened carefully as Soldiers in the Middle East asked him about the Army's transformation, its recruiting goals, and its new army combat uniforms.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston met with troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait during a 12-day holiday tour, and shared with them his vision of a new Army where active duty Soldiers remain with the same brigade for at least three years, and Reserve and National Guard Soldiers stay in the same unit for five to six years.
Preston told crowds of curious Soldiers that the Army is developing a strategic plan to deal with units" life cycle management. Keeping Soldiers in the same unit will benefit the individual Soldier, his family, and his unit in the long run, he said.
Soldiers will benefit because staying in the same unit for the minimum amount of time will guarantee them some predictability, particularly when it comes to recruiter duty, drill sergeant school, deployments and overseas tours.
"Soldiers will know they are not going to be pulled out for things like being a recruiter," Preston said. "If you are going to be needed on a deployment, you know the window of opportunity" when the deployment may happen.
Families will benefit from the program because during the three years the Soldier is likely to develop a bond with the unit and stay in the same location for a long time. This, in turn, offers the family stability.
Preston illustrated his point by pointing to a Soldier who was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. Upon graduating from basic and advanced individual training, the Soldier bought a house near the installation.
"If you stay in the Army for 30 years, you would [probably] live at your house for 25 out of the 30 years," Preston said.
Such stability also benefits the Soldiers" spouses, Preston said. He noted that since 51 percent of Soldiers are married, it has become increasingly important for the Army to assure that spouses have professional options. Since military families move around so often, employers are cautious to invest in military spouses, and consequently, military spouses end up holding odd jobs throughout the Soldiers" tour.
"We want for spouses to be able to have careers rather than jobs," Preston said.
Moreover, the plan also allows military children, who are notorious for school hopping, to stabilize in one location and to have more access to scholarships.
The program is also beneficial for the units, which will aim to grow sergeants within the Soldiers" three-year tenure.
Although people wanting to re-enlist will have the option of transferring locations, the plan may pose some hardships for some Soldiers. Those who get assigned to an area they didn't want will be stuck at that location for at least three years.
"But at the same time, the opportunity will exist for those Soldiers who want to stay with their families in one location," Preston said.
Preston also talked to Soldiers about the Army's recruiting goals, and said that despite all the headlines, the Army will meet its long-term goal of recruiting an additional 30,000 Soldiers over the next four years.
Preston said retention has increased because of re-enlistment bonuses offered to Soldiers while they are on deployment. The bonuses are popular in Iraq and other war zones because they are tax free. Preston said that since retention in the active Army has increased, Army Reserve and National Guard have had a tougher time recruiting because 30 percent of their recruits were former active duty Soldiers.
The sergeant major also answered questions from Soldiers about the Army's ACUs.
Soldiers wanted to know when those who don't have them would get them and why they tend to rip around the seams. They asked if that's being fixed, and why they can't wear many of their specialty badges with the new uniforms.
Preston explained how the Army came up with the digital-camouflage outfit. He said that during a one-year period, he gathered Soldiers from 30 different military occupations and asked them what the perfect uniform would be. The Soldiers told him that they wanted a combat, not a parade, uniform. The result was the ACUs.
Turning to the Soldiers" specific questions, Preston said that the ACUs were designed to be worn with body armor. The neck folds to prevent the armor from scratching the Soldier's neck. The uniform uses Velcro and zippers instead of buttons because the buttons jabbed Soldiers when they put on the armor. Also, the pockets are designed so Soldiers don't have to remove their armor to access most of them.
As for insignias and decorations, the uniforms are primarily for combat, and Preston said that many units don't want opposing forces to see the individual Soldiers" capabilities. Thus civil affairs and Special Forces units have always removed their specialty badges from their uniforms.
As for the color, Preston said that the print serves several functions.
"The uniform is a combat uniform designed for Soldiers by Soldiers," Preston said. "This camouflage pattern that we picked not only works well in desert areas, not only works well in forested areas, but it also works exceptionally well in urban areas."
Lastly, he said that the Army initially ordered 500,000 uniform sets for a group of Soldiers mobilizing to theater. That batch had a problem with the seams and the groin area, which were ripping when Soldiers added extra tension by wearing elbow and knee pads. The problem has been addressed. New uniforms will have cross stitches as opposed to straight ones to add durability, and two more batches of 500,000, one batch for new recruits and one for clothing and sales, will be ready within the next few months.
Spc. Adam Smith, a multi-channel transmission systems operator with the 72nd Signal Battalion, said he planned to take advantage of living in Germany with his battalion for three years and that he was pleased to hear the Army's side of the story.
"I'm glad that the Army is getting stronger even though the media puts out that it's weaker," Smith said, referring to the sergeant major's discussion of the enlistment program.
Smith's comment reassured Preston that his tour was working. As he departed to see injured Soldiers and Marines, he asked a crowd of Soldiers at LSA Anaconda to do a favor for him.
"What I need your help on is telling the Army's story," Preston said. "When your mission is done here, you've got to help me tell the Army's story. You've got to go home and tell the American people about what's going on here."
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2006 07:55 |
| Story ID: | 4269 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 16 |
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