Photo By Master Sgt. Matthew Keeler | Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general, United States Army Training and Doctrine...... read more read more
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Allentown chapter of the Honorary First Defenders celebrated history and traditions with a “Dining-In” dinner during their 73rd annual meeting, April 20 at the Rodeway Inn Conference Center.
Gen. Robert W. Cone, Commanding General of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, Va., attended as the honorary guest speaker and discussed the importance of his experience and the future of the Army.
“You may know that [while I was deployed] in Afghanistan, I had the opportunity to command National Guard brigades from three states that rotated through,” Cone said. “A number of them were Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers [who] served under me in Afghanistan. And, I’ll tell you, they were tremendous.”
He spoke about how National Guard, Reserve, and active duty soldiers all serve as part of a team, which has led to remarkable performance on the battlefield.
One thing that he really took pride in was watching brigade commanders that served under his command evolve and become The Adjutants General of their states, Cone said.
“They are the right guys in charge of the National Guard, and I’m pretty excited about the way ahead,” he added.
During his career, Cone deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn in Iraq, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
During those deployments, Cone said he witnessed the best integration between the National Guard, Reserve and active duty components that he has experienced in his 33 years of service.
Cone returned from Iraq in February 2011. He was promoted to the rank of general in April that year just prior to becoming the 14th commanding general of TRADOC.
As the commander, Cone and his staff look at the Army as a whole and decide the changes and transitions the force needs to make after more than a decade at war.
Cone said the biggest challenge he sees in this generation of soldiers and leaders is that they have constantly been at war.
“They have innovated, been disciplined, and have sacrificed,” Cone said, “and the question is, ‘What do they see of the Army of the future? What excites them about staying in the Army (now) and in the future?’”
Cone also reflected on the idea that leaders need to look into why soldiers want to remain in the National Guard, Reserves and active duty component.
“It’s time for, as I say, ‘a shift’ into investing in individuals, in their professional development, and it’s time to get back to an Army that trains and develops and hones its professional excellence,” he said.
Cone reflected on how the Army developed after the Vietnam War. The focus after the war transitioned to professionalism, leader development and training.
“I think we have the most combat-experienced force that we have had in decades. Moreover, we have an all-volunteer force where we have all that combat experience,” he said.
Cone concluded by telling the gathered service members how proud he was of the work and sacrifices the troops made for their country during their years at war.
“The fact of the matter is that [Iraq] had the lowest amount of violence in eight years in the month of March, and that’s because of the tremendous contribution of things that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines – active and reserve – did in helping build Iraqi Security Forces,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2012 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 87456 |
| Location: | ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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