Photo By Ronald Wolf | The Office of the Army Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command hold regular...... read more read more
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Leaders are not stamped out like tin cans. Each leader has his or her own set of experiences, training, mentoring, and education that provide them with unique perspectives and a different set of leadership skills to pass on as leaders and teachers.
The Office of the Army Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command hold regular leadership seminars to support their Leader Development Program. On May 3, 2021, retired Army Gen. Richard Cody addressed the leadership audience. Cody had a 36-year career, and he was the 31st Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. His command accomplishments include serving as the commanding general, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He is a master aviator who saw combat duty in the Persian Gulf. In addition to his distinguished Army leadership, he was an advocate for Soldiers.
Cody delivered the lecture was virtually and discussed his insights and experience with the audience.
Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, Army Surgeon General and commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Command, thanked Cody for taking the time to share his experience with OTSG and the Medical Command.
“The things he has done for Army Medicine are amazing,” Dingle said. “The wisdom and the years of experience that you have are priceless. Thank you for being a tremendous leader, a tremendous mentor, a tremendous example, for all of Army Medicine.”
Cody began by thanking his audience. “It’s a great honor for me to talk to our medical professionals,” he said.
Cody framed his thoughts on leadership in what the Army is doing today and, especially, what the Army will need to do tomorrow.
“The war in multi-domain operations is going to be at longer distances, (with) smaller formations, dispersed and then rapidly closing, (affect) how we deal with medical evacuation, how we deal with Soldiers coming back from this violent type of war we anticipate, and how we optimize them and build resilience to go back and fight,” he said.
Cody thanked the Army Medicine audience for what they have done in the past two decades. “You have a critical mission, and you have performed it extremely well during these 18-plus years of war. That mission, in peace or at war, is the health, welfare and morale of our forces. It’s a daunting task,” he said.
Cody said a leader has to do one thing. “Make sure your Soldiers are ready with the right leadership and training, and also the right moral compass. A leader’s job is to make certain a Soldier is ready to face the crucible of combat or other mission,” he said.
Soldiers are more important than equipment, Cody said. They are our most important weapon system. Every Soldier wants to succeed. Leaders are responsible for building trust — Soldier to Soldier, leader to leader, and unit to unit.
“It is our job to set conditions for success,” Cody said.
Among Cody’s universal leadership truths are the following:
-- “The path of least resistance is a well-traveled path to mediocrity—take on the tough decisions.”
-- “A well-trained, disciplined Soldier will do what is right when their leader is not around.”
-- “Integrity is non-negotiable.”
-- ‘Leaders cannot exact loyalty, respect and trust … they must earn them through their actions.”
When it comes to recruiting, Cody said, “We are mining for gold. These young men and women who are stepping forward and enlisting, we owe them a lot of respect. They have other opportunities. In my mind, they are the top 5 percent of our population — mentally, physically, and morally. We owe them a lot. We owe them for wanting to join our team. We need to respect them no matter where they came from. They deserve tough, caring leadership.”
And after they are recruited? “We need to instill in them pride and traditions of the Army — we need to spend time talking about those things that make our Army great, and they need to assimilate into the Army rather than talking about differences that society has,” Cody said.
“We need to spend a lot of time, teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Each one of you have been successful in your career because someone took the time to sit down and mentor you,” he said.
“Focus your energy on your formation, and less time looking over your shoulder at higher headquarters. The Army is transforming. We have a great Chief, Sergeant Major of the Army, and great leaders of 4-star commands. They all recognize we have to transform Army-wide,” Cody said. “It takes leaders to lead change.”
“You have my utmost respect and gratitude for taking care of our Soldiers and civilians,” Cody concluded. “There is no better medical service, and medical practitioners, then those that wear the Army green. I’ve seen it up close and personal. I’ve watched you save people’s lives. I’ve watched you take care of those that are severely wounded and helped them through the ‘Golden Hour.’ You have a legacy. Continue that legacy.”
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2021 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 395718 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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