Photo By Sgt. Daniela Lechuga | 1st Infantry Division command teams gather for a Leader Professional Development forum...... read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kan. - The 1st Infantry Division hosted a ‘Big Red One Year of the NCO'
leadership professional development discussion panel at Victory Hall on March 31, 2023.
Commanders and senior enlisted advisors across the division gathered to discuss the ‘Year of the NCO' campaign, the leader development process, the importance of command relationships between officers and noncommissioned officers and generational changes within the Army.
Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, the commanding general of the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley, emphasized the importance of command relationships, from the platoon-level to the division, as the foundation for a successful unit.
"It's about trust; the trust between the officer and NCO is important and foundational," Meyer said.
Along with Meyer, the panel included Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher L. Mullinax, the command sergeant major of the Ist Inf. Div. and Fort Riley; Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Perry L. Wiggins, former commanding general of U.S. Army North; Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) James B.
Champagne, a former command sergeant major of the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley; and Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Richard A. Young, former command sergeant major of the U.S. European Command.
Panel members emphasized the 1st Inf. Div.'s key to success comes through healthy relationships between NCOs and officers.
"The most important thing you can do is always ‘protect the seam'," Mullinax said. "Protect the integrity of the relationship you should have. Find a way to work together, because it's what is right for your Soldiers."
The leaders shared advice and personal stories, drawing from their experiences ranging from the platoon to geographic combatant commands.
“Officers and noncommissioned officers depend on each other, and when that relationship is in sync, there is not a single mission out there that you can’t accomplish,” said Champagne.
Wiggins emphasized that the key to a successful NCO and officer relationship is trust and communication.
“Mutual trust is critical,” Wiggins said. “Trusting in that individual, that they are technically and tactically confident, is key. Discuss roles and responsibilities so that there is no confusion. Once you do that, you have to cover their six. As officers, it's important that you should speak with clear communication.”
Young discussed the nature of leadership, and mentioned communication is the foundation for leadership teams.
“Leadership hasn’t changed since colonial times,” Young said. “How you execute that leadership has changed drastically, and that's the key thing to understand. Leadership teams are so important. You have to be on the same sheet of music. The one time they’re not in sync is painful.”
The panel also discussed leadership through generational changes in the Army as well as the development of the next generation of leaders to ensure future success.
"Our job is to develop the next generation of leaders so that they are better than we were," Mullinax said. "The linkage of generations shows the continuity of the Army. Your role changes as the generation changes. Listen, learn, and act. Society changes, influence changes, but how do you handle generational change? Listen."
Concluding the conference, Meyer expressed his appreciation for the efforts, professionalism, and dedication of the participating command teams and spoke on the pride of being part of the Army's first division.
"If I went around this formation and asked all of you what's the best team, squad, platoon, section, battery, company, troop, battalion, squadron, brigade or division of the United States Army, it's this one," Meyer said. "It's the one you're serving in right now, right here in Fort Riley, Kansas. The best formation is the one that you lead, the one that you are responsible for.”
Meyer challenged leaders to build formations that they would want their loved ones serving in and encouraged them to make changes that they believe should be instilled within their formations.
“I challenge everybody, as we talk about NCO and officer relationships, ask yourself a question,” Meyer said. “Do you want your son or daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, niece or nephew, whoever, serving in this formation? If the answer to the question is yes, great! Let's continue the hard work that we’re doing. If you say, ‘no, I don’t want my family member serving in this formation,’ you’ve got to ask yourself why. We’re the ones in a position to do something about it, so let's make the changes necessary, and it starts with leadership to create a formation where we want our family members serving. So, thank you for everything you all do each day."
Capt. Kamilah Cruz, a signal officer and company commander for Signal Intelligence Sustainment Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 1st Inf. Div., who was in attendance and participated in asking questions during the discussion, expressed her thoughts regarding the information that was shared.
“Seeing both perspectives from Maj. Gen. Meyer to Command Sgt. Maj. Mullinax compared to previous commanders that were in the 1st. Inf. Div., I think it was very beneficial to see how their viewpoints were different,” Cruz said. “There was a shared understanding in ensuring that the relationship between command teams needs to be solid.”
1st Sgt. Joseph Binggeli, a network communication systems specialist and first sergeant for SIS Co., HHBn, 1st Inf. Div., who works alongside Cruz, shared his thoughts as well.
“I think it was amazing to see the different generations up there and how they reacted to each other then and how we react now, it hasn't changed a lot,” Binggeli said. “We’re still bonded the same. The commander and the first sergeant, NCO relationships with the officers, there’s an understanding of what we do, what they do, and that we’re a team and we work together to accomplish missions.”
The 1st Inf. Div. will continue to host LPD discussion panels throughout the year as the division continues to recognize the personal and professional contributions of the NCO corps to the Big Red One and the Army.
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2023 17:16 |
| Story ID: | 443031 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Protect the Seam: 1ID Strengthens Command Relationships, by SGT Daniela Lechuga, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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