Photo By Samantha Harms | Brig. Gen. David W. Gardner, JRTC and Fort Polk commanding general, discusses with...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT HOOD, Texas — The Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, Louisiana, command team visited Fort Hood March 24, 2023, as a part of their annual Winning the Fight for Talent Campaign, in which they visit dozens of Army installations as a part of their recruiting efforts.
Brig. Gen. David W. Gardner, JRTC and Fort Polk commanding general, held two sessions with junior officers, while Command Sgt. Maj. David P. Hanson, JRTC and Fort Polk command sergeant major, held three sessions with noncommissioned officers here.
These engagements provided the opportunity for both Gardner and Hanson to highlight what the JRTC does, what opportunities are there and what life is like at Fort Polk on a daily basis.
“So, one of the things we say quite honestly is, because it is such a difficult training rotation when you come down there (to Fort Polk), we have a hard time in Soldiers’ minds dissociating the training center and the crucible experience when you come down there to fight war with what it’s like to live there,” expressed Gardner during a taping session for this week’s episode of the Great Big Podcast in III Armored Corps Headquarters. “And so, what I say is, 95 percent of the people that come there are told ‘I’m sorry.’ But if you walk around inside our gates, 95 percent of the people love it there, which means there’s a disconnect, which means we’re not sharing the truth of the opportunities and the quality of life that one has at Fort Polk.
“What we don’t want is the rumors, the myth, to be driving talented people’s decisions because it is such a valuable opportunity to be able to serve at Fort Polk,” he continued, “not just for your professional growth but the family life there is truly special.”
Throughout the engagement sessions, Gardner focused on the training opportunities, including broadening assignments, key development assignments and deployment potential for those stationed there. He also highlighted the little to no waiting time for officers to take command and the flexibility to work and attend school at the same time.
“I chose to come to this event because I’ve been at Fort Hood since 2019 and my spouse and I were looking for different opportunities to train,” shared 1st Lt. Rachel Wilson, 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “We both came today just to see what the career opportunities would be, and then just predictability, stability, as dual military.”
Gardner also discussed the quality of life that Soldiers and their families have, highlighting the vast number of activities held by Fort Polk Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, the predictable schedule that allows Soldiers to purchase their holiday tickets in the summer and the fact that the state of Louisiana recognizes almost all military spouse credentials.
Fort Polk is one of four Quality of Life installations in the Army – Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Fort Irwin, California, and Fort Hood being the others – which involves an active recognition on how the installation can continue to improve services and increase readiness and morale of Soldiers and their families.
“What that translates to us is, I’m cutting a ribbon on something every week. We just fixed some roads. We’re opening new barracks; I’ve got six barracks that are going to come online after refurbishment. And then 37 of our 38 will either be built or on the way towards building or refurbishment. We won’t have the overcrowding; we won’t have some of the challenges there,” Gardner shared. “We are able to maintain our fun things to do, our MWR. And although we have to still ensure that we can keep those things afloat from a fiscal perspective, we’ve got a little bit of latitude because everybody understands the importance of those programs. So, we’ve been able to maintain our golf course, we have a bowling center with go-carts, with miniature golf, we’re able to do movie nights that are free for the families. We’ve put $92 million dollars into our homes in just the last few years.
“What I also like to say about quality of life, we typically talk about things, but for me, I think the beauty of Fort Polk is we’re big enough to have every program,” he continued, “but we’re small enough where people aren’t just a number, they’re a name.”
Soldiers interested in more information about career enhancing opportunities with JRTC and Fort Polk can go to the installation website at https://home.army.mil/polk/ and click on the “Winning the Fight for Talent” graphic.
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2023 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 457817 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JRTC command team looks to ‘Win the Fight for Talent’, by Samantha Harms, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
