Courtesy Photo | IMCOM Commanding General Lt. Gen. Omar Jones, from left, Deputy Chief of Staff for...... read more read more
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas – The success of Army installations worldwide relies upon an ecosystem of relationships, said Lt. Gen. Omar Jones, IMCOM commanding general.
“Our relationships we have with community partners, with chambers of commerce, and with industry make our installations successful,” Jones said, “and the importance of the web is only going to grow in the future.”
Jones and IMCOM senior leaders joined other military leaders at the Association of Defense Communities Installation Innovation Forum on Oct. 28-30 in San Antonio. A record crowd of 1,200 community leaders and industry experts from around the world gathered during the three-day forum to discuss best practices and the importance of those partnerships.
IMCOM is responsible for maintaining the quality of life for Soldiers and Families in support of Army readiness for senior leaders across 104 Army installations in 12 countries, spanning 13.7 million acres across 17 time zones. Over 60,000 IMCOM professionals execute more than $14 billion annually to deliver 56 programs and services.
Among the topics Jones addressed during the Army Workshop and Installation Town Hall panels were the relationships among installations, communities and industries; the major investment in barracks; data analytics; and the Army's response to severe storms.
When it comes to installation management, Jones stressed two themes: Soldiers and their Families are absolutely part of the local communities, noting more than 67 percent of Soldiers live off the installation and 20,000 military children are in local off-post childcare programs around the world. The second theme is that it really does take the entire community to ensure that success.
“It takes the relationships we have on and off the installation for everything our installations do around the world,” Jones said, “and military installations are absolutely essential for our national defense.”
IMCOM Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Copeland also stressed the important role noncommissioned officers play in providing services for Soldiers and Families across the 104 garrisons and how that couldn’t be accomplished without community support.
“Not only are our NCOs the backbone of the Army, but they also play a key role in interacting with community leaders on behalf of the garrison commanders and senior leaders at our installations,” Copeland said. “Those relationships are vitally important to providing the highest quality of life for our Soldiers and Families.”
Other IMCOM professionals participating in the forum included Maj. Gen. James Smith, IMCOM Deputy Commanding General, and Army civilian professionals from Fort Cavazos, Fort Johnson, Fort Moore and Fort Drum. They discussed topics including energy, data analytics and housing projects.
The Hon. Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, reiterated her vision to removing obstacles in anything the Army does at the installation level and the importance of partnerships in doing so.
She also introduced the Army’s updated Installations Strategy (AIS 2.0), with three lines of effort focused on supporting people, strengthening readiness and resilience, and continuously transforming and innovating.
“Installations are no longer a sanctuary. They are the frontlines of a contested operational environment and essential to our ability to fight and win the nation’s wars,” Jacobson said. “We are proactively updating our Installations Strategy, to ensure our installations are able to transform at pace to meet the evolving needs of our Army today and tomorrow.”
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2024 09:33 |
| Story ID: | 484427 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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