With decade of changes we begin anew

The Good was seeing how reserve Soldiers stepped up to the plate and performed outstandingly. We are doing what we are trained to do and that is to train Soldiers, albeit in a situation far outside the box of any scenario any of us could have imagined.

Our commander, Maj. Gen. James B Mallory III, is winding down his long and distinguished career as a Soldier in the 108^th Training Command (Initial Entry Training).  I can only imagine what that feeling must be like as I will be facing the same issue next year. His visionary leadership turned the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) into one of the premier units in the United States Army Reserve and I’m sure whatever his next duty assignment is that he will excel. The next commander of the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) has not been determined at this time. 

Join me in congratulating Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz, who has been selected as the 11^th Command Sgt. Maj. of the USAR. He is currently assigned to the 143^rd Sustainment Command at Orlando, Fla.  Schultz brings a wealth of experience in a variety of assignments including three tours in theater having served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

If you have not already heard, the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) will fall under the operational control of the newly formed Initial Military Training (IMT) Command and will be commanded by Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling.  Hertling is the former commander of the 1^st Armor Division (Old Ironsides).  The IMT command will be a subordinate command of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Currently the command calls Fort Monroe, Va. home but will be moving to Fort Jackson, S.C. in the former Army Reserve Readiness Command Headquarters, located atop Tank Hill. The new headquarters building is near the Soldiers Support Institute and Chaplains School. The relocation is scheduled for spring 2010.

Command Sgt. Maj. John Calpena has been selected as the first Command Sgt. Maj.of the IMT Command. Calpena is currently the Command Sgt. Maj. of Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I). There are a number of us from the legacy units of the 80^th, 98^th, 104^th and 108^th Divisions familiar with MNSTC-I as this is where most of our deployed Soldiers were assigned for Operation Iraqi Freedom. MNSTC-I will be changing names soon as are there are no longer multi-national forces in Iraq, only US forces.  Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) has already changed its designation to United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I) as well. 

Sometime this y  ear we will officially pick up the 104^th Training Division (Leader Training) known as the Timberwolves and its Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) mission. The 104^th Tng. Div. (LT) will be located at Fort Lewis, Wash. We are also working with the 84^th Training Command (Leader Readiness) to transition command and control of the three Regional Training Centers (RTCs). For the immediate future however the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) will continue to help staff the RTCs.

The format of our Best Warrior Competition (BWC) will be a little different this year. The 95^th Training Division (IET) and 98^th Training Division (IET) will conduct their BWC in the March to April time frame in conjunction with their Drill Sergeant of the Year (DSOY) competition. The winners of those two division competitions, in both the enlisted and non-commissioned officer categories, will then make a board appearance at the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) headquarters. The winners selected by the board will go directly to the USAR BWC held at Fort McCoy, Wis. in July, instead of having to compete at the 81^st Regional Support Command initially.

First Sergeants and Battalion Command Sergeants Major, you need to be looking for your best and brightest to compete in both the BWC and the DSOY competitions to be held at TRADOC in June.

It is also it a good bet the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) will be asked to support the annual Memorial Day parade held in Washington DC with drill sergeants again this year. The 95^th and 98^th Tng. Div. (IET) should compile a roster of 15 to 20 drill sergeants who are interested in participating in this event.

The 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) Family Readiness command program, Fort Family, is being adopted as the standard for the USAR and has gained recognition by the active army as well.

The USAR promotion system, especially as it pertains to the promotions of specialist to sergeants will be one of our greatest challenges this year. Recent changes in the procedure (basically allowing a letter of exception to expire in October 2009) will make the recruiting and promoting of Soldiers in this category very difficult without other changes being made. Addressing this issue, especially in regards to our drill sergeant candidate program, is one of the highest priorities of the 108^th Tng. Cmd. (IET) and is being staffed within many different sections at the headquarters.

Funding dollars will also be a challenge this year and may present a major hurdle to some of the initiatives we have on our plate. Funding that was there in the past simply does not exist today as the nation shifts gears and focuses on other priorities.

So again, as another year and another decade start we face many new changes, we have many new challenges and opportunities before us.

Because my last article was a history lesson about Fort Monroe, for this issue, class dismissed.

I’ll see you on the trail.