Hail and farewell; I want to say thanks and farewell to Command Sgt. Maj. Don Smith, 95th Training Division (IET). He has hung up his spurs with the division and accepted a mobilization position at Fort Sill, Okla. I would like to thank him for all of his hard work at the 95th and wish him and Anita luck as he starts a new chapter in his career.
Congratulations to Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Minton, 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division. He has been approved to do a short tour as the Command Sergeant Major of the 95th Training Division (IET) until his reaches mandatory retirement in December, 2012. Having known Minton for a number of years now, I know that he will make the best of his last albeit short assignment.
I also want to say thank you to 1st Sgt. Bobbie Austin, headquarters, 108th Training Command, who has retired from the Army Reserve and moved on to the United States Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg in her civilian capacity. I have known Austin a long time as a drill sergeant and wish her the best of luck in her retirement and new civilian assignment.
Best Warrior Competition (BWC) and Drill Sergeant of the Year (DSOY)
Congratulations to Staff Sergeants Jasper R. Kohoutek, 95th Training Division (IET) DSOY and Andrew J. Palmer, 98th Training Division (IET) DSOY for doing an outstanding job representing their respective divisions at the 2011 United States Army Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition this past June. A special thanks to the former Army Reserve DSOY, Staff Sgt. Melissa C. Solomon for the outstanding job she did representing the Army Reserve as the reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year for 2010.
While there are several areas where both the BWC and the DSOY competitions may overlap, the drill sergeant portion of the Drill Sergeant of the Year competition makes it a truly unique competition of its own. After Action Reviews (AARs) from the division DSOYs and Solomon indicate our candidates are showing up at the US Army Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition at a disadvantage; a bit overwhelmed and a little underprepared.
I would encourage the 95th and 98th divisions to utilize their former DSOYs as advisors as they prepare for next year’s competition, at the brigade and division level, so they can inject those tasks unique to the DSOY Competition. Additionally, you should use your DSOYs the previous year(s) as tutors to your next year’s winner to help them prepare for the competition.
Remember, your DSOY should be an experienced drill sergeant. The requirement is for at least two annual trainings (ATs) under their belts. But both of last year’s contestants indicated that that is not even close to what is needed for the competition. Ultimately, you should be looking for drill sergeants that have done multiple ATs or better yet have done a mob tour as drill sergeant or drill sergeant leader.
Once they are selected I would recommend you work through our representative at the Drill Sergeant School in bringing them onboard for a short ADOS tour, where they can continue to shadow the course and continue to hone their skills before the competition. Both division DSOYs this year expressed reservations and concerns over being selected the Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year. Neither said that it was made clear to them that if selected that they would be put on orders to TRADOC for a year. Make sure this is VERY clear in the counseling of your future competitors.
Because of the projected budget cuts for the military, major changes are being proposed to the military retirement system as we know it. According to the proposal, these changes would affect everyone that is not currently retired or on 100% disability, active duty or reservist. You need to become familiar with these proposals and decide for yourself whether you think these changes are good or bad for the service member and make your voice heard in Washington accordingly.
At the time I was writing this we recently had experienced the painful Debt Ceiling raising / budget debate. While we are still by far the best governmental system in the world, this openly displayed to the US and the world how very dysfunctional our governmental family can become. General Dempsey in addressing the senior leaders of the Army recently recommended the book “April 1865: The Month That Saved America, by Jay Winik. In light of this year being the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War, if you have not already done so I would also recommend reading this book. “April 1865” chronicles the events that show that after four years of one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the world; leaders on both sides set the example to the nation by reaching across the trenches and being magnanimous in both victory and defeat in reconciliation for the greater good of the country. Something that seems to be all but lost on today’s politicians. Unfortunately today, common sense does not seem to be so common.
I’ll see you on the trail, for a short time longer anyway.
Victory Starts here.