Brig Gen. Robert P. Stall | 12/09/2010

There is an old Chinese proverb (or curse) that says “May you live in interesting times.” I attended the United States Army Reserve Senior Leader Conference on 16 to18 October. Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, began his opening comments by saying we are in the period of uncertainty. The military has now down-sized to 40,000 troops in Iraq and are due to depart Iraq in totality, December of next year. We have surged an additional 30,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and are due to begin drawing down in that theater by next June. The question in front of us then is, what is the demand for United States Ar... Read More...

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Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Payne | 12/09/2010

As the holiday season approaches, let us give thanks for living in the greatest country in the world. It has been a busy year, but new challenges will arise in Training Year 2011. I want to officially welcome the Soldiers of the 104th Training Division (Leader Training) into the 108th Training Command (IET) family. With the addition of Reserve Officer Training Corps we now cover both sides of Initial Military Training, both officer and enlisted. This also means that we will have two bosses on the Army side, Accessions Command at Fort Knox, Ky. for officer training and the Initial Military Training Command (IMT) for enlisted training at Fort ... Read More...

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Col. Timothy Welch | 12/09/2010

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of Task Force Vanguard. After two and one half years of accomplishing the Chief Army Reserve mission of transitioning high quality Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers into the Army Reserve from the Active Component (AC), the mission of Task Force Vanguard is complete. Task Force Vanguard’s TPU Soldiers strategically located at Army posts nationwide also assisted transitioning Soldiers in locating jobs with military friendly companies and provided information to properly sponsor inbound Soldiers. Organized in February of 2008, the Task Force assessed ov... Read More...

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Brig. Gen. Roger Duff | 12/09/2010

The past two years have been, perhaps, the fastest I have experienced in my career as an Army officer. As I carefully examined the reason(s) for this I determined it to be one of two phenomina; 1) This has been the most exciting, most rewarding assignment I have ever had, or 2) Does time go just seem to go by quicker as we age? When I consulted my lovely spouse Linda and sought her professional mental health advise as to which one of the two reasons were most applicable to the quick passage of time, she claimed, “ Actually, the real reasons are; 1) You are not getting any younger and; 2) You are getting older . . . But seriously, you are hav... Read More...

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Command Chief Warrant Officer Shirley Moser | 12/09/2010

We use this phase often on our evaluations both enlisted and officer and award recommendations. What does this mean to you? It means to fulfill your obligations- professional, legal, and moral. Accept responsibility for your own actions and those entrusted to your care. Find opportunities to improve yourself for the good of the group. So it is our “duty” to perform our reserve jobs to the upmost of our abilities not just those duties that are recognized but the little tasks in our day to day operations that make our mission a success. We can’t allow ourselves to forget these tasks. They influence all of those around us and make or break the ... Read More...

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Command Chief Warrant Officer Shirley Moser | 12/09/2010

On August 13th and 14th, 2010, the first 108th Training Command (IET) Warrant Officer Workshop was conducted. Guest speakers included USAR Command Chief Warrant Officer James Thompson. His briefing on the strength of the Army Reserve and overview of warrant officers, mission, accomplishments, successes, and warrant officer responsibilities was exceptional. Chief Warrant Officer 5, Candis Martin of the Quartermaster proponent and Chief Warrant Officer 5, Denise Scarboro of the Military Intelligence proponent provided an array of information not only about branch requirements but about mentorship, future opportunities, education, and the Warra... Read More...

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Sgt. 1st Class Tommy Bish | 12/09/2010

The 108th Training Command (IET) sent five Soldiers to Vermont, Sweden, and Norway for the Confederation of Inter-allied Reserve Officers’ annual Military Competition (CIOR MILCOMP) from July 18th to August 15th, 2010. In December 2009, Maj. Gen. James B. Mallory, former commanding general, 108th Training Command (IET) tasked the 108th G-7 to assemble a group of leaders to compete for positions on the U.S. Joint Reserve Forces Pentathlon team. The published standards were daunting, but five leaders stepped up to the challenge. The candidates reported to Ethan Allen Firing Range near Burlington, Vt. for training, individual assessment, and te... Read More...

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Maj. Japen T. Hollist | 12/09/2010

EGLIN AFB, Fla. — A total of 50 drill sergeants and Soldiers of the 1st Brigade 4th/ 323rd Regiment deployed to Eglin Air Force Base to participate in “Operation Doolittle”, a battalion two week exercise as part of the battalion’s yearly ARFORGEN cycle training initiative. Company command teams from the southern region of the United States represented by Alpha Company, Montgomery Ala., Bravo Company, Huntsville Ala., Delta Company, Starkville Miss., and Echo Company Mobile, Ala. exercised deployment checklists while conducting risk mitigation, pre-combat inspections and pre-combat checks. After a day of travel and full personnel accountabili... Read More...

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