People Are Back in Style
“I’m sick of deploying overseas, only to come home and deploy some more to the National Training Center.” — me (probably).
If you, like me, have been frustrated at some point during your career about the high-pace of Army operations, Gen. James McConville, the chief of staff of the Army, has a new policy memo just for you!
The two-page memo was signed by the secretary of the Army and the sergeant major of the Army as well.
Still, I say it’s his memo because it’s easier to say, “the CSA’s memo,” as opposed to, “the CSA’s, the sergeant major of the Army’s, and the secretary of the Army’s memo.”
Also, it seems that Gen. McConville has been preaching “people first” for as long as he’s been in the public spotlight as the vice chief of staff of the Army and now the CSA.
So, to me, it’s his memo.
The memo starts with a rationalization for the focus on people.
“The Army invested significant resources and leadership into restoring readiness and modernizing our Army. However, our readiness focus resulted in an unsustainable operational tempo and placed significant demands on units, leaders, and soldiers and families and stress on the force. Therefore, we are prioritizing people as the #1 Army priority. We will strive to reduce OPTEMPO, adjust policies to prioritize people, and reduce requirements to provide leaders additional time to invest in their people.”
The memo capitalizes people — I guess that’s a new thing? — but your jumo brief author believes in journalistic standards of excellence and will not follow suit. Same to you soldiers, families, and marines.
Many will read the CSA’s rationalization and think, “Yeah, right. I’ve heard this spiel before. It’s all talk, no action.”
Not. So. Fast.
Here are some of the tangible actions that the Army will take to support People — sorry, people.
- Reducing “heel-to-toe” deployment rotations of brigade combat teams in favor of deployments of battalion-sized task forces
- Eliminating requirements to conduct brigade and battalion live-fire exercises before deploying to a combined training center
- Eliminating the requirement to deploy to a CTC before a non-combat deployment, especially if the deployment is to an area of operations that can support similar collective training
- Reviewing all manner of policies (readiness, maintenance, manning, etc.) with a focus on supporting people
- Routinely inspecting unit systems and infrastructure that affect people, such as pay, awards, barracks, and physical, mental, and spiritual health
- Updating the AWOL policy (see news summary below)
Even though the memo lays out specific policy actions, members of the Army community are still suspicious. It’s hard to blame anyone who thinks this is just another nice platitude that bears little consequence in the real world.
However, more than any CSA I can remember, this chief has committed to transforming the Army’s approach to talent management. From the Battalion Commander Assessment Program to the Army-wide roll-out of the Assignment Interactive Module 2.0, there is reason to have hope that this re-prioritization is real.
Prioritizing people is, after all, an extension of talent management. And whenever Gen. McConville talks about talent management initiatives, he follows through.
If you require further convincing that he’s serious, check out Task and Purpose’s article about his sincerely held belief that people are the bedrock of the Army. If nothing else, check out the article to see his “Work-Life Balance” chart.
I never thought I would be a stan for a general officer, but that’s 2020 for you.
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The views expressed are those of Brennan Randel and do not reflect the official position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or any government agency.
