Honolulu –
A panel of senior enlisted leaders convened at the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium to discuss the development of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to prevail in the land power domain. Julie Guerra, the director of enlisted programs at Association of the United States Army, moderated the panel, featuring insights from Chief Warrant Officer Sanjee Singh, Sergeant Major of the Army, Singapore Armed Forces, Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt, command sergeant major for U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), Sgt. Maj. Jay Garza, sergeant major for Army Futures Command, and Warrant Officer Kim Fellingham, Regimental Sergeant Major-Army, Australian Army, who shared their perspectives on leadership development, mentorship, training, and the unique challenges and opportunities facing NCOs in the Indo-Pacific region.
Themes and Messages:
● The Vital Role of NCOs: The panel emphasized the critical role of NCOs in building readiness, enhancing interoperability, and leading soldiers in the complex and dynamic Indo-Pacific environment.
● Leadership Development and Mentorship: Panelists highlighted the importance of lifelong learning, professional military education, and mentorship in developing well-rounded and effective NCOs.
● Embracing Technology: The panel stressed the need for NCOs to embrace emerging technologies and leverage them to enhance training, improve situational awareness, and maintain lethality.
● Resilience and Adaptability: Resilience, adaptability, and cultural awareness were identified as key attributes for NCOs operating in the diverse and challenging Indo-Pacific region.
● The Importance of the Human Domain: The panel underscored the importance of understanding the human domain, building relationships with partners, and taking care of service members and their families.
● Resilience Training: Panelists emphasized the need for resilience training to ensure that NCOs and Soldiers can cope with the stresses of military life and maintain their effectiveness in challenging environments.
● Multilateral Exercises: Panelists highlighted the importance of a strategic land power network.
Key Quotes:
Sgt. Maj. Sanjee Singh, Sergeant Major of the Army, Singapore Armed Forces:
● "For the leadership development, we in Singapore, we always look at two key areas. First, we allocate lifelong learning...and secondly, we also focus on our professional military education and training for PMD, for the Singapore army, in an instructive and progressive manner."
● "Technology is not about replacing our traditional field training. It is enabled. It helps us to fight better. But the important for NCOs is war fighting skills... We need to go back to basics, make sure the soldiers learn the basics, and they are strong in it."
Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt, USARPAC:
● "Land power is the strategic architecture that binds the fabric of the region. The non commissioned officer's role in the region is vitally important."
● "NCOs have to be flexible and adaptable to the latest technologies, to the latest equipment, to the latest concepts, and they got to integrate that into the into their teams, into their into their squads."
● "If we were to focus more on intangibles, intangibles like good, order, discipline, cohesion, pride, trust, I think if we master the intangibles, somehow that will generate the tangible readiness that our army is required."
Sgt. Maj. Jay Garza Army Futures Command:
● "The modern battle, it's continuing to change, and the expectation for our NCOs is to absolutely be flexible and adaptable to that change. We're gonna win the next fight. It's really going to be the non commissioned officer that is going to win that fight for us."
Warrant Officer Kim Fellingham, Regimental Sergeant Major-Army, Australian Army:
● "In order for us to deter conflict, we need to capitalize on the value proposition of persistence. A powerful demonstration of persistence that occurs every day, occurs through our NCO pool."
● "In today's environment, which is no different than history, soldiers NCOs and our officer corps have got to do what they can with what they've got where they are, because you're never going to have everything you think you need, you are never going to have all the people that you would like."
Q&A Highlights:
● The need to stay true to the basics in the face of new technology. (Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt, USARPAC)
● The importance of having the best data, as well as using data analytics. (Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt, USARPAC)
● Making the most out of existing capabilities. (Warrant Officer Kim Fellingham, Regimental Sergeant Major-Army, Australian Army)
● The need for more open communication and the importance of understanding different types of learners. (Warrant Officer Kim Fellingham, Regimental Sergeant Major-Army, Australian Army, Sgt. Maj. Sanjee Singh, Sergeant Major of the Army, Singapore Armed Forces, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt, USARPAC)
Watch the full panel: