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Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler addressed members of the KMC during a town hall meeting March 8 at the Galaxy Theater on Vogelweh.
Chandler held the town hall meeting to address key issues that affect Soldiers and the future of the Army, as well as answer questions from those in attendance.
“I’ve only got about five things that I really want to talk about today that are general issues of concern with senior Army leaders,” Chandler said.
Those topics were changes in the Army Combat Uniform, the Army drawdown, the Army profession, structured self development and family programs. He focused heavily on the Army drawdown.
“What I need you to be aware of is that the drawdown is a deliberate, planned process that will draw the Army down about 10,000 to 15,000 Soldiers per year over the next six years,” he said. “Some of you were in the Army back in the ‘90s when we had to draw the Army down from 780,000 to 480,000 Soldiers. We are not going to repeat the same mistakes that we had last time by asking people who are really some of our best and brightest to leave the service.
“We want to stay focused on those non-performers in our formations that should not be offered the privilege of continued service in our Army,” Chandler continued.
Chandler also spoke in-depth about sexual harassment and assault response and prevention.
“Sexual harassment and assault are counter to our professionalism. They don’t equal one another. If there is something in our Army that we should have a zero mentality on, it should be assaults and harassment against our own,” Chandler said.
Spc. Angel Hunter, a paralegal specialist with the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, thought the SMA visiting Kaiserslauern was a good idea since there are a lot of changes occurring in the military.
“He made some clarifications about certain issues and, if we had questions, we could just ask in person instead of reading it in a newspaper,” Hunter said. “We had the opportunity to personally hear it from the horse’s mouth.
“Basically, the Army is an organization and we are supposed to be professionals, and the SMA is trying to make sure that the top-notch Soldiers are here to serve as professionals to make sure we are keeping the best of the best, and honestly it should be like that,” Hunter continued.
After Chandler provided his perspective on today’s Army, he addressed questions from audience members on subjects such as family programs, the future of the military, medical profiles, future training opportunities and more during a question and answer session.
At the conclusion of the town hall, Chandler acknowledged approximately 40 Soldiers for their accomplishments in their units by presenting them with his coin.
During the SMA’s trip to the KMC, he also visited with some of the wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and met with senior enlisted Army leaders in the area.
“I feel like the SMA coming today is a great experience. I agree with his views and feel that the Army is headed in the right direction,” said Staff Sgt. Randi Carroll, a chaplain assistant with the 21st TSC chaplain’s office.
