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Soldiers from the 7th Civil Support Command gathered at the Kaiserslautern Community Activities Center Dec. 6 to welcome the command sergeant major of the Army Reserve.
Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas Jr. participated in a mass re-enlistment ceremony along with Brig. Gen. Arlan M. DeBlieck, commanding general of the 7th CSC and deputy commanding general for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command.
“Today, 13 Soldiers from the 7th CSC re-enlisted,” Thomas said. “It’s important to me, as one of the senior leaders in the Army Reserve, to thank them for their service, thank them for re-enlisting and thank them for being part of our Army Reserve family.”
Asked what it meant to re-enlist today with Brig. Gen. DeBlieck and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas present, Spc. Anthony N. Barnes, human resources specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, said, “It meant a lot to me; it meant everything. It was a very humbling experience for me.”
Immediately after the ceremony, Thomas held a town hall meeting with the 7th CSC Soldiers, whose motto is “An Ocean Closer.”
He spoke about important U.S. Army Reserve information and issues, and then he answered questions from the audience.
“We have the greatest Army in the world, because we have the greatest Army Reserve supporting them,” Thomas said.
Thomas touched on many of the issues facing the Army Reserve today as well as what the future holds for the Army Reserve.
Among the issues discussed were the number of Soldiers in the Reserve and the amount of Soldiers that are re-enlisting or transitioning from the downsizing of the regular Army into the Army Reserve.
“Our retention rates in the Reserve are pretty good for Soldiers who are mid-career and up,” Thomas said. “We’re trying to encourage Soldiers to come back into the Army Reserve and continue their service in the Army.”
Some military occupational specialties will get smaller, and some will get larger, he added.
“(Some) Soldiers may have to change their (military occupational specialty) if they want to stay in the Army as well as the Army Reserve,” Thomas said.
Barnes said he walked away with a ton of information on how Soldiers interact with each other to solve problems and make decisions.
“I’ve learned a lot of how the Army system works in general for both (troop program units) and active-duty Soldiers,” Barnes said.
As for what the future holds for the Reserve, Thomas said change is a constant in life and in the Army Reserve, and the amount of Soldiers will shrink slightly over the next several years.
“We’ll continue to provide life-saving, life-sustaining capabilities no matter how many Soldiers we have in the Army Reserve,” Thomas said. “As we get smaller, what I see is that the Army Reserve will only become more of an integral part of the Army.”
