Army chief of staff discusses issues during LRMC visit

During a visit with wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., discussed the challenges his Soldiers and their families have successfully faced since 9/11 and explained initiatives underway to help the force – one of them scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program
General Casey said the first element of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, designed to teach Soldiers to become more resilient in five aspects of total fitness – physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family strength – begins this week with an online assessment every Soldier can take in the privacy of their own room.

But CSF doesn’t end there. General Casey said every phase of leadership development training, from basic training to the Army War College, will include progressive instructional courses of CSF to help leaders understand how to build resiliency in themselves and their Soldiers.

The most critical element of CSF is set to begin about this time next year, when General Casey said a master resiliency trainer will be placed in every battalion in the Army.

MRTs are part of a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. About 100 Soldiers have received MRT training at the university, and General Casey said several trainers he has spoken with about the program are excited about taking what they have learned from classroom to battalion.

“These are Soldiers helping Soldiers,” General Casey said. “Every one of them has told me they see the value of the training both in their personal and professional lives.”

The Army Family Covenant
Another quality of life initiative the general covered is the Army Family Covenant that focuses on the following five areas for improving life for Army families:

“We’re making progress along all five lines, and we’re committed to take them to the next level,” General Casey said.

An Army out of balance
General Casey also discussed the effects repeated deployments and the high operations tempo of the past several years have had on Soldiers, their families and the Army as a whole.

“We are so weighed down by our current commitment that we can’t do the things we know we need to do to prepare ourselves to do other things, and to sustain the all-volunteer force for the long haul,” General Casey said.

However, the general said a plan put into place to put the Army back in balance by the end of 2011 is showing good progress.

The four benchmarks for that plan consist of:

Wounded Warriors
During his visit at LRMC, General Casey spent time at the bedside of Soldiers injured in battle and recovering from illnesses that occurred downrange. It is an encounter the general clearly holds special.

“When I look at those remarkable Soldiers, it reminds me of the cost of war and it’s something none of us can ever forget,” General Casey said. “I’m always uplifted by their zeal to return to their unit – that bond and camaraderie that comes through. And to the doctors, nurses and care providers, we can’t thank them enough for what they do.”

(Courtesy of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Public Affairs Office)