By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
Office of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 27, 2014 - Two senior enlisted leaders finished a weeklong command visit across California Oct. 25, a tour that included stops at more than 30 individual bases and facilities covering all service branches.
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Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Command Sgt. Maj. William Clark Jr., senior enlisted advisor to the California adjutant general, began their tour Oct. 19 in Sacramento.
The tour included town hall meetings, facility tours and meetings with various organizations to discuss topics such as resilience, transition and veteran care.
Because this tour was so extensive, Battaglia said, he invited Clark to join him. This allowed Clark the opportunity to make additional contacts, he added, and to share his vast experiences to other elements of the DoD, interagency and municipalities throughout the state.
"The California National Guard touches every part of the state," Battaglia said. "We can never go short on relationship building and collaboration between all of the DoD entities and beyond. Having Command Sergeant Major Clark with me allowed me to introduce him to some of his peers and others that he and the [adjutant general] may need during state response situations and natural disasters."
Potential impact on future training
One of Clark's takeaways potentially could have an enormous and long-lasting impact on the training of the California National Guard. The two visited the Marine Corps' Infantry Immersive Trainer at Camp Pendleton, a training facility for hands-on practical application of tactical skills and decision making in an immersive, scenario-based training environment.
"I've never seen anything like it on any of the bases we've sent our soldiers to train at," Clark said. "Now I know it's available for Guardsmen and reservists to go through the training in preparation to execute their mission."
Six of the stops on the tour were directly aimed at seeing more about resilience, transition and veteran care programs. They included engagements at family readiness centers, Veterans Affairs facilities and the University of Southern California's School of Social Work.
After the pair visited the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System, Clark said he could tell the staff care and are concerned about serving and supporting the veteran community well.
"[The staff] is reaching out and want to make a difference," he said. "They know they don't have all the answers, but they're willing to hear from veterans and take their feedback and make adjustments in their programs if that's going to help improve the care of veterans today."
Addressing veteran homelessness
During their visit to the U.S. Veterans -- the nation's largest nonprofit provider of comprehensive services to homeless and at-risk veterans the enlisted leaders met with two young, veterans who fell on hard times and are now starting to rebound. Clark said their stories were touching and sad, and that the conversation personalized some of the challenges leaders face.
"To combat this homeless challenge, our senior leaders are going to have to make decisions when it comes to resources," he said. "How much resource are we going to be able to push toward any of the issues that the armed forces face today? It's going to take prioritizing and sacrificing on the part of service members and retirees."
Battaglia has emphasized the need for strong and sustained transition programs that provide service members the tools they need to succeed and thrive within the civilian sector as another way to help prevent homelessness and joblessness within the veteran community. The importance of these programs has driven him across the country, he said, to root out best practices he can share with others organizations.
While the programs he saw in California weren't necessarily different from others he's seen, Battaglia said, such programs are not meant to be identical. But two elements of Camp Pendleton's transition program made an impression, he said.
"Their transition program, their TAPS GPS, allowed me to see how much resiliency is embedded into their curriculum, and that made me very satisfied." he said. "Transition is a family affair, it's a very significant turning point in one's military lifecycle, and resiliency plays a key role.
"The other is the effective internship program with welding and Microsoft that provides service members with a credential [or] license, and likely a job, as their enlistment comes to a close," he continued. "It's two key takeaways I plan to bring back with me to D.C."
Various engagements
The tour included many other engagements allowing an opportunity to hear directly from service members, DoD civilians and families.
"The town halls and unit visits were an opportunity to allow service members, across all of the military service branches, to tell me about their jobs and learn more about their capabilities," Battaglia said. "As important, it allowed me to take feedback and input from them on issues they are facing out here."
Battaglia said his message to the troops is consistent and simple: "Stay fit, stay strong and stay resilient."
The tour concluded with a visit to Coast Guard Sector San Diego to learn about the unit's responsibilities and mission to protect our nation's border, its coastline and the American people.
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