JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command, hosted the Army Reserve’s Yearly Training Brief at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst May 4-7.
The YTB’s purpose was to give Army Reserve unit command teams an opportunity to update their higher headquarters on their units’ status, and to discuss future plans to improve readiness and other aspects of the individual units.
“Staying focused on an agile strategy, employing fact-based analytics, and pushing forward with what works is how we move the needle,” Daniels said to the 1- and 2-star command teams attending the YTB in reference to the Army Reserve’s continued success in the future. “Attracting high-quality candidates requires changes, increased awareness and community engagement – what can we do to make the process better?”
Today’s Army Reserve is building the Army Reserve of 2030 by changing the way it organizes, equips and fights, developing cutting-edge formations to conduct multi-domain operations on the battlefields of today and tomorrow. These goals cannot be achieved without quality people, who are the Army Reserve’s number-one asset, and its greatest strength and strategic advantage.
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“Recruiting and retention is super-important,” Daniels said. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, working to change policies that allow us to get ahead of recruiting and retention challenges; the team has worked hard identifying issues and submitting solutions.”
Daniels is an advocate for culture change in the Army Reserve, shifting away from an overreliance on metrics and moving toward achieving measurable readiness.
“Our best leaders never rank subordinates based solely on their metrics,” Daniels explained. “This hyper-focus on achieving all green metrics is distracting from what really matters: recruiting, developing, and retaining cohesive teams and units that are highly trained, disciplined, and fit to accomplish their wartime mission.”
Readiness is key because the Army Reserve provides critical skills and depth for the Army, the Joint Force, and the nation. The Army Reserve is aligned as part of the Total Army’s effort to prepare for future multi-domain operations, spanning the spectrum from information warfare to protection capabilities.
More information about Daniels’ thoughts on culture change and readiness can be found in the full Changing Culture report.
This article was written by Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris and originally appeared on DVIDS.
