ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Soldiers whose commanders communicated well during the pandemic were less likely to experience anxiety or loneliness, and more likely to practice good habits to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to a new survey.

“[COVID-19] really just reaffirmed what we already knew—that commanders who communicate effectively reduce stress within their organizations,” Lt. Col. Sam Preston, chief of the behavioral health division in the Office of the Surgeon General and psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general, said May 6 during an interview.

Efforts to prevent sexual assault and harassment in the Army have fallen short, but changes are being made on several fronts, a senior official said.

“We are just not where we need to be with the program,” said James Helis, director of the Army Resilience Directorate. The December release of an independent review of the climate at Fort Hood, Texas, “caused us to take a hard look in the mirror at ourselves and our program.”

The director of the Army Resilience Directorate will speak April 8 during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Thought Leaders webinar.

James Helis, who has been in the job since March 2019, will discuss the Army’s efforts to prevent sexual assault and harassment in the ranks. He also will talk about how the Army works to provide professional, compassionate and comprehensive care and support to members of the Army team when sexual harassment or assault incidents occur.

It is often said that generals like to refight the last war, but Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said that isn’t true for him. 

“What we are trying to do in the Army today is fight the next fight,” he said during a March 25 seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution. 

The Army needs to plan for the worst while hoping for the best, said McConville, a Quincy, Massachusetts, native who is serving as the 40th chief of staff at a time when transformation is the big push. 

Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson has been nominated to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command and for appointment to four-star general, the Pentagon has announced.

If confirmed by the Senate, Richardson, who commands U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, would be the first woman to lead the Florida-based combatant command and the second Army woman to reach the four-star rank. The first was Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who attained the four-star rank in 2008. She retired in 2012 after a 38-year career.

A stand-down at West Point to focus on the issue of extremism will take place in late March as part of a series of initiatives intent on building a stronger culture of character, diversity acceptance and communication, the academy’s top leader said.

In virtual testimony March 2 before the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on defense, Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, gave an overview of the academy’s activities along with the leaders of the other service academies.