Setting the stage for a fight the Army must win, five of the Army’s most senior enlisted leaders provided in-depth briefings on the future battlefields NCOs need to prepare their soldiers for.
Among a host of initiatives to strengthen the NCO corps, the Army is redesigning its physical training uniform, the service’s senior enlisted leader announced Oct. 15 during the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition.
“It’s going to look a little different than what we’ve done in the past. We’re not going to get locked into the same T-shirt,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said, adding that the current uniform “doesn’t represent who we are as warfighters.”
Calling it a “teeny bit of news,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth announced a new monetary benefit for soldiers who go on operational deployments of 60 days or more.
The new benefit, called Operational Deployment Pay, is $240 a month and is effective immediately retroactive to Oct. 1, Wormuth said during a meeting with reporters at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.
The Army’s top leaders launched the Association of the U.S. Army’s Leader Solarium with a briefing on the service’s priorities and encouraged participants to provide feedback about theirs.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George provided the “view from our foxhole,” along with Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer, by addressing recruiting, budgetary constraints and his plan to tackle how the Army processes change.
A little more than a year into the job, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer is filled with a sense of urgency.
This year’s Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition will highlight the Army’s efforts to transform, modernize and restructure for the future fight.
Leaders who genuinely care about their soldiers and take the time to develop them are the ones who build the Army’s most cohesive teams, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said.
“The defining factor of a phenomenal leader versus somebody that can just drive to mission success all the time, I think there’s a caring factor,” said Weimer, who became the 17th sergeant major of the Army on Aug. 4.
Instilling discipline among soldiers requires personal drive and standards that are clearly articulated by the Army, said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer.
The Army will continue to focus on and prioritize quality-of-life programs for soldiers and their families, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said March 20 on Capitol Hill.
“We’re committed to supporting those soldiers and their families, building cohesive teams across the Army and ensuring that we are fostering a safe and professional climate,” Weimer testified before members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies. “This starts with building positive quality of life on multiple fronts.”
The Association of the U.S. Army is releasing two new podcasts in March as part of its “Army Matters” series, including an episode featuring Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer.
In a podcast available March 13, Weimer will talk about the first six months of his tenure as sergeant major of the Army, growing up as an Army brat, his leadership theories and how the Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan influenced one of his favorite training exercises.
A career special operations soldier, Weimer was sworn in last August as the Army’s senior enlisted leader.
