Army Senior Leaders Discuss Concerns of Soldiers, Families

As Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer travel the globe, they meet with young soldiers and installation leaders to hear their concerns and then try to address them.

It's part of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's top Defense Department priority: taking care of people. As such, these troop and family visits are conducted by all of the military service senior leaders with concerns and solutions being similar throughout the department.

The Army senior leaders spoke yesterday of troops' top concerns at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting and exposition in Washington.

"We do have an obligation to every soldier and their families, and a big part of that obligation, I think, is making sure that we are giving you all the quality of life that you need to thrive and to sustain you and to prepare you for the rigors of Army life," said Wormuth.

The Army has put a lot of effort and resources in trying to make improvements to quality-of-life programs, such as barracks, Army-owned family housing, privatized housing, facilities, child care centers, spouse employment, transition assistance, pay and the exceptional family member program, she said.

"We know we don't have everything right. There are absolutely things that are still not working the way that we'd like them to," Wormouth said.

George said each installation has unique challenges so he, Wormuth and Weimer empower local solutions and allow commanders flexibility, rather than direct them from the top.

"It's not really about how much money you spend - and we spend a lot of money on this and it's worth it for our soldiers and families - but we want to make sure that we're actually targeting it to the right kind of things, to the people where they really need it. And I think that that's our big focus," George said.