The U.S. Army Engineer Regiment held its annual ENFORCE Conference last week, splitting time between St. Louis, Mo., and the home of the regiment, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tag along for the week with Dr. Bob Wolff, SAME Executive Director, who was invited to lead one of six workgroups comprising a study examining the technical competency of the Army’s engineer leaders.
Dr. Wolff was tasked with coordinating the Strategic Communications workgroup, which assessed how the Army Engineer Regiment communicates with audiences both internal and external, and sought to create a list of findings and recommendations for improvement that were presented on Friday to Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, P.E., USA, Chief of Engineers. Though the point of the study was not to create new Army doctrine, the recommendations formulated by the six groups will be reviewed and taken under advisement as the regiment positions itself for the future.
The workgroup system utilized at ENFORCE engendered countless great ideas, and judging by their statements at the conclusion of Friday’s backbrief, both Gen. Van Antwerp and Brig. Gen. Gregg Martin, USA, Commandant of the Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, seemed thrilled with the results and excited about the future of the regiment.
Though the recommendations are still under development and review, the members of the Strategic Communications workgroup, which included retired, active duty, Reserve and Guard, enlisted and officer, and civilian individuals, generally agreed that leveraging existing communications and outreach architectures will be the most efficient and effective method to modernizing the Army’s communications strategy. An increased emphasis on outreach efforts to college and high-school engineering students is likely, as well as a renewed effort to utilize 21st century resources such as updated Web sites, blogs, amateur video, etc.
Overall, my first trip to ENFORCE was an enlightening and profoundly educational experience, and one that I hope to repeat. Moving forward, I would be surprised if many of the outstanding insights offered through the Engineer Leader Technical Competency Study were not put to use in the future. A dedication to perpetual improvement is a trait of any great organization, and it should come as no surprise that the Army Engineer Regiment, as usual, is right on target.