As noted in the Chairman’s Joint Education White Paper (dated July 16, 2012), we belong not only to a Profession of Arms, but also to a learning institution. Continued education allows us to become more proficient, more valued, and more relevant in our roles and responsibilities as senior noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and petty officers (POs)

The Chairman’s letter to the joint force has been published for some time now, and in that letter he addresses four priorities. Since these are his priorities, they are also our priorities. At this point, we should be familiar with them, but just in case, we are to “Achieve Our National Objectives in Current Conflict, Develop Joint Force 2020, Renew Our Commitment to the Profession of Arms, and Keep Faith with Our Military Family.”

In the last issue of JFQ, I provided some thoughts and observations on the ebb and flow of the bands of readiness (individual and unit). It described some differences with soldiering in a predominantly garrison environment compared to a decade of military life in a back-and-forth deployed or combat/field setting—a lifestyle and environment that a large majority of our force has been shouldering since the winter of 2001. It is no secret that our enduring deployment cycle and focus on current conflicts have caused some degradation and receding of core competencies and skill sets, impacting traditional roles, missions, and even methods of operating. Said another way, the heavy emphasis on prepping for the next deployment has provided misalignment to some of the simple tenets of soldiering and survival in an otherwise extended garrison or unit setting