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Commander lays out goals for CGSC

By Staff | Jun 13, 2008

Kevin Anderson

Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV (left) leads a press conference Thursday with some of the CGSG graduates following the badge ceremony at Fort Leavenworth.

? The commander of Fort Leavenworth has laid out his three goals for the future of the Command and General Staff College.

Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, speaking to the media after a ceremony Thursday, said the first goal he established since becoming commanding general of the Combined Arms Center and commandant of the college in 2007, was to continue work on leadership development. He said developing leaders was why officers come to the college in the first place, making it the most critical issue when training the future officers of the U.S. Army.

His second goal is to give more stress to interagency cooperation throughout all military operations. The number of interagency students will increase from four in this year’s class to 12-18 next year. Caldwell added that focusing on international relations isn’t enough if the partnerships within the U.S. government aren’t stronger.

The third goal involves strategic communication and the need for military officers to share their stories with the public. In August, Caldwell will begin a program that will require students to participate in a media engagement, a public engagement and write regular blogs on the Internet. At the end of all three, the students will write a paper or editorial to submit for publication.

“They need to get more comfortable and understand the world is so small and everyone is connected today,” he said.

During the news conference, Caldwell answered a question about the fall election season and the concerns officers at the fort may be experiencing. He said that regardless of which political party comes into power, everyone is aware that changes will occur.

Caldwell said both John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, have expressed interest in making changes to military operations.

“What’s great about the military is that whoever is commander-in-chief, we’re ready to serve,” Caldwell said. “It really is irrelevant to us in terms of what political party because ultimately we serve the Constitution of the United States.”

He said relishes and respects the fact that America has “such a great party system that allows for diverse debate to occur.” He added that the American military would be ready to serve no matter what and continue to support and uphold the Constitution.