NCO gains insights from garrison leaders meeting in Vicenza

VICENZA, Italy - When garrison leaders converged for top-level discussions recently at U.S. Army Garrison Italy, among them was Staff Sgt. Yadira Aspeitia, the Installation Management Command - Europe noncommissioned officer of the year.

The Garrison Leaders Working Group is a semi-annual IMCOM-E event that brings together U.S. Army commanders, senior enlisted advisors and civilian deputies from across Europe to share experiences and best practices.

Aspeitia, from USAG Bavaria, took notes when the outgoing command teams shared their garrison lessons learned. She found that command teams and Soldiers aren't so different in their thinking, she said.

"They are thinking about the same things we are concerned about, it's just that we don't always get to see it," Aspeitia said. "They described what their command time was like and what they learned and what they accomplished, and they had really great quotes as leaders and for people who might be leaders in the future such as, "don't sacrifice your long-term for a short-term solution".

With garrison commanders typically serving assignments of two years, institutional knowledge must be routinely passed on and not lost. At USAG Italy, it also offered leaders a chance to see firsthand some innovative projects in the community.

"Here in Italy, there are a lot of great things happening with Army Family Housing, our MWR special events, our DODEA schools and some tremendously talented employees who make this community special," said Col. Scott Horrigan, the commander of USAG Italy. "It's an honor to host this year's GLWG and showcase our community and how the garrison supports the community by providing infrastructure and services."

Caserma Ederle's Golden Lion conference center offered a location for the team building experience to share lessons learned. Mr. Tommy Mize, the Installation Management Command-Europe Director, said the goal is to build the team to become more efficient and effective in supporting U.S. Army Europe and Africa through the services of the all the garrisons Europe-wide.

"Everything we do at these working groups is meant to build a team, from the social events to the PT sessions and the activities we do," Mize said. "Even the breaks we take are designed to allow better connections between garrison command teams."

This included dodgeball, one of Mize's favorite games, to encourage team building in a less structured way.

"This is a great time building camaraderie with all the other garrison teams across Europe," said Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Wrensch, the senior enlisted leader for USAG Rheinland-Pfalz. "We're separated by distance of in some cases of 10 hours, while the interactions by phone or Teams accomplish work, but interactions like this down here are much more meaningful, and helping the team build that camaraderie face to face, share hardships and have a little fun while were doing it."

The GLWG is hosted at a different garrison each spring. IMCOM-E headquarters hosts it in Wiesbaden, Germany in the fall. This gives the eight garrisons under IMCOM-E a chance to see how other locations handle challenges.

While each garrison is unique, there are similarities, said Col. Kevin Poole, the commander of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.

"From walking through the installation here in Vicenza and seeing the ways of doing things, there are some ideas that I'm going to take back," Poole said. "It's a wonderful opportunity and a great time, USAG Italy is an awesome place to be."

For Aspeitia, who is working on a master's degree, an Army commission is on the horizon, she said. Exposure to leaders in the environment gives her knowledge to apply to her future. She plans to commission as an officer and will take what she saw at this GLWG and apply it to her future.

"If it all works out for me, then maybe one day I'll be in that seat too," she said.

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