AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast

The 16th Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Michael A. Grinston joins host SMA (Retired) Ken Preston, VP, NCO & Soldier Programs, AUSA, giving us insight into his personality, leadership style and people-first goals for his time as the Army’s top NCO. They cover the Army Combat Fitness Test, building squad pride, measuring Soldier lethality, improving nutrition at DFAC and making sure Soldiers and their families have a great place to live. Plan for hands-on leadership; this family-man even ran the Army Ten-Miler with his wife this October.
 
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
16th SMA Web: https://www.army.mil/leaders/sma/
Army Combat Fitness Test: https://www.army.mil/acft/
Twitter: @16thSMA
Instagram: @16th_sma
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Joe Craig, Director of AUSA’s Book Program, speaks with author James M. Fenelon about his book Four Hours of Fury: The Untold Story of World War II’s Largest Airborne Invasion and the Final Push into Nazi Germany. It follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations. Fenelon, a paratrooper-turned-historian, served in the military for over a decade, is a regular contributor to World War II magazine and has been published in Britain’s FlyPast magazine. His knowledge of military history also makes him a sought after technical advisor for video games, screenplays, and documentary creation.
 
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources:
Web: https://www.jamesfenelon.com/
Twitter: @jamesfenelon
Facebook: @jamesmfenelon
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Guest host Thea Green, Program Manager for AUSA’s Family Readiness, welcomes Debbie Nichols, Founder & CEO of the Military Childrens Collaborative Group (MCCG). Debbie shares how she became involved with the military children’s community via her own daughter’s deployment, and how she established MCCG as a support system for children impacted by deployment. One of MCCG’s recent projects is the launch of the MilTeenChat app, designed to help military teens gain coping skills, socially connect with other military teens, offer peer-to-peer support, and empower them with information they can share with those unfamiliar with a military lifestyle.
 
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources Mentioned for Military Childrens Collaborative Group:
Website: https://militarychildrenscollaborativegroup.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/military-childrens-collaborative-group/
Facebook: @MilitaryChildrensCollaborativeGroup
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Nzinga A. Curry, Director of the Institute of Land Warfare at AUSA, along with co-host LTC Eugene Irby, AUSA's U.S. Army Fellow, revisit the topic of Talent Management as a follow-up to Army Matters' 23 September interview with MG JP McGee on the topic. A group of Army Talent Management Task Force (ATMTF) experts, LTC Lucas Hightower, LTC Cayton Johnson, MAJ Greg Lockhart and MAJ Maria Hough, provide a deep dive into talent management initiatives, including assessments like the GRE, brevet and merit-based promotions, the Battalion Commanders Assessment Pilot (BCAP), and the new Army Talent Management Process (ATAP).
Talent Management Part 1 with MG JP McGee, Director, ATMTF: https://podcast.ausa.org/e/thought-leaders-talent-management-part-1/
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources MentionedArmy Talent Management: https://talent.army.mil/
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Co-hosts Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Ken Preston and Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Troy Welch, both of AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs, discuss how aspiring leaders can become effective mentors. They cover defining your mentorship style, sharing information and being open to learning from others who have the hands-on experience needed – no matter their age or rank. Practical advice on developing a mentor/mentee relationship, career planning, and work/home life balance round out the conversation.
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org. 
SMA(R) Preston Book Recommendation: Hero of Bataan: The Story of General Jonathan M. Wainright by Duane Schultz
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Colonel (Retired) Daniel Roper, host of this special edition of Army Matters, interviews LTG Eric Wesley, Deputy Commanding General, Futures and Concepts Center (FCC), United States Army Futures Command (AFC). They discuss how the Army is undergoing its most fundamental change in 40 years in response to the re-emergence of long-term strategic competition with Russia and China. The Army’s December 2018 operations concept, “The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028,” describes how the U.S. Army, with its Joint and Allied partners, will compete with and if necessary fight and defeat its adversaries. LTG Wesley describes how the US military and its allies will overcome the problem of layered standoff and anti-access area denial (A2AD) capabilities by: competing below the threshold of armed conflict; penetrating and dis-integrating enemy stand-off; exploiting the resultant freedom of maneuver; and returning to competition on favorable terms.  He also discusses the U.S. Army’s expectations of its joint and allied partners with respect to MDO, particularly focusing on how to best leverage unique allied capabilities both in competition and conflict.  
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources mentioned:
Army Futures and Concepts Center: https://futuresconcepts.army.mil/
Social Media:
@EricWesleyArmy
@AdaptingtheArmy
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Colonel (Retired) Daniel Roper, host of Thought Leaders, interviews MG JP McGee, Director of the Army Talent Management Task Force. Their discussion addresses the security environment characterized by the 2018 U.S. National Defense Strategy and its implications for how the Army must manage its most important asset – its people. MG McGee describes the profound changes the Army is making to its industrial-age personnel system to best leverage the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and preferences of its officers and its noncommissioned officers. This initiative is foundational to the everything that the Army is doing in terms of modernization including Multi-Domain Operations, Army Futures Command, and Talent Management. Ultimately, Talent Management will give the U.S. Army a decisive advantage against near-peer adversaries by maximizing the potential of its people. 
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources mentioned:
Army Talent Management: https://talent.army.mil/
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness at AUSA, speaks with George W., a retired U.S. Army officer and A.A. member. He serves on the Alcoholics Anonymous trustees' Committee for Cooperation with the Professional Community, where he works to carry the A.A. message to the armed forces and veterans communities. George shares his personal story, explains the steps to help a loved one dealing with alcohol addiction and specifically focuses on how service members can find help with A.A.
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources mentioned:
Alcoholics Anonymous: https://www.aa.org/
Al-Anon – Support For Family and Friends
Web: https://al-anon.org/
Facebook: @AlAnonFamilyGroupsWSO
Twitter: @AlAnon_WSO
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/al-anon-wso/
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Nzinga A. Curry, Director of the Institute of Land Warfare at AUSA, along with guest co-host Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness at AUSA, sat down at Fort Hood with a few members of the Black Jack Brigade to discuss their upcoming deployment to Poland in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR). Our guests were COL Jeremy Wilson, 2nd Armor Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, CSM Kevin Schuller, 1st Battalion 5th Calvary Regiment Command Sergeant Major, and Mrs. Amie Yazzie, spouse of the Brigade Command Sergeant Major. They provided insight on the brigade’s #1 priority – Readiness – which includes four pillars: Personnel, Training, Sustainment and Soldiers & Family. AUSA’s visit to Fort Hood is the result of AUSA adopting the 2nd Armor Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division with the goal of providing a supporting relationship before, during and after their deployment.
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Black Jack Brigade Social Media
Facebook @black.jack.brigade.1cdTwitter: @1stCav2bct 

Co-hosts Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Ken Preston and Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Troy Welch, both of AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs, tackle how standards inform discipline to make the U.S. Army the world’s premiere fighting force. To grow leaders in the Army, we first teach them with standards – what to think – and later introduce discipline – how to think. Commanders decide the standards, and NCOs enforce them, showing a commitment to policies and procedures that keeps Soldiers alive and mission-focused.
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.