VICTORY THEN! VICTORY ALWAYS!

After almost two years in command, I finally approved a Division motto for us to use.

After receiving numerous ideas from the PAO and submitting them to the HHC for voting, the victory was Victory Then! Victory Always! – a very appropriate motto for a Division that is very in tune with its history and the victories those Ironmen of Metz achieved during World War II but also appropriate for a Division that looks to the present and the future for more victories, albeit maybe not on a battlefield.

As I’m sitting here watching the 2022 Army–Navy game, what does victory mean in the present and future? It could mean beating the Navy – to be determined in a bit more than three quarters but absolutely a victory that counts. But what victory means to me in the present as the Commander of this Division is pretty simple. Are we accomplishing our mission, and are we taking care of people? The 95th Training Division has not failed to accomplish any of the missions that we have been assigned. We send drill sergeants to Fort Sill, Fort Leonard Wood, and Fort Benning every year. All the commanders at those locations always tell CSM and me that they could not accomplish their BCT missions without us. Ok, so we “win” at accomplishing our mission.

Do we “win” at taking care of people? This past summer, we instituted a New Leader Symposium for all new battalion and brigade leaders to integrate them properly into the 95th Training Division. We believe this effort put these leaders in a better position to lead their units to accomplish the mission. We are deep into preparing for our Division Symposium, where we will bring in brigade and battalion leadership to discuss USARC, command, and division priorities and make sure everyone is moving in the right direction. These two training events are two high-level ways we begin to take care of people.

We take care of people by constantly reminding them of USAR priorities: recruiting, promotions, and PME. We show them what right looks like; we give them tools to help with recruiting, such as SRRI. We ensure that junior promotion boards are being held. We ensure they understand what it takes to get into PME.

We take care of people by holding family day activities and prayer breakfasts and providing them with resources to take care of their families and themselves – both personally and spiritually – regardless of how a Soldier may define his or her spiritual health. We take care of people by listening to them and their stories.

We take care of people by hosting two annual retirement ceremonies to honor their service and their voluntary sacrifices. This also gives us the opportunity to recognize their families that stood behind them and let their Soldiers serve the Army proudly. We take care of people by giving them the proper honors they deserve as Army veterans.

We take care of people by evaluating them fairly and by rewarding them for a job well done. But we also care for people by holding them to the standards and ensuring they uphold all Army standards. We take care of people by ensuring that we have good