Albany, Ga. -- The commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command hosted a Leadership Conference here Aug. 2-5 to provide guidance and intent to his commanders and staff, as well as introduce and discuss pressing operational and programmatic issues facing the command.
Maj. Gen. Charles L. Hudson, commanding general, Logistics Command, opened the conference with his goals and Logistics Command’s focus.
“Our focus of effort, whether we’re working supply issues, maintenance issues, distribution issues or conducting normal day-to-day business, is the private first class or lance corporal walking point in Helmand Province (and it) doesn’t matter what the military occupational specialty is,” Hudson said. “Taking care of people will enable us to (accomplish the mission).”
He praised the efforts of the Logistics Command team for the past year and a half, which Hudson stressed, must continue.
“Marines’ and sailors’ lives are on the line each and every day,” Hudson said. “Having been on the receiving end of this command’s support for a year, I will tell you the efforts you have had ongoing for the last 18 months have been truly phenomenal.”
Hudson cited his commander’s intent and what Logistics Command needs to do over the next couple of years.
As the organization’s new commanding general, he noted that all standing orders and directives as well as two primary documents, Marine Corps Logistics Command Alignment and Integration Strategic Plan signed last February and Marine Corps Logistics Command Guidance, an unclassified message from June 2003, remain in effect.
The commanding general also encouraged the conference participants to read Logistics Command’s mission statement from time to time.
Commanders and key staff from Logistics Command attended the conference, which also focused on the future for each of the organization’s entities. Several higher headquarters representatives also attended the conference as guests of the commanding general.
Michael T. Madden, executive deputy, Logistics Command, described the conference as way for all of Logistics Command’s components to understand the organization’s broad missions as well as help plan its future.
“We’ve got a lot of new people in leadership positions in the command and it’s an opportunity for them to hear what the commanding general’s intent is and what is important to the commanding general,” he said. “I think it allows us very early to all come to the right alignment so we’re executing the mission that the commanding general sees as important.
“I think the more the people understand the broad mission of Logistics Command, how we’re financed, the commanding general’s direction and intent to get everybody pulling on the rope in the same direction then (we) can start looking at how (we’re) going to respond to the future,” Madden continued. “There are a lot of things going today and in the future and the question is how do you respond as an organization to that change? Cleary you can sit and wait and do nothing and be taken over by events or you can plot your own course. I think what we’re trying to do here is plot our way ahead and respond to everything we see so we best position ourselves to serve the Marine Corps.”
During the conference, commanders and their spouses participated in command team training during a round table discussion conducted by Kelley Hall, family readiness trainer, Marine Corps Community Services, and Heidi Watkins, family readiness officer, Logistics Command. The group discussed ways to improve family readiness and meet the needs of Marines, sailors and their families, whether the service members are deployed or not.