Warfighter Conference ends with eye toward leadership

The Maneuver Warfighter Conference concluded Thursday at Fort Benning with Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, saying it had been a positive three days.

More than 2,000 soldiers at McGinnis-Wickam Hall and others watching online from a video stream heard some of the top Army generals talk about being smart, fast, lethal and precise. It was a message that Miller asked the speakers to consider when giving their remarks.

"This is something that we are working internally," Miller said. "Interestingly enough, there are several interpretations of smart, fast, lethal, precise. At the end, this conference and the work groups help us work through our maneuver movement concept."

Miller said the focus on smart, fast, lethal and precise created meaningful conversation.

"Great, you are fast. I think it was Maj. Gen. Joe Martin who said if you don't understand before you become fast, you can run in the wrong direction much faster," he said.

Those at the conference heard from Army leaders including Gen. Robert B. "Abe" Abrams, who recently took over the U.S. Army Forces Command; Gen. David Perkins, leader of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; and Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Thursday's conference wrapped up with several generals from various installations and forces continuing to focus on leadership and training.

Having two-star, three-star and four-star generals on post is beneficial, Miller said.

"By popular demand many of the leaders came onboard and said we wanted to speak at the Warfighter Conference," Miller said.

Abrams said Tuesday he had not addressed the conference in recent years and thought it was important to put it on his schedule.

Miller recognized the importance of senior leadership in positions on a post.

"That's a great boost," he said. "The biggest advantage is it lets our young leaders interact with senior leaders. They get to see me all the time. They get to see Pete Jones, the chief of Infantry; (Armor Brig Gen.) Scott McKean, Tim Metheny, our command sergeant major. They are not going to see Gen. Perkins every day."

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Warfighter Conference ends with eye toward leadership."