Monday, May. 11, 2009

Adjutant general corps ball goes public

Fort event to put focus on largest — but poorly understood — Army branch

When George Washington took over as general of the Continental Army in June 1775, one of the first things he did was hire a good human resources director to keep track of the troops.

So, two days after the Army was founded, Horatio Gates was appointed adjutant general, becoming the Army’s second commissioned officer after Washington.

“We’re very proud of that,” said Col. Robert Manning, commandant of the Adjutant General School headquartered at Fort Jackson.

Almost 234 years later, the adjutant general corps has evolved into one of the Army’s largest branches. Its 49,400 soldiers keep track of the 1.1 million troops serving in active-duty units, as well as the Reserve and National Guard.

While the role of the adjutant general corps is a fact of life inside the military, few people on the outside are aware that it even exists, or they confuse it with the Judge Advocate Corps, the military’s legal branch.

That will change next month when the Adjutant General’s National Ball at Fort Jackson will be open to the public.

To appreciate the branch’s role, consider that the first soldier a trainee meets when he or she begins processing into the Army at Fort Jackson is a member of the adjutant general corps.

At that very moment, the adjutant general soldier begins a trail of paperwork that will track the trainee’s pay, promotions, awards, assignments, deployments, and any changes in dependents or beneficiaries. It ends when the soldier leaves the Army.

The adjutant general corps, which includes postal clerks and musicians, is responsible for planning, operating and managing all military personnel activities in peacetime as well as war, Manning said.

Keeping track of personnel is crucial, said Manning, 53. “You can’t fight without people.”

Having the correct head count not only impacts combat operations, but it also gives the logisticians an idea of how much gear and supplies need to be ordered and shipped to support the fight, Manning said.

But keeping track of people is a monumental challenge for an Army fighting two wars.

Most troops are either in Iraq or Afghanistan, heading back home or deploying to the combat zone.

“We’re basically an expeditionary Army today,” Manning said. “There are literally thousands of soldiers flowing through the gateway base in Kuwait and into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.”

In his job, Manning is director of the adjutant general training program that will produce about 8,000 enlisted soldiers and officers this year.

“You get to see where you really do make a difference for the soldiers,” said Victor Palmer, a retired master sergeant and chief of the personal affairs section at Fort Jackson’s 120th Reception Battalion, where trainees begin processing into the Army.

Sgt. 1st Class Lillie Brown, a 23-year veteran, helps incoming soldiers navigate DEERS, which stands for Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.

While soldiers are automatically enrolled in DEERS, they need to register dependents for the military’s health insurance program.

One by one the soldiers sit at Brown’s desk and watch her carefully double-check the forms they’ve filled out.

A mistake in entering information into the DEERS database can lead to hassles when making a health insurance claim, Brown said.

“Being a single mom who has raised four kids in the Army, I know providing the right information is important,” said Brown, a native of Carlisle, Pa.

Sgt. Anthony Williams, a five-year Army veteran, said he likes his job because “you do a bunch of different stuff.”

But Williams, who deployed to Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division, said his job is done differently at Fort Jackson than in other units.

“Here, everything is strictly by the book because that’s the way you want the soldiers out there in the Army to understand the regulations,” said Williams, a Cincinnati native. “But when you get to the other units, a lot of things are more flexible as far as what you’re going to do throughout the day. Here, it’s the same thing every day.”

To raise its profile, the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association is opening its annual ball on June 5 to the public.

The association is a private, nonprofit organization that supports soldiers, retirees and civilians who are members of the adjutant general corps.

Manning, who’s also chief of Army Bands, booked the Strolling Strings to provide music for the ball, which will be held at the Fort Jackson NCO Club.

The musicians, who are soldiers, are part of the Army Strings, a 20-member ensemble that performs at the White House, U.S. Capitol, Pentagon and Supreme Court. Its audiences have included every president since Dwight Eisenhower, as well as kings, queens and other heads of state.

Members of the Strolling Strings walk through the room and play a variety of music from classical to bluegrass.

“We want to celebrate our corps, and reach out and tell our story,” Manning said.

Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. Click here to subscribe.