Army Chief of Staff addresses housing concerns on Fort Carson and future of military training
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- One of the nation's top generals visited Fort Carson to speak with leaders and soldiers about future operations as well as local issues on the post.
General James McConville is the Chief of Staff of the Army and started his tour of the Mountain Post on Tuesday. He says the purpose of this visit was to see how policies are being implemented and get feedback from soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers on what can be improved.
The biggest issue McConville was told about from those living on post is housing. KRDO has previously spoken with military members and their families about mold and water leaks happening at their homes that sometimes take months to fix. A survey done by the Military Family Advisory Network found more than half of all residents surveyed said have experienced similar issues.
"We are very concerned about the quality of life for our soldiers and families,” McConville said Wednesday. "When we talk about people we are talking about giving them the quality of life that's equal to the quality of service so we are investing in housing, we are investing in barracks, we are investing in quality of life initiatives."
McConville also discussed current and future priorities for the Army. He says right now, the biggest threat to the nation is the COVID-19 pandemic. “When you look at the tragedy of the Americans that we lost it rates more than we lost in World War II and so the army is very committed to defeating this domestic threat that we call COVID.”
In February, Fort Carson troops were sent to Los Angeles and Pueblo to help distribute and vaccinate patients.
The future of the Army was also discussed. McConville says they are implementing new technology to help train soldiers.
"We’re taking advantage of the technology that is out there," McConville says. "The ability to train in augmented reality the ability to use a synthetic training environment.” He even discussed a new device that infantrymen will use called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System. he describes it as a heads-up display that will tell them where fellow troops and enemies are to speed up their decision-making.
The general also briefly discussed President Joe Biden's call to remove troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021. General McConville says the military will execute that decision but did not give his view on the matter.