MARCH 25, 2021 1 WWW.WESTPOINT.EDU THE MARCH 25, 2021 VOL. 78, NO. 11 OINTER IEW® DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY PSERVING THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY AND THE COMMUNITY V OF WEST POINT ® West Point hosts historic Army event SEE Page 2 • • (Above photo) Gen. Joseph M. Martin (center), the 37th vice chief of staff of the Army, answers a question from the audience as Acting Under Secretary of the Army Christopher Lowman (left) and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston (right) listen in the background during the U.S. Army’s People First Task Force’s Solarium March 15 at West Point. (Left photo) Soldiers participated in a group presentation during the U.S. Army’s People First Task Force’s Solarium. From March 15-19, the solarium was held to help junior service members from all demographics to communicate with the Army’s senior leaders about fi nding solutions to important issues in the Army. Photos by Sgt. Phillip Tross THE POINTER VIEW GO TO WWW.WESTPOINT. EDU /NEWS INSIDE & ONLINE FOR STORIES AND PDF ARCHIVES. 2 MARCH 25, 2021 NEWS & FEATURES POINTER VIEW Army seeks solutions to critical issues during solarium By Jorge Garcia PV Staff Writer In an eff ort to improve trust and solidarity within the U.S. Army, 100 of the newest junior enlisted and offi cers from all Army components arrived at West Point to address the issues Soldiers from diverse backgrounds go through during the 2021 Headquarters of the Department of the Army’s People First Task Force’s Solarium event from March 15-19 at Eisenhower Hall. Soldiers were split into nine teams, with moderators and subject matter experts, to share their perspectives through open discussions on specifi c problems aff ecting the Army today. Each group was tasked to discover methods to provide senior leaders to adapt policies that infl uence signifi cant change. Subsequently, the nine teams were given three diff erent sets of problems. Three groups, out of the nine teams, fell under one problem set and were tasked with fi nding a solution, Eric Lin, an assistant Soldiers participate in a group discussion at the U.S. Army’s People First Task Force’s Solarium from March 15-19 at professor in the Department of Behavioral West Point. The solarium brought together Soldiers with under two years of service from all demographics to discuss Sciences and Leadership, said. serious issues within the Army, and to help develop solutions to rebuild an Army-wide culture of dignity, trust and respect. “The big problem areas that Soldiers tackled Photos by Spc. Laura Hardin are racism and extremism, which feel like instructors taught a course in the ELDP program team, what these problems mean to them and tasks, the working climate culture, motivation, two separate things, but they are in the same known as ‘hacking for defense’ where students how they would develop solutions.” and individual needs and values. category,” Lin said. “Then you have sexual are given a problem set that is prevalent in the With a background in Social Organizational “This is something I learned intensively assault and harassment (another category), and Army that they need to solve with a limited Psychology, Maj. Audrey Atwell, a tactical throughout the ELDP curriculum and replicating fi nally you have suicide prevention.” amount of time, Lin said. officer at West Point, was the senior leader that process in a real-world scenario has been an Lin and Col. Todd Woodruff , an instructor “There is a methodology that’s developed in in the racism group. The group began, on invaluable experience. I think we will be able and director of the Eisenhower Leader that course and we’re applying it to this event its second day, with trust-building exercises to give senior leaders, who can adapt policies, Development program at West Point, worked because, often, in a working environment, there and developing camaraderie. Afterward, they a clear-cut idea of how to tackle the issue,” together to outline a process the Soldiers would are really messy, unstructured problems, and worked on getting underneath the surface level Atwell said. “As a process manager, I’m simply follow throughout the event, based on the there is not a lot of time to properly solve them,” of racism by defi ning the concept and asking managing the course and keeping the Soldiers on training methods taught in an ELDP course, Lin said. “We’ve adapted this methodology to questions, Atwell said. track. The Soldiers are really doing all the work. enabling Soldiers to create a solution. The two help the participants think more clearly, as a “On the third day, based on what I learned All of these ideas (written on paper all over the through the ELDP course, we decided to use walls) are their thoughts and processes collated an organizational change model known as the into something that’s obtainable and defi nable.” Kurt Lewin Model,” Atwell said. “The model The solutions Soldiers developed and consists of examining external factors within an fi nalized were briefed and recommended to organization. If you don’t examine those external Christopher Lowman, the acting under secretary factors, you’re never going to truly understand of the Army; Gen. Joseph M. Martin, the vice what’s going on behind closed doors. chief of staff of the U.S. Army; and Sgt. Maj. of “We examine strategic factors, which the Army Michael Grinston on Friday, Woodruff comprise of the strategy and mission, coupled said. with leadership and organizational culture,” “The Army cares deeply about these Atwell added. “These are transformational problems. They put tremendous resources changes that occur at the highest level.” into solving these problems — to reducing its Atwell said the model also addresses impact and investing in the welfare and safety the operating factors examined by of Soldiers,” Woodruff said. “However, these are analyzing the organization’s structure, the really challenging problems. In the past, these management practices, and the system’s problems have defi ed our eff orts and pervaded, policies and procedures. Afterward, the not only throughout our military, but through model gets into the individual motivating our society as well. And so, this solarium event Soldiers participate in physical training during the U.S. Army People First Task factors of people and who they are within the is a way to continue our eff ort and combat the Force Solarium at Michie Stadium March 18. organization, including individual skills and corrosive issues that impact our ranks.” 40 Mulberry Street, Middletown, NY 10940 POINTER VIEW ® To subscribe to the Pointer View or The Army civilian enterprise newspaper, the Pointer View, is an authorized publication for members The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not if you have delivery problems, call 845-346-3213. of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Pointer View are not necessarily the offi cial views of, or constitute endorsement of the products or services advertised by the U.S. Army or the Times Herald- Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of the Army or the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Record. Superintendent Vacant The editorial content of the Pointer View is the responsibility of the U.S. Military Academy Public Everything advertised in this pub li ca tion will be made available for purchase, use or pa tron age Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt PV Assistant Editor Affairs Offi ce, Bldg. 600, West Point, New York 10996, (845) 938-2015. with out regard to race, color, re li gion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, phys i cal handi cap, Public Affairs Officer Jorge Garcia The Pointer View is printed weekly by the Times Herald-Record, a pri vate fi rm in no way connect ed po liti cal af fi l i a tion or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or pa tron. Eric S. Bartelt PV Staff Writer, 938-3684 with the De partment of the Army, under ex clu sive con tract with West Point. The Times Herald-Record is If a violation or re jec tion of this equal opportunity policy by an ad ver tis er is confi rmed, the publisher PV Managing Editor, 938-2015 [email protected] responsible for all commercial advertising. will refuse to print ad ver tis ing from that source until the violation has been corrected. [email protected] POINT POINTER VIEW IN FOCUS: FOUNDERS DAY DINNER MARCH 25, 2021 3 One of Army’s first female Rangers speaks during Founders Day dinner By Jorge Garcia PV Staff Writer Eighties and ‘90s nostalgia ran through her mind. Films like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon and G.I. Jane were often featured in the household and she never missed her chance to watch. She remembered the profound impression the films had on her, especially G.I. Jane. Despite her love for G.I. Jane, a young Capt. Kristen Greist, an action officer at Army Talent Management, never would’ve imagined living the reality of the film by becoming one of the first female Soldiers to receive a Ranger tab. “I was stressed out as a child because I thought G.I. Jane was a real story and I didn’t know serving as a Navy Seal was an option,” Greist said. “I panicked — I was like, ‘I’m not ready to become a Navy Seal, and I need to start doing sit-ups right now.’ I was 11 years old at the time, but that’s how strongly I felt.