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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) commanding general, addresses Soldiers and Airmen at the Squad Leader Summit held at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Dec. 11, 2023. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommissioned officers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Samantha Powers)
Photo by: Pfc. Samantha Powers
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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Reese Teakell, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) command sergeant major, addresses the Soldiers and Airmen at the Squad Leader Summit held at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Dec. 11, 2023. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommissioned officers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Samantha Powers)
Photo by: Pfc. Samantha Powers
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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Soldiers and U.S. Air Force Airmen attend the annual Squad Leader Summit on Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Dec. 11, 2023. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommissioned officers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Samantha Powers)
Photo by: Pfc. Samantha Powers
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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Brandon Keill, assigned U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), addresses Soldiers and Airmen at the Squad Leader Summit on Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Dec. 11, 2023. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommissioned officers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Samantha Powers)
Photo by: Pfc. Samantha Powers
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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. David Dorr and Sgt. William Cantrell, assigned to 173rd Airborne Brigade, conduct a team physical training excercise during the Squad Leader Summit, Dec. 11, 2023 on Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommisioned officers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kevin J Eros)
Photo by: Spc. Kevin Eros
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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) commanding general, addresses Soldiers and Airmen at the Squad Leader Summit on Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Dec. 11, 2023. The summit is intended to develop and empower junior noncommissioned officiers to become better leaders and build better teams and squads. SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis response options in Africa and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Samantha Powers)
Photo by: Pfc. Samantha Powers
VICENZA, Italy – Current and soon-to-be squad leaders from units across the Vicenza military community (VMC) came together this week to learn the art and science behind building cohesive teams that are trained, disciplined and fit.
The Squad Leader Summit, hosted by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), is a semiannual event held in Vicenza. This iteration, which took place Dec. 11-15, at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, included two members from the 731st Munitions Squadron from Aviano Air Base, as well as squad leaders from 173rd Airborne Brigade, 207th Military Intelligence Brigade and SETAF-AF’s Headquarters Support Company.
The summit, conceived in alignment with the U.S. Army’s ‘This is My Squad’ initiative, is designed to introduce junior noncommissioned officers to the overarching topics of communication, the performance triad, and leadership, while also introducing them to the support systems and resources available in the VMC for their Soldiers and families.
“The squad leader summit is leadership development that is geared specifically towards squad leaders who are the standard of the Army,” says Sgt. Maj. Brandon Keil, “without squad leaders, the Army doesn’t run. It’s an open forum for a diverse group of Soldiers to come together to talk about common problems, challenges, leadership issues, and strategies and techniques to improve.”
The first three days focused on a single topic: communication, the performance triad, and leadership. Using videos, lectures, and breakout group activities, organizers structure the day to guide conversations and foster understanding about these topics.
The last day included subject matter experts on financial readiness, suicide prevention, and the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) and Military Equal Opportunity programs.
“This summit provides cohesion throughout squad leaders, and helps teach us about resources that we can pass down to our Soldiers in times where they need it.“ says Sgt. Logan Riley, with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. “Something I want to take away from this summit is new strategies, direction and motivation back to my squad, and help them achieve their goals.”
Summit attendees also attended Soldier Performance Education for Advanced Readiness and Resilience (SPEAR) training together each morning that focuses on the health and welfare of the warfighter with a focus on injury prevention.
Soldiers learn how to take a bottom-up approach to improve Army culture, emphasizing that change must start at the squad level to implement new Army policies effectively. Leaders intending to build a cohesive, trained, disciplined, and fit squad must first know their soldiers.
“Be engaged. Love your Soldiers. Know your Soldiers,” says U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, commanding general of SETAF-AF, “get to know everything about them. Take care of your Soldiers. We are grateful to you for what you do.”
