ARLINGTON, Va. - As a high school teacher, Command Sgt. Maj. Brunk Conley always valued and advocated for what learning can do for people; so much so that the Army National Guard’s senior enlisted advisor recently created a reading and discussion group whose core focus is to grow institutional knowledge.
The group is scheduled to meet the last Friday of each month at the Army National Guard Readiness Center here. Although he doesn’t have a hard timeline in mind for the group, Conley said he wants the group to read and discuss a chapter each month to “share ideas and focus on the evolution of the Army National Guard over time.”
Open to officers, enlisted members and Department of the Army civilians, the group is tackling “I am the Guard: A history of the Army National Guard, 1636-2000” as the first book to analyze.
The first meeting showed the diversity the Guard is known for, as each of the dozen-plus participants had various reasons for participating. One NCO said she lacked the institutional knowledge about the Guard that her husband, who is a Marine, has.
“They teach the Marines so much about the history and tradition of the Corps right from the beginning,” said Staff Sgt. Koreana Aird, budget manager for the ARNG director’s office. “They have that pride in what they represent and I wanted to have that as well.”
Since the group will focus on the Army Guard’s history, Conley believes the group’s members can become the organization’s best possible advocates by building their pride in the Guard.
“As they share the information in the group, the hope is they share it with colleagues,” the sergeant major said. “It should be fun and a way to help make the participants better prepared for current and future assignments.