Battaglia talks top military issues at Scott

by Airman 1st Class Megan Friedl
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

4/2/2014 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The most senior NCO in the armed forces visited Scott Air Force Base March 28 to talk to Team Scott about important issues they are faced with in today's military.

Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia discussed a multitude of subjects at the all-call.

He began his discussion speaking about the book, "The Noncommissioned Officer and Petty Officer: The Backbone of the Armed Forces."

The free book, which can be found at www.dtic.mil, is geared toward NCOs to provide insight and direction when supervising members of any branch of service.
He also discussed the new Transition Assistance Program for veterans.

He said, "The most common reason that servicemembers separate from the military is that they want to go back to school. What we expected is that those people would be earning a degree from that, but we're finding out that many are dropping out." TAP readjusted the focus to help people stay in school.

He said there also seems to be a rise in veterans pursuing the route of self-employment or re-entering the work force. TAP is providing resources for them to reach success.

He ended his portion of discussion by stating the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff wants all servicemembers to renew their commitment to the profession of arms.

"Although the armed forces has a multitude of differences, there is something that really connects us all together," he said.

"We all have the same oath and have a special bond because of that. Even as a veteran and a retiree, the oath still stays with you for life."

Battaglia said one of the most important issues he champions is to reduce suicides. He wants to improve the morale in Airmen, which includes behavioral, social, physical, environmental, medical and dental, nutritional, spiritual and psychological health.

"Part of my position as the SEAC is to ensure that the 2.3 million enlisted members are taken care of," he said.

Toward the end of the all-call, one Soldier asked Battaglia if there was ever any talk of pushing out the military mottos and resiliency models to schools and society throughout the nation.

Battaglia responded by stating he does want to spread the resiliency models out into society because he knows it can be beneficial to people who are not in the service.

The SEAC recognized and coined eight Airmen and Soldiers who were selected by senior NCOs and officers at the end for their exceptional performance.

His parting words were, "Stay fit, stay strong, and stay resilient!"