{"id":45264,"date":"2021-10-11T11:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T11:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:15:10","slug":"seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>The Army is facing several challenges, and opportunities, for the enlisted force in the coming year. How the service handles its new Army Combat Fitness Test, a body composition study, noncommissioned officer development and talent management initiatives will be placed in the spotlight in just the coming months. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual conference, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston sat down with Army Times to discuss those signature initiatives and more as he prepares for 2022. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This interview was edited for length and clarity.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Looking back at the past year, what are you most proud of?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve done some really unique things with talent management. One of those things that we got through was the corporal initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, I just talked about first sergeants and brigade command sergeant major talent assessment. But in all reality, we\u2019re trying to build the foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, you just graduated Basic Leader\u2019s Course and you\u2019re waiting to be promoted to sergeant. Now, we make them corporals \u2014 that shows a visible sign that you\u2019re prepared to be a noncommissioned officer and gives you a few reps before you make sergeant. I\u2019m really proud of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second is we\u2019re really trying to get staff sergeants back in their units. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/08\/12\/inside-the-armys-enlisted-overhaul-why-your-next-promotion-may-take-longer\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6306013.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Inside the Army\u2019s enlisted overhaul: Why your next promotion may take longer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army has unveiled a series of enlisted promotion and selection overhauls that are meant to better develop and manage talent across the force.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, they\u2019re doing exactly what the Army asked them to do. But we found that we\u2019ve taken a lot of staff sergeants to be recruiters \u2014 more than what was already authorized. So we\u2019re bringing 1,000 NCOs back into the operational force. In order to have a really good squad, you probably need a squad leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The third thing \u2014 and most people may not like what I did \u2014 is we increased the minimum time in grade for staff sergeants to promote to sergeant first class. We went from 18 months to 36 months so that staff sergeants will have to be present and remain grounded in their fundamental tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wanted to make sure we didn\u2019t move them out too quickly. We want them to be a good squad leader and still have time to be a drill sergeant or go be a recruiter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Which of your recent initiatives still needs attention?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to spike the ball on talent management quite yet. We need some time to make sure that those first sergeants who went through the 1SG Talent Alignment Assessment pilot are better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are the sergeants major [who were screened via the CSM assessment pilot program] better? We\u2019re not going to know for another year or two, so that needs some attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What\u2019s going to be your biggest initiative next year?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest thing I\u2019ve got in the next year is the \u201cSolution Summit.\u201d This monthly summit brings in all of the Army\u2019s CSMs who have senior mission command authority. We\u2019ve done two of these meetings since June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For these meetings, everybody got an assignment, and we gave them hard problems: I want zero sexual assaults; I want zero suicides; I want zero racism and extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do we get to that? Those are the three main focuses that we have. [The sergeants major] come in, we meet, and we talk about how we are we getting after prevention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it\u2019s not a \u201cgotcha.\u201d It\u2019s about \u201cOh, I\u2019m doing this thing well.\u201d And if [the idea] is really good, do I take it on as SMA? And do I implement it throughout the Army?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>I\u2019m fascinated you said this isn\u2019t a \u201cgotcha\u201d thing. Some readers might argue that while numbers accountability culture has its benefits, it can provide an incentive to look for spin rather than solutions. Tell me more about your decision to ensure this isn\u2019t a \u201cgotcha\u201d meeting.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision came from \u201cUpstream\u201d by Dan Heath. We brought him in and he gave us a wonderful presentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said: \u201cWhen you look at numbers, there\u2019s two ways to look at them: There\u2019s compliance, and then there\u2019s commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Army, I\u2019ll admit, there are instances where [personnel aim] for compliance \u2014 \u201cThe Army told you to do this, so OK, let\u2019s do it.\u201d And then there\u2019s other times that we want commitment, and the data helps us learn how to do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One example is sponsorship. It could be a product of going \u201cred\u201d to \u201cgreen\u201d in the Army Career Tracker. I put a sponsor on the DA Form 5434 sponsorship counseling form, and I submit that, and then my chart goes from red to green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But does that mean we\u2019re integrating our soldiers appropriately into units? No. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot of times in the past, we\u2019ll take that chart and if it goes from red to green, we slapped the table and said: \u201cWe don\u2019t need to talk about it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Solution Summit is designed to say: \u201cYeah, the slide may be green, but I still didn\u2019t get to my aim point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Say I got the sponsorship chart from red to green. What did we learn and how can we really integrate our soldiers so they feel like they are a valued member of a team? And that\u2019s what is so important about this summit \u2014 the data may be driving us to some compliance, but that data is primarily to inform us to dig in and see what we need to do further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine will conduct a study reevaluating the service\u2019s body composition program this fall. Where does that stand, and when could we see a change to the way the Army looks at soldiers\u2019 body compositions?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study will kick off on Oct. 18 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That\u2019s going to be data- and science-informed. The U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine did the last body composition review in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I want to get out of this study is information. Do we have the [body composition program] right? I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s going to be an informed decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can be honest \u2014 I initially wasn\u2019t understanding the question people were asking me when they talked to me about body composition. All I heard in the beginning was: \u201cCan we get bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what we\u2019re really trying to look at is if we have the height and weight correct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If I\u2019m a 5-foot-3-inch soldier and I have to weigh less than 141 pounds, is that correct? That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/07\/20\/no-more-tape-test-army-study-to-reevaluate-body-fat-program\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6257189.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">No more tape test? Army study to reevaluate body fat program<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army will conduct a study to determine the future of its body composition program.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any appetite to say: \u201cHey, we want the Army to carry more body fat.\u201d But what are those height and weight tables? Do we have the metrics right? Is the tape test still a valid test?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their initial brief to me several months ago said that the tape test is actually pretty good. It\u2019s actually more lenient than a BodPod, but that\u2019s all going to come out with the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m not sure we\u2019ll have a finished product on the body composition by this year. We might have all the information for us to make an informed decision. I\u2019m guessing maybe December, January time frame because it takes time for them to compile it. I would say at the earliest, the beginning of next year, for [potential changes] at the end of the year, if we need to change something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wouldn\u2019t use the SMA\u2019s data. Let\u2019s use the scientist\u2019s data and see what they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The Army Combat Fitness Test is tentatively slated to go live, pending independent review, on April 1, 2022. Is that on track?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act said we need to do an independent review of the ACFT. We\u2019ve already done one independent review. It was done by the University of Iowa. Now [the think tank] Rand is doing another one. We got the initial findings in May, and the second findings were in August, and we\u2019re looking forward to a final report in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But either way, we\u2019re going to have a record fitness test on April 1, 2022. And I\u2019m still hopeful that will be the Army Combat Fitness Test. We may have some version of that \u2014 I\u2019m not sure \u2014 but all indications are that we can do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other day, somebody challenged me and said: \u201cSMA, no women will score 600 on your ACFT!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s not true. There\u2019s been five women who have already scored 600 on the ACFT, and one who scored a 599. I\u2019m extremely confident that on April 1, we will have a test for record, and I am hopeful it will be the ACFT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What else should readers know about?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I say \u201cfit,\u201d most people hear \u201cphysical fitness.\u201d But how do we routinely practice good mental health? What are those positive thoughts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And every time I say it, people will go: \u201cOh, yeah \u2014 master resiliency course, \u2018hunt the good stuff.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OK, but do we practice that on a daily basis? Do we work on our total fitness and not just physical fitness? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everybody works on physical fitness every day. What we\u2019re looking at is what are those things that we can do at the end of the PT session to think of positive things. So we practice this whole fitness where it\u2019s just not physical fitness but also mental fitness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don\u2019t expect to do great on the ACFT if you don\u2019t practice for it all year. It\u2019s the same concept for mental health \u2014 how do we practice our mental fitness routinely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we\u2019re looking at some things on that in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":86158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[78,29,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3470],"class_list":["post-45264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ausa-digital-show-dailies","category-digital-show-dailies","category-land"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PNYWMKM2ENCBZDHLUQJQILB5VI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Davis Winkie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Davis Winkie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1637,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5020952.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"AUSA\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                \"Land\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5020952.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5020952.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5020952.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/11\\\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Land\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"land\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army - Defense News","description":"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army","og_description":"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00","author":"Davis Winkie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Davis Winkie","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army","datePublished":"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/"},"wordCount":1637,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5020952.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["AUSA","Digital Show Dailies","Land"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","name":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5020952.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-11T11:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:15:10+00:00","description":"Army Times sat down with the sergeant major of the Army to see what he has planned for the next fiscal year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5020952.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5020952.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/seven-questions-for-the-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Land","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/","ad_zone":"land"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Seven questions for the sergeant major of the Army"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5020952.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45266,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45264\/revisions\/45266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45264"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=45264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}