Training never stops for any rank

Story by Staff Sgt. William Griffen
Photos by Staff Sgt. William Griffen, Spc. William Franco Espinosa
California Army National Guard Public Affairs

June 26, 2025

SAN DIEGO -- When one thinks of training, they think of someone young and inexperienced who needs to ‘learn the ropes,’ but Soldiers in the California Army National Guard (CAARNG) never stop learning and training; no matter what rank or years of experience they have. That’s why hundreds of California National Guard leaders from across the state converged for senior leader training (SLT) in San Diego, March 27-30, 2025.

This training allowed them to network and share information with each other and with their California Air National Guard and State Guard counterparts, allowing them to learn about the key issues that they need to address and how to address them.

“Our objectives for senior leader training are focused on key readiness issues that require leader focus for 2025 and into 2026,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey D. Smiley, commanding general of CAARNG. “We designed SLT to inform and educate our Commanders and key leaders to address specific areas of concern.”

Throughout the training, Smiley set expectations with and gave advice to all his subordinates so they know how to improve their formations. His main priority for them to tackle was retention, especially the retention of company grade officers. The main reasons why officers have left are mentorship, counseling, career management and operational tempo.

Smiley said that leaders need to provide one-on-one counseling and ensure they know what they need to do for their career path. Being an officer in the National Guard is a career that requires hard work and dedication to progress, and he expects them to strive for excellence. Communication, policies and planning at all levels of leadership help Soldiers to balance their military career with their civilian employment and family life.

During a joint session of both California Army and Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. Matthew P. Beevers, the adjutant general of the California National Guard, touched on his expectations for the group. He urged the leaders to focus on helping Guard members as much as they can in every way they could, including employment resources such as Work for Warriors.

The training event included other briefs and breakout sessions focused on leadership, retention and Soldier care. This gave leaders the opportunity to share and receive knowledge that will allow them to serve their organizations better, such as sharing retention statistics and learning how to use the Army Vantage program to track their unit’s administrative and readiness metrics.

One of these sessions was the Command Sergeants Major Association Counsel (CSMAC) meeting, which provided a forum for mentorship, collaboration, and strategic planning to enhance leadership effectiveness, readiness, and professional development across the Cal Guard. U.S. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Lynn E. Williams, senior enlisted leader to the adjutant general of the California National Guard, led the meeting and dove into strategic planning to enhance leadership effectiveness.

“It is my intent for the senior enlisted leaders to gain a sense of value and empowerment to affect positive change within their respective formations and the California Army National Guard enlisted corps as a whole,” said Williams. “Their investment and engagement in the CSMAC program provide TAG with creditable and defendable solutions ensuring good order and discipline as well as proper force management recommendations.”

Enlisted leaders work directly with troops, providing them with the purpose, motivation and direction to meet commanders’ objectives. Since they work directly with the troops, they are essential for advising commanders.

“One improvement I would like to see is our senior enlisted leaders implement a culture and mindset of servant leadership,” said Williams. “We as senior enlisted leaders must ensure our junior enlisted know we work for them because investing in the hearts, minds, and lives of our service members matters. Ensuring our teammates know their potential and worth builds successful teams.”

As the world changes, service members continue to work together to learn and improve alongside these changes, and the annual SLT gives them an opportunity to continuously learn and improve together each year. However, there’s some things that leaders will always need to know.

“One thing that has never changed in my 41 years of service is one-on-one leadership,” said Smiley. “Great leaders embrace the Army Ethos and Values, mentor, coach and teach. They lead with compassion and empathy. Great leaders fight for those Soldiers, and they care deeply about them and their success. ‘This We'll Defend.’”