Connecticut National Guard holds Leadership Symposium on artificial intelligence, leader development
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Francis J. Evon Jr., the adjutant general and commander of the Connecticut National Guard, opened the symposium Saturday. Evon told attendees leadership isn't defined by rank or title, and said the two days were deliberately set aside from day-to-day duties so leaders could focus on building skills that make a real difference when they get back to their units.
He turned the room's attention to transformation and artificial intelligence, telling attendees the status quo is no longer acceptable on a modern battlefield that is changing fast. AI is fast, powerful and already reshaping the force, their civilian careers and how adversaries operate, he said. It can be a force multiplier, but it doesn't have intuition or the judgment to know when to say no, and that has to come from a person. He challenged the room to be that human in the loop, and pointed to drone warfare as another reason the force cannot stand still.
Three speakers followed. Capt. Ryan Hetrick, GenAI task force lead for the Department of War's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, briefed attendees on how generative AI is being built into unit-level operations. Bryan Steverson, a technology policy official with the U.S. General Services Administration, spoke on leading through artificial intelligence. Kevin Boyce, director of the Future and Emerging Technology Lab at the U.S. Army War College, closed the morning with remarks on AI, then ran three breakout challenges after lunch.
Boyce told the room the payoff of working with AI comes from how it sharpens a person's own thinking.
"The biggest thing you get from this is creativity," Boyce said. "The more time you spend with these models, the more creative you get, the better questions you ask, and the more understanding you get out of it."
Saturday closed with a joint session led by Evon and Katie Zarcyzka, president of the National Guard Association of Connecticut, followed by a no-host social cookout hosted by NGACT at The Point at Camp Nett.
Among the company-grade officers who attended was Capt. Tucker Salls, commander of the 143rd Military Police Company, Connecticut Army National Guard. Salls said the symposium's value holds steady even as its theme changes from year to year.
"The topic and the theme change year to year," Salls said. "What doesn't change, and what remains the most important part of it, is taking company-grade officers and lieutenants outside of what's become a pretty narrow set of experiences and introducing them to the wider set of company-level people in the Guard. It's a great networking opportunity, and it really expands your horizons."
Salls said this year's AI focus tracks with direction coming from the Department of War.
"It seems like it's nested within the DOW's intent to get us to use more AI and be more familiar with it," Salls said. "That seems like it's going to be the way of the future, and anything I can do to get smart on it now, before it's too late, I welcome the opportunity."
Sunday's program turned to the National Guard Connectedness and Relationship Education System, known as CARES, an integrated leadership development and prevention framework used to build unit cohesion and support service members at every career stage. Three breakout sessions covered communication and conflict resolution, building trust and cohesion, and counseling and mentoring. The day built toward a Field Grade Leaders Panel titled "Leaders of the Future," featuring field-grade officers and senior noncommissioned officers from across the Guard.
What attendees carry out of Camp Nett is meant to outlast the weekend. The same AI skills apply as easily to a civilian job or a family decision as they do to a mission, and for the officers and noncommissioned officers who spent two days there, that's the real payoff: leaders who make faster, clearer decisions on and off the battlefield.
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