Brian Hill
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (March 30, 2021) — Two Fort Leonard Wood human resource managers were picked March 2 to represent U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command in the Army wide Adjutant General School’s 2020 Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association competition.
TRADOC named Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Becker, from the 399th Army Band, its Warrant Officer of the Year, and Joe Reynolds, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence officer strength manager, the TRADOC Senior Civilian of the Year.
Becker competes for the AG School’s Chief Warrant Officer 5 Daniel J. Logan Jr. Medal for Distinguished Achievement, which recognizes an AG Corps warrant officer who best understands Logan’s contributions and values in his dealings with commanders, Soldiers and their families, and the Army over a 32-year career.
It is an honor, Becker said, to represent TRADOC in this competition as a bandmaster in a branch comprised mostly of human resource technicians. It “just reinforces the commonalities we share within our branch and the strengths we have to offer our field and one another,” he said.
“When I was in Warrant Officer Candidate School, seasoned warrant officers attending the Warrant Officer Career College for professional development courses met with us candidates about to graduate,” Becker added. “We met with other warrant officers in our branch to ask questions and hear about their experiences before we joined their ranks. Initially, I was disappointed no bandmasters — only human resource technicians — were available to speak with me. I soon found out, though, that these warrants had a wealth of great knowledge and expertise to pass along that equipped me to be a better commander.”
Reynolds competes for the John J. Dinnien Award, which recognizes personnel management with outstanding significance to the Army and service to Soldiers.
“2020 was such a tumultuous year for everyone, and the human resources profession was no different,” Reynolds said. “To be nominated is quite an honor, much less being selected as the TRADOC representative for Army wide consideration.”
The Adjutant General Corps had to almost completely change the way it does business during the past year, Reynolds said.
“COVID had a significant impact on our ability to move Soldiers around the globe in a safe and effective manner,” he said. “We would receive almost daily guidance from the most senior levels of the Department of Defense on down, and to have the flexibility to make recommendations on how that guidance would be implemented at Fort Leonard Wood was very rewarding. The trust our installation leadership placed in us to rapidly adjust to ever-changing circumstances is humbling and very gratifying.”
Reynolds said he feels one of the most identifying parts of his nomination was that the MSCoE operations officer, chief of staff and commanding general all changed in June, “at the height of COVID protocols and in the midst of ever-changing HR policy.”
AGCRA award announcements are scheduled to be made by mid-May, officials said.
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission