IG Corner

Courtesy Photo Sgt. 1st Class Arthur Whiteside, noncommissioned officer in charge for the U.S. Army Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon Inspector General’s Office. I’m Sgt. 1st Class Arthur Whiteside, and I am excited to be the new noncommissioned officer in charge for the U.S. Army Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon Inspector General’s Office. I look forward to working with each of you as we support the great Soldiers, Civilians, and Family Members here at Fort Gordon. Our IG team is a resource to assist you in the accomplishment of your mission. I always respond to phone calls and email, my door is always open, and, contrary to popular belief, “I’m from the IG, and I’m here to help.” This month we’ll talk about the Army Sponsorship Program. Army regulation 600-8-8, The Total Army Sponsorship Program provides an overview of the program and outlines six elements of the sponsorship program. The six elements are: DA Form 5434.M, welcome letter, Army Community Service Relocation Readiness Services, reception, orientation, and in-processing.

The Army Inspector General, Lt. Gen. Stephen Whitcomb recently noted, “Great efforts in the past have been made to establish viable sponsorship programs; but in my opinion, I do not believe we are delivering in all cases. Sponsorship becomes more important when you factor in that some of our Soldier suicide incidents occur shortly after arrival to a new unit.”

The Total Army Sponsorship Program provides the structure and foundation for units to welcome and help prepare Soldiers, Civilian employees, and Family Members for their new duty station in advance of their actual arrival. This program supports Soldiers in the active Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve, and Civilian employees assigned to positions within the Department of the Army. The sponsor is the key to helping the new personnel and their Families get settled as quickly as possible, so they can concentrate on their new duties as soon as possible. Out-processing sponsorship is another part of this program that unfortunately gets overlooked far too often. Providing a sponsor to help a Soldier or employee meet all the requirements of leaving an organization ensures that person’s transition is smooth and leaves a positive impression in their minds about the organization. Sponsorship is a commander’s program in which the key to overall success rests with the individual sponsors. The bottom line is: a well run sponsorship program starts with command emphasis and that emphasis filters down to leaders at all levels. Our goal is to make their transition as smooth as possible. When we fail to sponsor a Soldier or Civilian effectively, we fail as leaders. So remember to reinforce your sponsorship program because it provides the structure and foundation for units to welcome and help prepare Soldiers, Civilian employees, and Family Members for their new duty station in advance of their actual arrival.