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Maj. Gen. James Lukeman, commanding general of Training and Education Command, shakes hands with Sgt. Tamari O'Meally, TECOM NCO of the Quarter runner-up, at the all-hands meeting on Oct. 22.

Photo by Adele Uphaus-Conner

Maj. Gen. James Lukeman speaks at TECOM all-hands meeting

29 Oct 2015 | Adele Uphaus-Conner Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marines and civilian employees of Training and Education Command aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico held an all-hands meeting on Oct. 22.

Maj. Gen. James Lukeman, TECOM commanding general, presented length-of-service awards to civilians who have completed five, 10, and 15 years of service. Five employees received the five-year award, six received the 10-year award, and one, Amanda Cuomo, an administrative officer in the manpower section, received the 15-year award.

Lukeman also acknowledged the president, vice-president, and logistics officer of the Quantico Injured Military Sportsmen Association, which were recently honored with the Department of Defense’s Spirit of Hope Award. TECOM submitted the organization’s name to be considered for the award.

Lance Cpl. Aaron White and Sgt. Tamari O’Meally were commended for being TECOM Marine of the Quarter and NCO of the Quarter runner-up, respectively.

Lukeman then recognized some of the command’s specific achievements over the past year. TECOM’s G1 (personnel) was the only department that was able to negotiate an increase in the civilian manpower budget, he said. G4 (logistics) is working to purchase a new over-snow vehicle for use at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Ca., to replace the expensive 100-year-old Norwegian vehicle currently in use.

G6 (information technology) is working hard to extend communications to the newly-acquired 166,000-acre training area at Marine Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Ca., Lukeman said. And he commended G8 (finance) for operating under the uncertainty of having no budget for 2016, 2017, or 2018.

After looking back to specific achievements, Lukeman spoke about some of the training technologies that will debut in the near future. These include Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies, which will create realistic virtual battlefields allowing Marines in training to experience the pressures of combat in real time.

Lukeman asked all TECOM employees to look to the future.

“It’s hard not to get caught up in the day’s requirements,” Lukeman said. “But the Marine Corps is thinking about the future.”

He said that Marine Corps Combat Development Command is thinking about how the Marines will fight in 2025, and TECOM needs to be prepared to purchase the right equipment and rework professional military education.

“Nobody knows better how to train and educate a Marine Corps than you,” Lukeman said. “The Commandant’s job is to organize, train, and equip the Marine Corps. We’re one of the big three! He looks to you all. That’s pretty cool.”

The only question asked at the meeting was about potential reduction in the civilian workforce.

“Nobody’s getting fired,” Lukeman said. Instead, he explained that as positions vacate, they might not be filled or they might be filled at a lower pay grade.

Lukeman ended the all-hands meeting by telling the Marines to take care of each other and reminding them of Gen. Neller’s words: “You need to protect what you’ve earned.”

“What he means by that is that you’ve all worked very hard to earn your rank and salary,” Lukeman explained. “The responsibility is on you now to protect that. No one will take it away from you unless you screw it up.”

“I am really proud of what TECOM does for the Marine Corps,” Lukeman told the room.

— Writer: auphausconner@quanticosentryonline.com

Marine Corps Base Quantico