Army Leader: No Job Inconsequential That Contributes to Mission

By Donna Miles

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – No job is too lowly or inconsequential if it contributes to the overall mission, and it's up to leaders to ensure their people know the importance of their contribution, a senior Army leader said yesterday. Army Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt, director of Army aviation, shared his insights after being asked his thoughts about some Army aviators frustrated that they're pulling non-flying duties during their deployments. His response applies not just to aviators, he said, but to troops across the board.

The long war on terror requires that troops need to do the job that's needed, not necessarily the job they'd like to do, Mundt said. He noted that many young troops are serving their third deployments, and some are preparing for their fourth. "I guarantee you, every tour they go (on), they don't get to be in the 'first-string A team' doing everything they want to do," he said. "You have to go over, you have got to do the job that is asked of you."

Mundt said it's up to leaders to ensure their troops understand that their jobs matter. "If you tell me that what I am doing makes a difference, then I am happy with my piece of it," he said. "I don't want to be here shoveling manure out of stables. Well, somebody has to do that. And the question is, 'Is it important?'"

If it's important, then troops need to step up to the plate and do their part as members of a team, he said. "It is not about you," Mundt said. "It is about sacrifice and taking it for the team."