Page 173 - JSOM Summer 2022

The Foundation has podcasts (ASF on the So Much Pingle professionals, behavioral health and other categories, conduct
podcast and ASF on Snake Talk with Dr. Chris Jenkins (The one-on-one interviews with key personnel across the units.
Orianne Society Podcast) and four videos available at “ASF in The focus groups are divided by rank ranges and gender, and
the media”: https://www.snakebitefoundation.org/asf-media the one-on-one interviews go all the way to the lowest level.
“Both colonels emphasized the differences between the CAT
Blue Star Museums Program assessments and existing tools for assessing unit climate, like
From the San Diego Automotive Museum to the Sawgrass Na- the mandatory Defense Organizational Climate Survey. ’We’re
ture Center and Wildlife Hospital in Coral Springs, Florida, not asking questions about compliance,’ said Teegarden.
participating museums across the country are again offering ‘We’re saying, ‘What’s it like for you in this unit? What’s going
free admission to military personnel and their families, start- on? What do you look forward to? What’s going well? What
ing May 21. The free admission program runs through Sept. 5, do you wish you had more of?’ We’re not only solely focused
Labor Day. The Blue Star Museums program is a partnership on the negative or asking them to provide any valuation about
between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star their peers or their supervisors.’
Families, working with the Defense Department and museums
around the country. Participating museums are from all 50 “McDonough, who is now the People First Task Force’s chief
states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. of staff, described the project as ‘additive’ to existing measures
like the climate surveys.‘The key distinction,’ said Teegarden,
The program is open to those currently serving in the Air
Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force, ‘is that the CAT works with commanders to address the root
members of the reserve, National Guard, US Public Health causes of problems it identifies.’
Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps — plus “‘[Traditional climate surveys] get back to a commander, they
up to five family members. Those eligible must show their look at it, and they have no idea where to intervene to change
Common Access Card, dependent ID card, or the Next Gen- those metrics . . . there’s no context to [the underlying fac-
eration Uniformed Services (Real) ID card for free entrance tors],’ Teegarden said. ‘[Now], we take [CAT] survey results,
into participating museums. The venues range from art muse- marry them up with the context of the environment and what
ums to children’s museums and zoos and aquariums. Among we’re seeing and hearing on the ground, and then provide that
those on the list are the Denver Art Museum, Utah’s Treehouse back to the commanders.’ ‘The CAT then presents leaders with
Children’s Museum, and Albuquerque’s Anderson Abruzzo ‘what actions they can take that have the highest impact . . .
International Balloon Museum. In the past, more than 2,000 and help them identify where those opportunities are within
museums have participated in the program. their unit,’ explained the program director.

Not every museum in the country participates in this program, “The team’s feedback also analyzes which changes could have
so service members and families are urged to check the list the highest impact for the least effort from commanders — giv-
for participating museums and plan ahead for visiting days ing them the most bang for their buck. ‘We’re really targeted
and hours and other information. The program is a lifeline at the battalion and brigade commanders,’ said Teegarden.
for many military families, said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of ‘There’s more things to do — more problems to solve — than
Blue Star Families, “offering them the opportunity to connect daylight allows, and everybody’s limited on resources.’
with their community, explore new space, enjoy the arts and ‘As part of making the CATs permanent, Army Training and
make lifelong memories.”
Doctrine Command will take over their implementation on
Jan. 1,’ said McDonough. TRADOC officials involved in the
Army Makes New Cohesion Assessment Teams Permanent process attended the recent assessment in Alaska. It’s not clear
On May 20, 2022, Davis Winkie reports in Army Times: “Af- yet how they will be manned in their permanent form, she
ter a two-year pilot program, the Army has institutionalized said. Currently, the CAT pulls its bench of subject matter ex-
its cohesion assessment teams, a culture and climate assess- perts — lawyers, counselors, structure analysts and more —
ment program aimed to arm brigade and battalion command- from other units on an as-needed basis rather than having
ers with the information they need to solve tricky problems in them permanently assigned to the CAT.
their ranks.
“At least one brigade will be happy to see the CAT next year,
“The CATs, as their Army People First Task Force founders
call them, consist of about 20 experts who spend roughly 10 whatever their final form may be. McDonough is slated to
days on the ground assessing brigades from the top down take brigade command. ‘I will take brigade command next
to the platoon level through focus groups and interviews. summer, and I hope to have the opportunity to have the [CAT]
Army Times interviewed the current CAT director, Col. Lisa come to my brigade,’ she said.”
Teegarden and their former lead, Col. Jennifer McDonough.
‘Each CAT assessment looks at an individual brigade, honing Army paratroopers,
in on the headquarters and selecting two of its battalions for assigned to the
173rd Airborne
deeper assessment,’ Teegarden said. Brigade, jump
over a wall during
“Teegarden, who fit the interview into a busy morning in the obstacle
Alaska, where the CAT was conducting an assessment, ex- course portion
plained that the teams use a pre-visit survey and their time of a spur ride (Markus Rauchenberger/Army)
on the ground to develop an understanding of the factors at Grafenwoehr
that make up a unit’s climate — leadership, processes, awards Training Area,
Germany, Dec. 14,
programs, training tempo, culture, structure and more. The 2021.
subject matter experts, which include lawyers, SHARP

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