CG, III Corps and Fort Hood
Lieutenant General Thomas F. Metz

LTG Thomas Metz was born in North Carolina, where he lived until enlisting in the Army in June 1966. In August, after BCT at Fort Gordon, Georgia, he entered the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. LTG Metz received a Regular Army Appointment to the United States Military Academy, and he entered in July 1967. Upon graduation from West Point in June 1971, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry.

From March 1972 until January 1975, LTG Metz served as Platoon Leader, Assistant S-3, Scout Platoon Leader, and Combat Support Company Executive Officer with 1st Battalion, 509th Airborne Infantry, in Germany and Italy.

LTG Metz took command of Company C, 10th BCT Battalion, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in January 1976. He relinquished command in June 1976 to become the Aide-de-Camp for the Commander, Readiness Region VI, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While at Fort Knox, he commanded C Company, 4th Battalion, 54th Infantry (Mechanized), 194th Armored Brigade, from June 1977 until June 1978.

LTG Metz returned to West Point in June 1981 and was an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department until May 1984. He moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was the S-3 and XO of the 3d Battalion, 7th Infantry (Mechanized); and the S-3, 197th Separate Infantry Brigade (Mechanized). While at Fort Benning, he also served as a Division Chief in the Infantry School's Combat Developments Directorate from May 1986 until June 1987.

Returning to Fort Knox in June 1987, LTG Metz commanded the 4th Battalion, 15th Infantry (Mechanized), 194th Armored Brigade, until July 1989. From June 1990 until June 1992, he served as the G-3, 2d Infantry Division, Republic of Korea.

LTG Metz commanded the 2d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), from July 1992 to July 1994. He then served as the Division and Fort Riley Chief of Staff until May 1995. After his tour in the 1st Infantry Division, LTG Metz joined the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and served as Director of the Army's Experimental Force Coordination Cell for the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Hood, Texas, and the Assistant Division Commander for Support for the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized).

In February 1998, LTG Metz was assigned as the Deputy Director for Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment, J-8, until June 2000. LTG Metz served as Vice Director for Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment, J-8, The Joint Staff, until November 2001.

On 7 November 2001, LTG Metz assumed command of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Riley. During this time period, LTG Metz was chosen to serve for 4 months as the Chief of Staff, CENTCOM, during Operation Enduring Freedom from October 2002 to January 2003.

LTG Metz holds a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. He also holds a professional engineer's license from the Commonwealth of Virginia. His military schools include the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

LTG Metz's awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with 2 Service Stars, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 3, Expert Infantry Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, and Belgium Brevet "A" Commando.

Links

• http://pao.hood.army.mil/pao/Corps_staff/bios/CG_Biography.htm
• http://pao.hood.army.mil/pao/intent.htm
• http://www.hood.army.mil/pao/Corps_staff/corps_cg.htm

Commander's Intent

SUBJECT: III Corps Commander's Intent

1. This intent gives III Corps commanders, leaders, soldiers and civilians my perspective on what is important. I have nested my intent within the FORSCOM Commanders', both of which will guide our future.

2. From my experience, the value of an intent memorandum depends on two things. First, my actions and decisions must be consistent with this intent. Second, subordinate commanders, leaders, soldiers and civilians must live within this intent. I'll do my part, and I ask you to do yours. If the information that flows from me and/or my headquarters is not aligned with what is written below, question it. My staff and I will make mistakes from which we will learn and get better, just as you will. Disseminate this intent across the Corps and review it periodically to ensure your thoughts, decisions and actions are nested within it.

3. Our Nation, the world's only super-power, has an Army in order to fight and win its wars by dominating the land and the information sphere. III Corps is, and will continue to be, the Nation's heavy, decisive war fighting/war winning force. More directly, we are the Army's counteroffensive hammer, ready to serve in both joint and combined environments across the full spectrum of conflict. Our first priority is combat readiness, which not only deters our enemies but also ensures they have only two choices when deterrence fails and they face the III Corps: destruction or surrender. In III Corps, we will achieve combat readiness by caring for, training, protecting, maintaining, and transforming our formations and people.
   1. Caring. Lead people as you would like to be led; follow as you would like to be followed. Treat people as you would like to be treated, with dignity and respect. Remember that loyalty is a 360o value. Study, understand and live the Army's values. Keep yourself and those in your unit fit -- ethically, morally, physically and spiritually. Sometimes care requires "tough love"; have the courage to love your soldiers properly. Listen to them; talk to them; take care of them for they are our Nation's sons and daughters, our most valuable resource. Ensure that you care for your soldiers' families as well; soldiers can focus on the mission to their front when they aren't concerned about their loved ones' welfare in the rear.

   2. Training. We have superb training doctrine and are resourced to conduct the best training in the history of warfare. Training management is very important, especially as it rightfully provides soldiers predictability; however, the execution of superb training is what keeps individuals and units combat ready and is what saves lives in combat. Get the basics right first, at all levels, before time, energy and resources are used to train higher-level tasks. Multi-echelon, performance-oriented training is our standard. Leaders must empower subordinates to train while leaders train leader tasks. We will train our soldiers and leaders to "scan-focus-act." When awake, they are disciplined to always be on "scan," alert to the world around them. Through our superb training programs, they will develop competency in their areas of responsibilities to "focus" on what is right and what is wrong. Most importantly, they will develop the courage to "act" when action is required. Personal courage is not just a wartime value. We must train leaders to have the courage to take the initiative, a leadership trait that places American warriors above all others.

   3. Protecting. Protecting the force covers a wide spectrum, ranging from anti-terrorist efforts to the safety of each soldier on and off duty. Leaders must establish the correct standards, teach them and supervise them; subordinates must strictly follow standards across the protection spectrum. Protecting the force involves risk; regretfully, many leaders avoid risk, pushing it up or down the chain of command. Leaders must share the risk and underwrite subordinate leaders. We will not gamble with the health, safety, and lives of our soldiers, but we must be willing to take risks. Our Army has superb risk management procedures; if employed correctly these procedures will protect our soldiers. When accidents occur, which they surely will, we must learn from them and freely share our lessons learned. The safety of our soldiers is of paramount importance. I expect III Corps personnel to commit to safety each day to take care of themselves, their buddies and fellow members of their unit.

   4. Maintaining. Our Nation provides III Corps with an awesome fighting machine and trusts us to maintain it. In most cases, maintenance is not complex; however, we must master the fundamentals, and we must work smart and hard to maintain our equipment successfully. Leaders must know the maintenance management system and make it work for them. We spend significant funds maintaining our equipment to 10/20 standards -- rightfully so. We must be prudent stewards of these funds because savings from proper maintenance can be used in other areas of combat readiness, especially quality of life. I challenge all III Corps personnel to be the best possible stewards of our resources while ensuring our equipment is combat ready.

   5. Transforming. We live in an age where change is the norm. Those who cannot manage change will be left behind as we move into the 21st Century. We will remain the Counteroffensive Corps throughout our Army's transformation. However, we will proudly and successfully lead many transformation initiatives. We must exploit technology, leverage emerging organizational initiatives, encourage fresh approaches to our challenges, and share our knowledge. Don't be part of the problem; be part of the solution and attack the future. Our enemies are not idle; they study us to develop ways, many of which are asymmetrical, to defeat us. The global war on terrorism will continue for many years; thus we must have endurance -- mental and physical stamina -- to win no matter how long it takes. We cannot deter or defeat our enemies unless we master the first step, deployment. The readiness to deploy the III Corps is a massive undertaking, which will require successfully accomplishing tasks from the individual soldier and family level to large combat formations. The contemporary operational/threat environment is so challenging to the deployment tasks that we must take them on in a transformational way. To support transformation, we must ensure our soldiers and young leaders enjoy a learning environment. Our after action review (AAR) process allows us to learn and grow; AAR all we do in order to learn and improve. Empower our innovative, resourceful, tenacious, and courageous young warriors, and they will lead our attack on the future. I'm convinced the American way of life provides us the opportunity to lead the world during this era of change.

4. I charge all III Corps personnel to help me foster an environment, a command climate, where individuals are excited about their future and the future of their unit, and where soldiers are confident in themselves, their leaders, their equipment, their formation and the doctrine and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that guide them. I will lead via intent, task with purpose, to make III Corps the very best Corps it can be. One person can make a difference, and many people operating under a common intent can make a tremendous difference! I am confident we can make a positive impact on our future, and I'm excited about the opportunity to attack our future with the commanders, leaders, soldiers and civilians of III Corps.

Notes