By Staff Sgt. Noshoba Davis, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office
NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard held its annual Command and Staff Conference at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Oct. 17-18, bringing together brigade and battalion command teams and senior headquarters leaders from across the organization.
The conference opened with a physical fitness competition designed to build esprit de corps among the assembled leaders. Divided into teams and heats, participants completed a 1.25-kilometer run, sandbag carry, kettlebell carries, 50-meter sled drag, trivia, 100 cumulative push-ups, four medicine ball throws over a net and final sprint.
The conference focused on readiness, leader development and organizational priorities while providing battalion command teams an opportunity to engage directly with brigade and senior headquarters leadership. Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Friloux, adjutant general of Louisiana, outlined LANG’s four strategic priorities: combat readiness, mobilizations, transformation and strengthening the professionalism of the force.
Friloux emphasized training, individual physical fitness, equipment maintenance and unit cohesion as key readiness priorities for commanders in the coming year. He noted that these elements support both LANG’s federal mission of defending U.S. interests and its state mission of supporting government organizations during emergency response operations.
The conference also featured breakout sessions in which units briefed Maj. Gen. Michael Greer, assistant adjutant general of Louisiana, and Command Sgt. Maj. Clifford J. Ockman Jr., command senior enlisted leader for the Louisiana National Guard, on readiness, physical fitness, training, leader development and resource management.
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