JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The Center for Initial Military Training (CIMT) conducted a change of command Friday, April 25, 2019. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command transferred command authority of CIMT from Maj. Gen. Malcolm B. Frost to Brig. Gen. Lonnie G. Hibbard.
Frost has served as the CIMT commander since July 2017 and during that time, his efforts to support the Army’s top priority of readiness were vital, said TRADOC Commanding General, Gen. Stephen J. Townsend.
“He and his team at CIMT were at the tip of the spear to improve Soldier readiness across the Army,” Townsend said. “He and his team have improved individual Soldier readiness, discipline and lethality.
“He helped me and other senior leaders understand the imbalances and the cumulative risks that had crept into the Army’s training mission over almost two decades of continuous combat overseas, and then he helped us find ways to fix it,” Townsend said.
Townsend described how Frost directed an overhaul of the basic training enterprise to improve trainee discipline and readiness, to include a revamped basic combat training program of instruction with more realism and rigor. Townsend also pointed out that Frost spearheaded the effort to develop and field the new Army Combat Fitness Test, the first major fitness overhaul in nearly 40 years.
In his parting remarks, Frost said CIMT’s readiness efforts to enhance initial military training and to increase the leader-to-led ratio to produce more fit and acculturated Soldiers is due to resourcing and increased understanding of the CIMT enterprise.
“We now have the resources. We are not under-resourced … I think we are not undervalued anymore. I think the generating force is understood – the importance of what it means to our United States Army. We’re still a little misunderstood, but that’s okay,” Frost said. “I think we’ve closed the gap a lot.”
Frost will retire after 31 years of honorable Army service. For his career of service, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal during the ceremony.
Hibbard, the incoming commanding general, is no stranger to TRADOC. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7 (Operations, Plans and Training).
“Initial Military Training is all about the future of our Army and with Brig. Gen. Hibbard at the helm, I am confident that our future remains in good hands,” Townsend said.
In his remarks, Hibbard acknowledged the impact that the CIMT team has had under Frost’s leadership, even though it is still not well understood by many outside of TRADOC.
“But I guarantee you, every unit in the Army wants the product that they produce and more of it every day … To the Soldiers, IMT Leaders and teammates here today, I want you to know I will give you 110 percent to build on the accomplishments you have made transforming initial entry training and our Army with Holistic Health and Fitness as we move forward,” Hibbard said. The United States Army of tomorrow starts here, today at Fort Eustis, at Training and Doctrine Command and with the Center for Initial Military Training.”
As the new commanding general of CIMT, Hibbard also assumes the role of TRADOC Deputy Commanding General for Initial Military Training and the Senior Commander, Army Element for Joint Base Langley-Eustis and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Story.
CIMT is the core function lead for TRADOC for all initial military training. The mission of CIMT is to synchronize and manage the initial military training and education system to transform civilian volunteers into professional Soldiers who are disciplined, fit, acculturated and combat ready; and who will increase Army readiness at their first unit of assignment. CIMT trains around 150,000 Soldiers and officers annually.