733rd MSG commander shares final thoughts

U.S. Army Col. Ralph L. (Bo) Clayton III is nearing the end of his two-year assignment as 733rd Mission Support Group commander at Joint Base Langley Eustis, Virginia.

With this career milestone coming to a close, Clayton is approaching another – his retirement.

But before looking forward to the next chapter of his life, Clayton shared his thoughts on how teamwork, an appreciation for history, and family have contributed to his unforgettable command experience at Fort Eustis.

Taking command

“This assignment has been completely different that anything I’ve ever done in my entire Army career,” said Clayton. “I’ve always been in roles focused on operational aspects of the Army. Here, my role is installation support, which is essentially being a city manager. Learning how to do that, working and collaborating with so many other agencies has been quite the run and quite the education.”

The 733rd MSG’s mission is to provide Fort Eustis the installation capabilities and services to support expeditionary operations in a time of persistent conflict; optimize resources; sustain the environment; and provide a quality of life for Soldiers and families as part of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis mission.

That mission entails providing support to deployment operations, construction, security, facility maintenance, supply and transportation for a base community totaling over 7,780 acres and hosting 23,000 active duty, Guard and Reserve, Department of Defense civilians, and retired personnel.

“I tell folks who are part of 733rd MSG, sometimes these are thankless jobs, but these are absolutely necessary jobs,” said Clayton. “Without what we provide, others can’t do their wartime mission; they can’t do their part to provide and serve for the national defense.”

Living the vision

After taking command in June 2016, Clayton’s vision for the 733rd MSG, and ultimately Fort Eustis, was to be the model installation for service support. His priorities included ensuring JBLE's readiness through support, safety and security, and improving professional development and customer support.

“My approach has been ‘get to yes’ — find a way to get to ‘yes,’” said Clayton. “Whether facilitating deployment of units going to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief, or units deploying on real-world missions against ISIL, our mission partners rely on us to provide service with actual results. When it’s a reasonable request or something that should be provided, we have to find a way to not just make the effort, but to get the results.”

Under Clayton’s leadership, the 733rd MSG had significant roles in several projects that aligned with these priorities, including open school enrollment for Virginia’s military dependents living on an installation; teaching license reciprocity for Virginia’s military spouses; giving military-affiliated dependents with Autism employment skills through internships on the installation through a partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and Newport News Public Schools (NNPS); increasing the number of military students taking and passing Advanced Placement courses and exams by working with NNPS and the National Math and Science Initiative; and collaborating with the surrounding community for the Joint Land Use Study, where recommendations aided in enhancing security measures for the installation.

A team effort

When asked what word could summarize his experience as commander, Clayton replied with “teamwork.”

“No one does it by themselves. What we’ve accomplished, what we’ve been able to achieve, required teamwork on so many levels,” said Clayton. “First, with our sister service, the Air Force, in providing for the entire joint base; with TRADOC, and all our mission partners and tenant units; and with our local officials, particularly Newport News, as well as the Commonwealth of Virginia. We can’t do what we do without this collective support. We make a difference every day for JBLE service members and families, and the local community as well.”

Having traveled around the world during his 30-year career, Clayton said he never had any plans to be stationed in Virginia – and certainly never dreamt of being a garrison commander during an installation’s centennial.

“I’m honored to have been here during the 100th anniversary. I’ve gained an understanding of how this area shaped our nation’s history, and what Fort Eustis has meant to the nation as a whole,” he said. “In 1607 the English settlers came to Jamestown past our island – our Mulberry Island – knowing that gives me such an appreciation of being here. Just for this brief moment in time being a commander here, and knowing what Fort Eustis has accomplished over the last 100 years, I'm absolutely honored to be part of that – to be part of this team, and hope in some shape, form or fashion, my time here has made a difference.”

The next chapter

With the 733rd MSG change of command scheduled for June 29, Clayton had some preliminary advice for the next commander.

“It’s like nothing else you’ve ever done. You have an amazing team, and they’re going to make JBLE successful,” he said. “This team will continue on no matter the commander, but cherish every day that you get to be a part of it.

“This has been a phenomenal experience – a tremendous learning experience for me, both professionally and personally,” he continued. “It’s also been very rewarding. The people you get to work with, and meet; the relationships and friendships; service members, civilians, and families. They tell you command goes quick, and it absolutely does – it flies by and feels like a sprint. That being said, I’ve enjoyed the ride, and I wish I had some more time to get the other things done too, because I’m never short on my list of things I want to accomplish.”

With plans to stay in the area after retirement, Clayton says he is looking forward to where life takes him next.

“The support of my family has been what made it possible for me to be on this 30-year journey,” said Clayton. “It certainly has been a journey. I came in for three years and said, ‘I’ll see how it goes!’ For 29 years I’ve been saying I need to figure out what I want to do when I grow up – apparently now I’m all grown up, and I’m looking for the next challenge. ”