AUSTIN, Texas — As the senior ranking non-commissioned officer at U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC), Command Sgt. Maj. Brian A. Hester has dedicated his career to being people-focused and people-motivated.

“People matter, and our Army has the best people,” Hester asserted.

Responsible for advising the AFC commanding general and other senior leaders on the activities, needs and support requirements of Soldiers and their families, Hester often applies his informed experiences and personal insights to his work for the command.

“My responsibility is to take my experiences as a Soldier over the last 33 years and make sure we’re looking through that lens as we’re trying to modernize and transform the Army,” he said.

His day-to-day tasks include assessing how to best solidify systems, processes, interactions and relationships inside and outside of the organization – efforts that benefit from his disposition as a “people person.”

Hester is also an integral member of a broader AFC team that is continuously evaluating whether new equipment and approaches will “make Soldiers more lethal and more protected on the battlefield” from “both a deterrence perspective and a combat operations perspective.”

“Our responsibility is to transform the Army so that we have future war-winning readiness.” Hester said.

He highlighted how AFC activities help ensure that the Army has “the right equipment, the right training, the right organizations to be able to maintain that land force dominance” and that new materiel and methods are “effective, safe, reliable, efficient and hardened against the threat.”

“I know that the Army of the future is going to continue to be the best Army in the world. It’s going to continue to be able to take care of its people, be absolutely proficient at warfighting. It’s going to be ready when the nation needs it.”

Hester’s skill in analyzing and influencing Soldier-centric planning efforts stems not only from his own career as a Soldier, but also from a deep appreciation for the value of teamwork and hard work.

“People often talk about luck. I think that luck is the intersection of preparation and seizing opportunity,” Hester said.

When he decided to enlist in the Army in 1990, shortly after graduating high school, he began a journey that embodied that mantra.

“I grew up in a little town, Mt. Sterling, Illinois, on the Midwest side of the state, in the farm belt,” Hester said.

His community of 1,500 people offered limited opportunities beyond farming and construction, and he was eager to find a way to continue fueling his passion for teamwork, which he discovered while playing high school football, basketball and baseball.

“I wanted to be able to continue to be part of a team, which is one of the things I learned as an athlete, and also do something that I thought was meaningful for me and my family and my country,” Hester explained.

He opted to join the infantry specifically because he was inspired by the unique opportunities it offered, like learning how to jump out of an airplane.

“The infantry platoon is really like an athletic team, and if each person plays their position well, then the whole team is successful,” Hester said.

Once in the Army, Hester enjoyed the camaraderie and taking on leadership roles. He remembers thinking to himself, “wow, this is something I could do for 20 years.”

“It just kept getting better,” he said. “It kept being more meaningful to me, and it provided a good opportunity for my family.”

To date, Hester’s Army career has taken him to domestic assignments in Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas, as well as international posts in Afghanistan Iraq, Kosovo and South Korea.

His service has additionally afforded him time and support to obtain a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and complete several military education courses, including Ranger School and the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy.

More than three decades later, Hester still enjoys “being around Soldiers, having something really meaningful to do each and every day.”

“That has given me a lot of personal purpose and personal satisfaction,” he said.

The chance to solve complex problems and inspire others is also a great motivator.

“I don’t think that there’s anything better than the opportunity to figure out how to inspire other people around you to get after a common challenge, a common goal, and I think that’s one of the things the Army does best.”

Hester’s service has enabled his wife of 28 years and their two sons to live in locations around the country, making multiple friendships, encountering new experiences and building resilience along the way.

“For my family, it’s been a good thing,” Hester said of Army life.

His son decided to pursue military service as well, joining the generations of his family – including Hester’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather – who served before him.

“I am super proud of my family heritage, and super proud of my son for serving also,” Hester said.

Hester encourages individuals who may just be starting out in their careers to consider “serving something larger than yourself – as a service member or as a teacher or as a doctor or as a youth coach or a pastor – or finding a way to give back to your community in a meaningful way.”

He sees the Army as an ideal path for many, given the multitude of opportunities, career pathways and experiences it offers.

“I think it’s a great way to start as a young person; even if you’re 30 years old, I consider that to be a young person,” Hester said. “I think that there’s also those folks out there that are looking for a change in their life; the Army’s a great place to make a change, to find something new.”

“If you come into the Army with the thought that ‘I’m going to make this opportunity for me the best that I can make it,’ I am 100% sure that your time serving in the Army will be meaningful to you and your family.”

“If you don’t know if the Army is the right place for you, you should talk to a recruiter,” he added.

“I’d almost guarantee you that there’s going to be a fantastic opportunity, should you choose to join the Army and be part of our team.”

By Maureena Thompson, Army Futures Command

WASHINGTON — The Congressionally mandated Office of Special Trial Counsel officially stands up today with independent prosecution and referral authority for 13 UCMJ offenses known as “covered offenses.”

“Today marks a historic day for the Army as the Office of Special Trial Counsel begins exercising its independent decision-making and prosecution authority for sexual assault, domestic violence and other serious offenses,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. “The Office of Special Trial Counsel will execute its mission to seek justice in the best interests of the Army community and build trust in the military justice system by employing a worldwide team of highly skilled and specially trained attorneys and legal professionals.”

Col. Rob Rodrigues, acting lead special trial counsel, will bring 22 years of courtroom experience, serving as a prosecutor, defense counsel and supervisor of military justice practitioners.

“The creation of our office has been years in the making and was born out of the recognition that the Army needs to improve the way it processes and prosecutes serious crimes,” he said. “We have taken the lessons learned of the past 20 years and built an organization at the direction of Congress designed to improve decision-making and the handling of cases at every phase of the military justice process.”

The Office of Special Trial Counsel is headquartered on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and operates 28 field offices across the Army.

Beginning today, the office will become responsible for making independent decisions about serious offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence and murder. This includes the authority to send a case to a court martial. This authority was traditionally held by commanders.

“This change will ensure that each case is evaluated by an independent and objective legal expert,” he said. “If we determine a case should go to trial, the attorneys who work in our office, known as Special Trial Counsel, will be responsible for prosecuting the case.”

Maj. Amanda P. Beckham is a Special Trial Counsel attorney at the Fort Jackson field office.

“This independence means that the attorneys, much like in a civilian district attorney office, are deciding which cases go forward to trial based upon the case’s evidence,” she said.

Rodrigues said the most important feature of this initiative is the exercise of independent decision-making regarding the disposition and prosecution of cases by the OSTC.

“Our office has been empowered to independently evaluate and prosecute cases based on the facts and evidence, free from outside influence,” he said. “Our goal is to seek justice in every case. We will evaluate cases based on the evidence and apply an expert legal review to determine which cases should go forward to trial. We will ensure this process is fair for all involved in the military justice process.”

The Secretary of the Army said it will be a collaborative approach among the commanders and the special trial counsel.

“While the Office of Special Trial Counsel assumes some of the authority previously held by commanders with regards to the disposition of allegations, commanders still retain the overall responsibility for the well-being of Soldiers and mitigating the impact of these incidents within their units,” she said.

Rodrigues said the OSTC has two main goals. The first is to seek justice in every case.

“We will evaluate each case on the merits and apply a rigorous review to determine which cases should go forward to trial,” he said. “We will make disposition decisions in light of the evidence, the interests of the Army, which includes the alleged victim, all while respecting the due process rights of Soldiers accused of misconduct.”

His team’s second goal is to restore and promote trust for the military justice system.

“We will accomplish this by employing a team of highly trained and qualified expert prosecutors, paralegals and support personnel who are the best at what they do in the Army,” he said. “We will treat victims with respect and care. Throughout every phase of the case, we will communicate with victims and ensure they are informed and have the opportunity to provide input into our decisions. We will hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and ensure the rights of accused Solders are always respected.”

Beckham said the Special Trial Counsel will provide victims with honest, clear communications.

“A victim may be more willing to come forward if he or she knows that the Special Trial Counsel may exercise authority over potential misconduct,” she said. “One of our goals is to have a personal meeting with each victim to inform them of case progress or case disposition.”

“I want victims to know that our office is fully committed to seeking justice and earning back trust in the system,” Rodrigues said. “If you report a crime, it will be thoroughly investigated, and our office will make the best decision we can based on the evidence. You will have the opportunity to provide input about your case directly to our prosecutors. You will be treated fairly and with compassion throughout the entire process, regardless of the final outcome of your case.”

Rodrigues said his office is the largest, best trained, most experienced group of prosecutors the Army has assembled into one organization in the 22 years he has served.

“Each Special Trial Counsel prosecutor has been hand-selected and certified to serve in our office,” he said. “Supporting them are our NCO paralegals and Special Victim liaisons, who will provide compassionate support to victim throughout each case. I’m in awe of the talent we have in this organization that truly represents the best of Army legal professionals.”

By Shannon Collins