Throughout my life, the U.S. has wrestled with questions of race and today, the news seems to focus on little else. I’d like to believe we have made real progress. If we have, I know the Army has played a big role. From my first day in the Army, I have been surrounded by African-American role models. As much as anyone, they have shaped and molded me as a soldier, a citizen and a man.I owe several black soldiers much more than I can repay, and my admiration is only stronger when I reflect on the story of African-Americans in the Army. It’s a different story than mine, and I’m sorry to say that...
Our nation cannot afford to allow the armored multi-purpose vehicle program to become the next Army acquisition casualty, thereby leaving America’s only heavy ground combat force hamstrung with the M113 armored personnel carrier. The venerable M113 has outlived its usefulness, and its demonstrated vulnerability makes it a liability on today’s lethal, nonlinear battlefield. Its replacement is long overdue. The Army must accelerate the procurement and fielding of the armored multipurpose vehicle and divest itself of the M113 family of vehicles.The armored brigade combat team (ABCT) provides our...
Our nation cannot afford to allow the armored multi-purpose vehicle program to become the next Army acquisition casualty, thereby leaving America’s only heavy ground combat force hamstrung with the M113 armored personnel carrier. The venerable M113 has outlived its usefulness, and its demonstrated vulnerability makes it a liability on today’s lethal, nonlinear battlefield. Its replacement is long overdue. The Army must accelerate the procurement and fielding of the armored multipurpose vehicle and divest itself of the M113 family of vehicles.The armored brigade combat team (ABCT) provides our...
My friends, this is the sixth time I have had the honor to write you as secretary and, sadly for me, the last. We have been on this journey for many years now and without reservation, serving your Army has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. It has also served to reinforce and increase my great respect and admiration for our soldiers, their families and the civilians who support them.Our nation—indeed, the world—owes so much to these selfless patriots who chose to serve in the defense of freedom during one of the most dangerous and unpredictable periods in our history. I cannot...
It is both a blessing and a curse that 2015 was the year we stopped hearing people ask the demoralizing question of whether the United States of America still needed a standing Army. World events—in Syria and Iraq, Ukraine and Russia, in Eastern Africa and on the Korean Peninsula—changed the question to one equally demoralizing: How much Army can we afford?Affordability shouldn’t be how a powerful nation decides the size of the one military branch with the unique capability of sustained dominance on the ground anywhere on the globe. Ours is a force that can mobilize and quickly respond to man...
Soldiers of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade said goodbye to their families in May 2014 as they departed for what they anticipated would be a routine deployment to Kuwait. These Minnesota National Guard soldiers expected to perform a general support aviation mission, including transportation and security duties. They encountered much more.The rise of the Islamic State group forced the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade and other units under U.S. Central Command to assume expanded roles. Only four months into their deployment, these soldiers were key players in the campaign to defeat and degrade this...
Since 2001, more than 300,000 Army Reserve soldiers have been mobilized and routinely deployed across the globe, including to every major combat zone. Steady demand for Army Reserve capabilities has introduced a new paradigm of reliance on the Army Reserve as a critical part of our national security architecture.The nation’s investment in the Army Reserve is a crucial and cost-effective way to integrate, maintain and retain a proven and essential talent base. Today’s Army Reserve combines the strength of the civilian sector with the strength of America’s Army. Beyond deployments and joint...
For more than 240 years, the American soldier has answered the call to action; in every era of conflict and war, the professional NCO has played a significant role as a leader of soldiers. The roles and responsibilities of the NCO have always been to lead, mentor and train soldiers while enforcing standards. The NCO Creed galvanizes the idea that NCOs are professional soldiers who are also members of a time-honored corps known as “the backbone of the Army.”Though the values associated with the NCO corps will never change, the future operating environment will most certainly be more complex and...
Today, the soldiers of America’s Army are deployed and engaged around the globe in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Baltics and Latin America. Acting as part of one joint team, they are simultaneously deterring adversaries and assuring allies, building increased partner capacity and responding to regional challenges, providing humanitarian support and disrupting terrorist networks.Wherever they are, America’s soldiers are displaying true courage, commitment and character. They are demonstrating unparalleled competence and agility. And no matter the...
Under a cloudless sky and cool Estonian breeze, NATO allies from the United States and Norway worked together to improve a demolition range at the Central Training Area, Tapa, in Estonia."My soldiers [along with the Norwegians] are building up three walls that will include a window, wall and door breaching site in order to improve the training capabilities of the Estonian base here at Tapa," Capt. Andrew Twardowski, commander of 500th Engineer Company, 15th Engineer Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, based out of Grafenwoehr, Germany.In a buzz of organized chaos, soldiers on the ground...
In U.S. Army basic combat training, there’s a portion of training dedicated to performing a team obstacle course. The purpose: to team soldiers up and test their ability to work together to accomplish a shared objective.Now imagine the soldiers are from different countries, speak a different language and have different tactics and gear.This is the scenario that played out in Wedrzyn, Poland, during a combined training course with U.S. soldiers, of P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and Polish soldiers, from Poland’s 6th Airborne Brigade.The four-part course paired the allies together...
Exercise Uhlan Fury ended in Lithuania with a jump from UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters above the General Silvestras Zlikaliskas Training Area.U.S. Army’s Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 4th Infantry Division, and Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) soldiers, assigned to 2nd Coy, Grand Duchess Birut Uhlan Battalion (BUB), have been training for two weeks during the bilateral training exercise.Along with pilots and flight crews from B Company, 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, the service...
Four soldiers from the Ghana Armed Forces had the opportunity to participate in the United States Army’s Warrior Leader Course (WLC) held at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA), Grafenwoehr, Germany.This is the first time service members from Ghana have participated in this course.WLC is the Army’s first professional leadership course for noncommissioned officers. The month-long course teaches soldiers the basic skills to lead. The course also routinely trains soldiers from other nations."By allowing our international partners to attend our academy it enhances our partnership...
More than 4,500 participants from eight nations participated in Exercise Allied Spirit II at the U.S. Army’s Hohenfels Training Area in southeastern Germany.Participating countries include Canada, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the United States.This level of participation from so many multinational partners and allies at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) makes the exercise somewhat unique."Allied Spirit II … is the largest multinational exercise we’ve had here at JMRC probably within the last 10 years," said U.S. Army Maj. Kirk...