AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare has released a new Defense Report titled "Army Total Force Policy: Fully Integrating the Operational Reserve" (Defense Report, November 2012).This publication examines steps the Army is taking to ensure future access to a highly capable operational reserve.The Army Total Force Policy, signed by Secretary of the Army John McHugh in September 2012, is a significant step in the evolution of the all-volunteer force.The policy lends greater official and institutional permanence to what soldiers and commanders on the ground have already been doing – fighting as one...
At an isolated forward operating base (FOB) in Afghanistan, helicopters would fly in once a week to deliver 800 gallons of fuel.Of that, 600 gallons were to keep the generators running. It was an enormously expensive way to deliver fuel, Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker said.One week, along with supplies, the helicopters also delivered an "operational energy adviser" who had been specially trained in energy efficiency.Through "a few quick fixes," such as pairing the right size generators with the equipment they were operating, turning some equipment off at certain times and preaching energy...
The rate of suicides among soldiers is of the utmost concern and has major effects on units as well as families, Army Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Thomas R. Lamont said Oct. 22 at a Military Family Forum convened at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the United States Army.So far this year, Lamont said, suicide has taken the lives of 150 active duty soldiers, 105 other soldiers, six family members, and 17 DoD civilians."We must get rid of the perceived stigma of asking for help and foster a culture of respect and care," Lamont said.Army Chief of...
At first blush, the Rapid Armored Tactical Vehicle looks like others of its type – a flat paint job – in this case, black; big military-grade tires, armor plating, with a chassis that can be configured to adapt to mission requirements.This one is different, said James Bailey, the owner, designer and builder, but not so much as to make it too arcane for any good motor pool mechanic to maintain.Built on the chassis of a Ford 550-series truck, its primary source of power is a 500-horsepower, 6.7-liter Ford Powerstroke diesel engine.It weighs 20,000 pounds.What sets it apart from virtually any...
The commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command said the Army’s future success "depends on us staying together" as the service winds down combat operations in Iraq and positions itself for the future.Gen. David Rodriguez, speaking Oct. 22 at the Maj. Gen. Robert G. Moorhead Guard and Reserve Breakfast before the official opening of the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, said his command’s requirement to provide trained and ready soldiers for the spectrum of missions requires "maximizing training resources" and "inculcating all the lessons we learned...
The U.S. Army is transitioning from a force which has over the past decade been engaged primarily in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to one which will be tasked with a wider, and less predictable set of missions, service leaders said recently.Of the 11 primary missions set forth in the most recent Defense Strategic Guidance document produced by the Department of Defense, the Army will have a role in 10, Lt. Gen. John F. Campbell, the Army’s deputy chief of staff G-3/5/7, said.Those missions include homeland defense, cybersecurity, countering terrorism and deterring and defeating aggression –...
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan provided "tremendous battlelabs" for Army special operations forces (SOF), Lt. Gen Charles Cleveland said.Adding, and now, with one war over and the other winding down, "we have to make sure we don’t lose the gains we made."Speaking at the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, Cleveland, who heads the Army Special Operations Command, said special operations forces have greatly matured during the past decade.They have demonstrated skill at operations that range from highly lethal surgical strikes to promoting...
The Army is working diligently to prevent war in the future through select Army units, partnered with allies and specific nations around the globe; a strategy it terms "regional alignment.""Regional alignment is all about providing the combatant commander with the right force at the right time to better shape [the region], maybe preventing something like an Iraq or Afghanistan," Lt. Gen. John F. Campbell, deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7, said.Campbell was one of six panelists at the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare’s Contemporary Military Forum titled "Aligning...
"Our profession is built on the bedrock of trust," the Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, said."Trust is earned. It is not given," Odierno told attendees at an Institute of Land Warfare Military Forum titled "The Army Profession" Oct. 23 during the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition."It is not rank-oriented. It is deeds, not words," he emphasized.Odierno said the Army has learned time and time again all anyone needs to do is listen to the young soldiers who have been in combat to understand what trust between soldiers means, and how much they rely on the...
With 100,000 soldiers expected to leave the military in the next five years, the Army is revamping its Transition Assistance Program to help both departing soldiers and spouses enter the civilian work force, Thomas Lamont, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, said Oct. 22 at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the United States Army.The Army is about to begin helping soldiers and spouses with such things as finances and a job search a full year before their military obligation ends, rather than the present 90 days.The expanded program, Lamont...
Soldier for Life, a new Army initiative, is a holistic approach to the military life cycle career of a soldier.The U.S. Army takes care of teammates by ensuring soldiers start strong, serve strong and reintegrate strong so they remain Army Strong by serving their communities after they leave the Army.The U.S. Army’s strategic imperative of sustaining the All-Volunteer Army is directly affected by how well the veterans reintegrate back into the nation’s communities.Gen. George Washington said: "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified...
The Army is undertaking a process of looking at its potential needs 30 years into the future to determine what science and technology (S&T) efforts it needs to invest in today, senior service leaders have said.The Army has developed a Strategic Modernization Planning process, "which combines a detailed analysis of our current and planned investments in S&T and materiel development, linked to our emerging threats and capability gaps across a long-term, 30-year planning period," Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said.This process will result...
With the emphasis on blast protection to mitigate the damage inflicted by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one manufacturer believes it is producing a device that will improve vehicle passengers’ survivability.The Blast Seat Damper can fit into the seats of any tactical and combat vehicles, General Kinetics of Brampton, Ontario, and Manchester, N.H., claims.At the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition, held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 22-24, company officials talked about the damper’s evolution.The device, which resembles a heavy-duty vehicle shock absorber, had...
With the Stryker armored fighting vehicle having proven its track record under the most severe combat conditions since its introduction in 2002, General Dynamics Corp. – the company that designed and built it – is gearing up to broaden its capabilities.At the heart of General Dynamics Land Vehicle Systems Division’s plans for the Stryker are two different courses of action.The company is working to replace the Army’s remaining inventory of flat-hulled Strykers with double-V hulls, much more capable of protecting crews and soldiers from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).General Dynamics also...
The chief of the Army Reserve told a special seminar at the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition: "We’re going to do more with less. We’ll set the priorities."Speaking Tuesday, Oct. 23, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley said that two long-running personnel issues – the large number of above-the-line Active/Guard and Reserve and the shortage of midgrade officers and noncommissioned officers – were among his top five priorities."For everyone above the line, they are not in the unit. It’s killing readiness."Adding, "We’ve got to get some of these soldiers back in our...