ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Medical readiness is essential to Army Reserve units’ ability to deploy and conduct their missions.

“Readiness is the number one priority of the Army today, and medical readiness is the biggest feeder for overall readiness,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Brown, the senior enlisted leader of the Army Reserve’s 7th Mission Support Command (MSC), Kaiserslautern, Germany.

The Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) and its annual medical and dental examination are the keys, he said. Each individual is responsible for medical readiness, and it’s the first line leader’s job to ensure their soldiers...

One of the Army’s current priorities is development of a maneuver system to counter short-range air defense threats such as drones, officials said Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Over the past 15 years, the Army inventory of systems to defend against low-altitude and medium-altitude weapons has dwindled, said Barry Pike, the Army’s program executive officer for missiles and space.

Pike chaired a capabilities development panel discussion at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Hot Topic forum on air and missile defense (AMD) in Arlington, Va.

During the last decade, the U.S. military felt it had air superiority...

In addition to peer competitors China and Russia, North Korea and Iran are posing a rapidly evolving threat, said Lt. Gen. Jim Dickinson.

To counter that threat, the U.S. must enhance its layered air and missile defense capability, said Dickinson, the commander of Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense.

He discussed those enhancements during the Association of the U.S. Army’s, Institute of Land Warfare Hot Topic forum on the Army’s air and missile defense capabilities.

Last year, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully demonstrated a ground-based, mid-course...

The Association of the U.S. Army’s Fairfax-Lee Chapter saluted this year’s recipients of the George Mason University (GMU) Made a Difference awards.

Brig. Gen. Robert Harter, U.S. Army Reserve and Chief Warrant Officer (CW4) Clifford Bauman, Army National Guard, were recognized for dedicated and distinguished service to their communities, the Army and the nation over a sustained period of time.

Harter is the commanding general of the 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and Bauman currently serves as a logistics technician, Army National Guard Aviation Logistics Branch, Aviation and Safety...

Supporters of the National Museum of the United States Army (NMUSA) continue to purchase commemorative bricks as a lasting tribute that will be placed on the NMUSA campus.

Bricks have been purchased by supporters to honor soldiers, Army units, Army families, Department of the Army civilians, museum and Army supporters, and others.

In addition to purchasing bricks, many have chosen to share the personal story behind their bricks and the inscriptions through the “Why My Brick” program.

Retired Col. Irma Hagans Cooper purchased a brick to honor her own storied military service as a female, a nurse...

A nonprofit organization that advocates for the U.S. Army recently provided funding to assist patients at the domiciliary at the Eisenhower VA Medical Center with their rehabilitation program.

And have a little fun too.

The Henry Leavenworth Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) donated $750 to Midwest Adaptive Sports so that patients at the VA could enjoy a day of skiing at Snow Creek ski resort in Weston, Mo.

A group of approximately 10 domiciliary patients took part in the trip to the ski resort as part of their recreation therapy program.

Participants spent approximately...

Greetings from the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), our Army’s association for education and professional development, and a major supporter of the Army’s Soldier for Life efforts.

From March 1 through May 15, the Army will conduct its annual Army Emergency Relief (AER) fund campaign.

Did you know AER supported over 43,000 requests for assistance in 2017 with a total value of $69.7 million? Wow!

Did you know AER approves 99 percent of all financial assistance requests while most of the remaining 1 percent is unauthorized based on Army regulation?

Did you know all loans from AER are...

Togo A. West, Jr., a former secretary of the Army and secretary of veterans affairs, died of a heart attack on a cruise ship sailing between Barbados and Puerto Rico March 8. He was 75.

Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., West graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from its law school finishing first in his class.

He served in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer from 1965 to 1968, and in the Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1969 to 1973.

He held a variety of positions in the Department of Defense...

The Army must retain its current skills but be able to crush adversaries in full-scale combat as it faces an approaching era of global competition threatening U.S. overmatch, Army Secretary Mark T. Esper says.

In an interview at his Pentagon office, the 23rd secretary of the Army addressed the changing operational environment faced by the Army. He outlined some of what is coming to ensure the force has the lethality it needs and the means to prepare for something bigger than irregular warfare.

A new approach to organizing, training and equipping the force will be essential as the Army emerges...

While some futurists and technology executives are predicting a blanket shift to fully autonomous civilian vehicles over the next two decades, in the case of the Army, autonomy is not viewed as a one-size-fits-all solution to future operations.

It’s not that DoD doesn’t have access to the technology. In fact, it could be argued that events like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Grand Challenges in 2004, 2005 and 2007 established the technical foundation for many of today’s commercial driverless vehicle initiatives. (In the Grand Challenges, DARPA gave prizes to spur the...

Reading for professional growth is an important practice for military leaders. However, there can be plenty of false starts along the way—especially for younger officers and NCOs. For instance, I remember walking into a bookstore as a second lieutenant, going to the military history section and picking out the first book I thought looked interesting. Many times, these books lacked professional value or the reading was so dense that I could not bring myself to finish. Too often, I took a break following these self-study missteps. 

While there are numerous reading lists out there for young...

Instruction for enlisted soldiers had been the responsibility of unit leaders since before the Army was created, and the idea of specialized training or education for NCOs outside their unit was considered a nontraditional method for most of U.S. history. The roots of unit instruction were focused on the basic drills that an infantryman had to master in battle, and centered on reloading, target practice and marching. Often, there were additional drills before battle.

After the Revolutionary War, leaders of the fledgling Army did not often discuss NCO skills development. It would not be until...

Instruction for enlisted soldiers had been the responsibility of unit leaders since before the Army was created, and the idea of specialized training or education for NCOs outside their unit was considered a nontraditional method for most of U.S. history. The roots of unit instruction were focused on the basic drills that an infantryman had to master in battle, and centered on reloading, target practice and marching. Often, there were additional drills before battle.

After the Revolutionary War, leaders of the fledgling Army did not often discuss NCO skills development. It would not be until...

West Point Book a Revolutionary Myth Buster

The West Point History of the American Revolution. The United States Military Academy. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages. $55

By John F. Ross

The American Revolution remains the most discussed, contested and myth-filled period in our nation’s history, so tackling this complex story in a single volume might appear to be a fool’s errand. The West Point History of the American Revolution is nonetheless satisfying because it must explain the arc of the conflict so concisely. It helps that the book is richly appointed with pull-out maps, sidebar biographies...

Bob and Janet Smith sat at the kitchen table.

They were working on their budget for the year ahead and thinking about any major expenses they could expect over the next three years.

Using the information they had gathered to do their taxes, they wrote down how much they each had made last year from their full-time jobs, their investment income and any interest on their various accounts. This gave them their income – or revenue.

They also had built a spreadsheet of their major monthly expenses, including their mortgage, utility bills, food and entertainment, car payments, insurance and the laundry...