ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The first time I opened an MRE, I was 9 years old. My neighbor, a former Marine, had bought a box of them from the surplus store for a hunting trip and had one left over. He handed it to me and said, “I think you’ll get a kick out of this.”

I tore open the plastic bag and from the moment I looked inside, I was hooked. Bread, crackers, cheese, beef stew, all inside individual pouches with calories and vitamin content spelled out on the back of each; matches; toilet paper; gum; the smallest bottle of hot sauce I’d ever seen—everything had a purpose, and everything was in its place. I thought...

Today, most of us think of cooties as those imaginary germs kids are afraid they’ll get if they go anywhere near a member of the opposite sex.

As we exit from our second war in this new century, many in authority sense something is missing in American strategic generalship. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that the services have come up short at the strategic level, the level at which national security and political objectives are translated into war-winning plans and policies.

Much of the blame for this perceived sense of failure rests with the senior officers—mostly generals—who devise policy, advise civilian leaders, and command very large military organizations. In a strange irony, these same serving soldiers performed very...

Don M. Snider taught political science at the U.S. Military Academy and has been a professor at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute. 

Engaging Work Explores a War That’s ‘Endless’

How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon. Rosa Brooks. Simon & Schuster. 439 pages. $29.95

By Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Bolger

U.S. Army retired

There’s a great old cartoon depicting two disheveled, exhausted riflemen digging into rocky soil. The younger one looks particularly grumpy. “You’ll get over it, Joe,” says Willie. “Oncet I wuz gonna write a book exposin’ the army after th’ war myself.”

Willie and Joe’s creator, Sgt. Bill Mauldin of the 45th Infantry Division, did write that book, the wonderful Up Front...

Eighty representatives from military family nonprofit groups met recently at the Association of the U.S. Army’s national headquarters to share resources and expertise.

Called “Learning and Leaning In,” the one-day event was co-hosted by AUSA and the Military Spouse JD Network, and held in AUSA’s Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Va.

Gen. Carter F. Ham, USA, Ret., AUSA president and CEO, kicked off the event by relating family readiness to Army readiness, the top priority of the Army chief of staff.

“Families make valuable contributions to readiness in very real ways,” Ham said.

He added,...

Retired Army Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., a World War II veteran who rose from a Minnesota National Guard private to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has died.

The 94-year-old was Army vice chief of staff in 1982 when he was selected by President Ronald Reagan to be the military’s top uniformed leader.

When he retired in 1985 after 46 years of service, he was the last four-star World War II combat veteran still on active duty.

In his humble retirement speech, Vessey said that during his morning run, he had thought about all of the great and inspirational things he might say.

“As I thought...

Sergeant Elizabeth Marks, a combat medic and a Paralympic swimmer in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, won a gold medal for Team USA and set a new Paralympic record in the women’s SB7 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:28.83.

Marks, a native of Prescott, Az., made headlines earlier this year when she won four gold medals at the 2016 Invictus Games at Walt Disney World ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

She gave one of those gold medals to Invictus Games founder Prince Harry to deliver to members of the Papworth Hospital staff that saved Marks’ life after she...

Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Sam Kendricks was content to walk away with the Olympic bronze medal following what he called “the most enjoyable pole vault competition of his life” at the Rio Olympic Games.

It took two Olympic records, set by the gold and silver medalists, to top Kendricks’ vault of 19 feet 2 inches, and push him to third place on a rainy Monday night at the Olympic Stadium.

Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva won the gold with an Olympic record vault of 19 feet, 9 inches. France’s Renaud Lavillenie took the silver at 19 feet 7 inches.

“I know that the Olympics is like a high tide. It raises all...

Soldier-athletes made a contribution to a record medal haul for the United States in the recent 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Spc. Paul Chelimo, a water-treatment specialist who joined the Army in 2014, had the best performance among the soldiers who competed in the games, winning a silver medal in the 5,000-meter track race – but not without a bit of controversy.

The five-time NCAA All-American, a member of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), initially was disqualified because he made contact with another runner during the event.

But he won an appeal and was reinstated as...

Abrams Medal

The General Creighton W. Abrams Medal for exceptional service to the United States Army is awarded to Lt. Gen. Claude M. “Mick” Kicklighter, USA, Ret.

In 1954, while attending Mercer University, Kicklighter enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve as a corporal and was quickly promoted to sergeant. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.

A short time later, he was commissioned in the Regular Army, where he served for nearly 36 years.

Serving two tours in Vietnam, Kicklighter was part of the 1st Logistical Command as a planning officer in the early days of the war and later...

The Association of the United States Army selected Maj. Craig Young, an exercise planner with U.S. Army Europe and Operation Atlantic Resolve, his wife, Lisa, and their three children – Zachary, Abigail and Benjamin – to receive the 2016 AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award.

This annual award recognizes an exceptional family whose volunteerism has contributed significantly to the well-being of the Army community.

The award will be presented to the Youngs at the opening ceremony of the Association’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, on Monday, Oct. 3, in Walter E. Washington Convention Center...

Greetings from the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), our Army’s and our soldiers’ professional organization.

Across the total force, Army leaders, soldiers, Army civilians, retired soldiers, veterans, industry leaders and Army families are all excited about this year’s Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

One of the highlights of the Annual Meeting is the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the selection of a great noncommissioned officer as our 2016 Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge Medal recipient.

Our 2016 honoree is Command Sgt...

Representatives from the Army, the Department of Defense, the federal government, and the defense industry gathered recently at the national headquarters of the Association of the U.S Army (AUSA) to discuss the U.S. military’s role in peacekeeping and stability operations.

The event, titled “Peace and Stability: Operating in a Complex World,” was held at AUSA’s Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Va., and hosted by the Association in cooperation with the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI).

Retired Gen. Carter Ham, AUSA president and CEO, kicked off the event by saying...

By the time you read this article, one of these two scenarios will be true:

1. Congress returns from recess and passes a continuing resolution to keep the government running past Oct.1.

2. Congress returns from recess and fails to pass a continuing resolution and the government shuts down.

It’s a 99.9 percent probability that Congress will pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running past the Oct. 1 deadline.

How they reach their goal is the billion dollar question.

Any optimism the Senate had that they would be able to pass the defense spending bill was dashed when the...