ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

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.

On June 17, at Fort Bliss, Texas, Class 66, with 476 students from 33 countries as well as members of the Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, graduated from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA).

This annual event is one of mixed emotions and bittersweet memories as members of the graduating class who have studied, debated, analyzed and worked together in preparation for the leadership...

Funeral services were held July 7 in Shreveport, La., for retired Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen.

The 89-year-old general had a military career spanning more than 53 years, and close ties with the Association of the U.S. Army.

Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., former AUSA president and CEO, called Stroud “a selfless soldier and loyal friend whom I shall miss. My condolences to his family and his colleagues throughout the entire Army and defense community.

“I am proud to have known him and have him in my thoughts and prayers.”

Stroud’s military...

It’s said that readiness wins wars, but the ability to define and align resilience in each soldier is dramatically influenced by the demands placed upon the human body.

One of the greatest challenges facing modern warfare is the exacting cost of musculoskeletal dysfunction. What’s known as disease and non-battle injury results in significantly greater reductions to our nation’s fighting forces than combat incidents, then-Maj. Gen. James Peake wrote in the April 2000 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The Bone and Joint Decade Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health has...

The Association of the U.S. Army’s Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy Chapter held its third annual Army birthday ball, June 18, in Sparta, Wisconsin.

This event celebrated the 241st Army birthday as well the 107th birthday of Fort McCoy.

To recognize the importance of Army young professionals, the chapter hosted 38 junior leaders attending the Fort McCoy NCO Academy Basic Leader Course.

The mission of Fort McCoy is to “Underpin Readiness of the Force by Serving as a Training Center and a Support Site for Power Projection Missions.”

The important the young professionals’ event was...

Retired Army Col. David Beckner, a former president of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Stuttgart Chapter and the Association’s European Region, passed away on June 14 at the Katherine Hospital in Stuttgart, Germany. He was 88.

Gen. Carter F. Ham, USA, Ret., AUSA president and CEO, said, “Col. Beckner made a huge difference to the soldiers, civilian employees and families stationed in Europe, especially in his beloved Stuttgart area. He will be long remembered for his unwavering love of country and his unbounded love of American soldiers.”

Beckner enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946...

The Association of the U.S. Army has a new Resolutions Committee.

Five volunteers have accepted the nomination for a three-year term on the revised committee.

The members are:

• „ Col. Robert Mentell, USA, Ret.
• „ Col. Michael Plummer, USA, Ret.
• „ Maj. Gen. Jim Rogers, USA, Ret.
• „ Col. Douglas D. Stewart, USA, Ret.
• „ Sgt. Maj. Geri Wacker, USA, Ret.

The members come from the AUSA First, Second, Third, Pacific and European Regions, and they bring a wealth of experience to the table. The AUSA director of government affairs, John Gifford, will serve as the committee’s staff coordinator at the AUSA National...

The Family Readiness Directorate of the Association of the U.S. Army has four free events planned in August and September aimed at Army families.

On Aug. 17 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, a half-day forum is planned about living with a soldier who has post-traumatic stress.

On Aug. 25, a spouse employment forum will be held at Fort Riley, Kan.

On Aug. 26, a full-day forum will be held at AUSA’s Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Va., focusing on how nonprofit organizations led by military spouses could collaborate on programs.

Finally, on Sept. 22, a forum focusing on National Guard and...

In his first week as president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army, retired Gen. Carter F. Ham told the House Armed Services Committee that the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 has had an “overall significant positive effect,” and any changes to the law should be considered with ample caution.

The Goldwater-Nichols act reworked the command structure of the United States military and increased the powers of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It also established the position of Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and simplified the military...

On July 1 at AUSA headquarters we welcomed our new president and CEO, retired Gen. Carter Ham.

He has already been to Capitol Hill to make sure the chairmen and ranking members of key committees hear AUSA’s voice on the issues which are critical to our members and our Army.

As this article goes to print, Congress has recessed and the presidential nominating conventions are underway.

Congress won’t return to Washington, D.C., until early September, after Labor Day.

Unfortunately, before they recessed, they didn’t complete their work on the appropriations bills that will fund the government after...

The highest award of the Association of the U.S. Army, the George Catlett Marshall Medal, will be presented this October to retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan

Keeping a technological edge over adversaries requires the Army to cut the length of time it takes to get new weapons and equipment into the hands of soldiers, according to a top Army acquisition official.

“If it takes eight to 10 years to build a weapons system, we are already two generations behind,” said Lt. Gen. Michael E. Williamson, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, at a July 13 breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.

“Our adversaries – state and nonstate actors – are...

A panel of military and civilian experts discussed the difficulties of force projection and operational reach during an Association of the U.S. Army’s Hot Topic forum in June, held at the AUSA Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Virginia.The austere locations and anti-access/area denial challenges that characterize many of the U.S. Army’s operating areas make it difficult for military forces to perform sustainment missions, which means it is more important than ever for the Army to globally manage visibility, commodities and munitions.“Our biggest challenges with distribution are access...

The Army logistics community is making the adjustment from 15 years of concentrating on serving small-unit operations to refocusing on supporting potential large-scale combat, the service’s top logistics official said June 2.Lt. Gen. Gustave F. Perna, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for logistics, G-4, said years of having small units operating from static forward operating bases on predictable rotations allowed the Army to slip into a “comfort zone” where some important skills “atrophied.”Speaking at an Association of the U.S. Army’s Hot Topic forum on Army force projection and sustainment...

A growing concern over the troop drawdown, realignments across the total Army force, and questions of what that means to the average soldier, were put to ease by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey during his visit with deployed soldiers at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, in May.“Responsible drawdown is key. We have to make sure we do a couple things here,” said Dailey. “We have to build a sustainable force for the future and make sure that force is ready to fight and win.”Dailey said the top priority for a sustainable force is soldier and unit readiness.“Great soldiers have been serving this Army...

Army Ten-Miler and General Dynamics officials announced that runners attending the Army Ten-Miler’s General Dynamics Pasta Dinner are in for a special event and experience.Highlighting the dinner, attendees will meet the senior enlisted leadership of the Army.Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey; Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher S. Kepner, command sergeant major of the Army National Guard; and Command Sgt. Maj. James P. Willis, command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve, will speak Oct. 10 at the race’s dinner.The dinner also features an “all-you-can-eat” pasta buffet and an energizing...