In a complex, volatile and changing world, the U.S. needs all components of its Total Army to fight and win, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said.

“We are working rapidly to update our combat training centers and our regional training centers. We are going to have to be able to operate drones and be able to do things in the electronic warfare environment … those changes are going to happen,” George said Aug. 23 during the National Guard Association of the United States General Conference and Exhibition in Milwaukee.

In the past, military technology was generally ahead of what was available in the commercial sector, but “that is not the case right now,” George said. “It’s critically important that we transform at a quicker pace than we’ve done in the past,” he said. “We’re going to have to change the way we do business.”

As an example, George pointed to the Virginia National Guard’s 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which is the first Army National Guard brigade to transform into a mobile brigade combat team. “We are going to do that in the next year, and we’re going to do it very rapidly,” George said. “Every soldier and NCO [in the brigade] that I’ve spoken to has said ‘We’re ready now, we want to go faster.’ ”

The Army Transformation Initiative, a sweeping transformation that promises big changes for the force, centers on “taking lessons observed, and making them lessons learned. To make a lesson learned, you have to change how you train and operate, you have to change how you’re organized, and you have to change how you buy things,” George said.

That transformation will require “learning from the bottom up,” he said. “We’re learning from the people that are actually fighting in these formations, and we have innovative soldiers that understand how to piece all of this together.”

The Army also is reexamining its training methods, George said. “One of the goals I have for the Army is to reduce our [temporary duty assignment] time by 50%,” which will require more immersive training at the unit level, he said. “You should be able to do drone and electronic warfare training at whatever camp, post or station you are located at,” George said.

George also lauded the Guard’s State Partnership Program, which pairs state Guards with a partner country. “Everywhere I go, I hear from our partners about how valuable the partnerships are,” and how much the relationships accomplish for the Army and the joint force, he said.

Roughly 22,000 National Guard soldiers are currently mobilized under Title 10 authorities, George said, adding that he is “incredibly proud of all that the Guard is doing to answer the nation’s call.”

The Army National Guard makes up 32% of the Total Army and contains 42% of the service’s combat power, George said. “We’re one Army—that’s the only way we’re ever going to deploy,” he said.