ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Association of the U.S. Army’s highest award for selfless service to the United States was symbolically presented Oct. 15 to “The Army Family.”

The Marshall Award, named for soldier-statesman Gen. George Catlett Marshall, traditionally goes to an individual. This is the second time since 1960 that it has been awarded to a group. The previous time was in 2004, when it was awarded to the American soldier.

The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is set to deliver new, leap-ahead technology to the force as the service continues to transform and modernize for the future battlefield, a senior leader said.

“Every year, for the next five years, the RCCTO will deliver at least one piece of equipment that's new to the battlespace at the tactical level,” Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space and rapid acquisition, said Oct. 15.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper credits the Army as leading military transformation in an era of great-power competition. He even called the Army “ruthless.”

The former Army secretary, who assumed the top Pentagon post last year, said, “The future of warfare is being shaped right now, before our eyes, and the Army proudly stands at the forefront.” 

He spoke Oct. 15 during a presentation at AUSA Now, the 2020 virtual annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point teaches many things to cadets, but a new focus over the past 15 months has been a campaign about character. 

Brig. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, West Point’s commandant of the Corps of Cadets, said the goal is creating cohesive teams in which leaders make the right decisions and members have confidence in their leaders. This means “choosing the harder right over the greater wrong,” Buzzard said.

The third day of AUSA Now features an address by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a town hall focused on family issues and many other forums and events.

Esper opens the day’s main events with a presentation at 10 a.m. 

As the Army rolls out talent management initiatives across the force, it is also launching a sweeping plan to build a better future for its civilian workforce, senior leaders said. 

“People bring unique gifts to the Army,” E. Casey Wardynski, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, said Oct. 14 during an Army civilian forum at AUSA Now, the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2020 virtual annual meeting.

“And we want to put them in career fields where they have the maximum potential,” he said.

The Army is developing a new model that would prepare soldiers for current and future missions by aligning divisions with geographic regions on predictable deployment and training rotations.

The force generation model, known as the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM, is expected to be ready to launch at the beginning of fiscal year 2022, Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, deputy Army chief of staff for operations, said in a contemporary military forum at AUSA Now, the virtual annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.

The Army’s modernization efforts have not slowed down in the face of 2020 challenges, said Gen. Mike Murray, commanding general of Army Futures Command, citing as an example the recently completed six-week exercise that’s part of the service’s Project Convergence initiative.

The Army is working tirelessly to help the nation fight COVID-19—and it still has a way to go, according to Army Medicine’s top general.

“I've been able to witness firsthand how our Army medical professionals have worked to ensure that we have healthy soldiers, healthy workplaces and healthy communities across the nation,” Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, Army surgeon general, said Oct. 14 during a media roundtable at AUSA Now, the 2020 virtual annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. 

People are the Army’s No. 1 priority, and they will be the key to the service’s success as it prepares for a dangerous and complex future battlefield, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said.

“ ‘People First’ is not only a philosophy, it’s also now our No. 1 priority,” McConville said during his Eisenhower address Oct. 14 during AUSA Now, the 2020 virtual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. “When we take care of people, we get them in the right jobs at the right time, that is how we win.”