ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The ultimate purpose of the U.S. Army Futures Command “is all about output. It’s not about process … The output is about the lethality of the American soldier. And ultimately, it is about the American soldier,” Gen. John M. Murray, commanding general of the new command, said Oct. 10.

That output will include new concepts to match the rapidly changing world, Murray told the national partners luncheon at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition. “It’s not all about material, it’s also about concepts.”

Coalition warfare was the central theme of The Institute of Land Warfare’s Contemporary Military Forum, “Working towards Interoperability in a New Era of Nation-State Conflict” at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10. In a year marking the centennial of the U.S.

Top leaders agreed during a forum on Multi-Domain Operations, that the Army’s new warfighting concept can only succeed if it is executed in synchronization with the other services.

This morning’s Warrior Corner presentation at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, led by the Army’s Air and Missile Defense (AMD) Cross-Functional Team (CFT), highlighted successful efforts credited to a close working relationship between the new CFT and the Army’s Program Executive Office (PEO) for Missiles and Space.

One of those efforts involves the ongoing testing and planned introduction of directed energy capabilities into the Army air defense arena.

The Pentagon’s No. 2 civilian leader strongly advocated the U.S. Army Futures Command and its leader, Gen. John M. Murray, as a key component in not just making the Army, but the nation as a whole, ready to “dominate and win” in the emerging great-power competition.

“This isn’t just Gen. Murray’s project for the Army. This is about defending the nation,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan said Oct. 10.

The Army’s Synthetic Training Environment (STE) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) has taken significant steps since its establishment Oct. 23, 2017. That was one of the messages presented at this morning’s Warriors Corner by a STE CFT panel that included Maj. Gen. Maria Gervais, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and director of STE CFT, retired Gen. Peter Chiarelli, former Army vice chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Michael E. Sloane, program executive officer for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), and Mike Enloe, chief engineer for STE on the CFT.

With AUSA’s senior leadership and numerous conference attendees looking on, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed a free concert on Tuesday night at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

The concert took place in the main ballroom at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., and was co-sponsored by AUSA and Veterans United, a lender specializing in veterans’ home loans.

Day Three of AUSA 2018 includes a morning address by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the Pentagon’s chief management officer, and concludes with the Marshall Dinner.

In between, cross-functional team briefings continue during the day at Warriors Corner, Booth 7727 in Hall D.

The Army’s top three leaders fielded a host of questions on problems facing Army family members and either offered solid explanations or directed senior officers in the audience to take action to solve the problems or to find better answers.

The American homeland is more secure than it has been in recent years, thanks to the relationship between DoD and Homeland Security, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said today at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.

“The partnership between the departments of Homeland Security and Defense has made America immeasurably safer,” Nielsen said in an afternoon address that garnered a standing ovation from a mostly uniformed audience.