ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Day 2 of the 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army includes a major lunchtime address by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley about his vision for the future.

It ends with a free concert in the ballroom of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., featuring country artist Mark Wills and the U.S. Army Band Downrange. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and is open to anyone registered to attend the annual meeting.

The U.S. Army is exploring the possibility of implementing some sort of consequences for the increasing number of award protests considered to be “frivolous.” The potential implementation was outlined during an Army Modernization Panel at this week’s Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

According to Steffanie B. Easter, acting assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, the Army has begun an effort with Congress to develop language that would implement consequences for what she called “a frivolous protest.”

The Army plans to create a command aimed at streamlining Army modernization, top officials announced today.

The new command, the name and locale of which have not been disclosed, was announced by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition. The three-day event opened today at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The winners of the U.S. Army Best Warrior Competition were announced today during an awards luncheon at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Spc. Hazen Ham, U.S. Army Pacific, is the Army’s Soldier of the Year, and Staff Sgt. Ryan McCarthy from U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command is the Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year.

A commemorative coin marking the 100th anniversary of U.S. participation in World War I was unveiled by Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

In a small ceremony following the meeting’s opening events, reenactors dressed as American soldiers, NCOs and officers joined McCarthy, Milley, World War I Centennial Commission Chair Terry Hamby and T.V. Johnson, director of the Mint’s corporate communications, for the unveiling.

Host and Association of the U.S. Army Council of Trustees member retired Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz kicked off the annual Maj. Gen. Robert G. Moorhead Guard/Reserve Breakfast this morning by reiterating the theme of the 2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Among the speakers were Gen. Robert B. Abrams, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command; Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Raymond Horoho; and Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey. To a man, each reiterated the exposition theme of “building readiness.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the international situation today “is the most complex and demanding” he has seen in his four decades of service, and he needs the Army to be “at the top of your game, in body, spirit. Mentally, I want you to enhance right now. We must be so ready … that everybody in the world will want to deal with [Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson’s Department of State, not the Department of Defense, your warfighting skills” and for every day they are in uniform “to be dedicated to getting better.”

New industry designs to enhance soldier protection are one of the key exhibit hall themes during this week’s Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Saab Defense and Security, for example, is displaying its new Barracuda Mobile Breakaway camouflage system. According to Brian Keller, president and general manager of Saab Barracuda, the new system is already being fielded to U.S Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

The system combines some mobile camouflage elements with traditional static camouflage designs.

As the Army’s timetable for selecting the next generation Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) approaches, the two prime competitors showcased what each believes would provide the service with a product that offers an optimal package. Both had vehicles on display at the 2017 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition that began today in Washington, D.C.

With more than 60 soldiers in tow, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey led the participants at today’s first early morning Battle Challenge, a fire and maneuver obstacle course that launched activities on the exhibit floor at the Association of the U.S. Army symposium.