ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Army needs help from congressional staff members to explain the short-term damage that results from operating with only temporary spending, Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning said Tuesday, Oct. 4, in a breakfast meeting at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Attended by more than 300 members of House and Senate personnel and committee staff members, the annual congressional breakfast is also attended by the Army’s senior military and civilian leaders.

The Army needs to prepare forces for the future at time when technology and potential adversaries are changing rapidly while the defense procurement process is historically slow, a panel of defense and private sector officials said at a contemporary military forum at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

That conflict between the need for rapid change and a cumbersome acquisition process is aggravated by the current budget environment in which funding levels are inadequate and unpredictable, the panelists said.

The second day of AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition includes a look at Army readiness challenges and strategic planning, with additional discussions focusing on warrant officers, NCOs, military families, the National Guard, the Army Reserve, the civilian workforce, and help for small businesses.

The Army has made significant progress in improving support for military children in the ongoing era of frequent deployments, experts said at the first of three military family forums at the 2016 Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army.

“Military kids are dealing with a lot of stuff,” said Cherri Verschraegen, chief of Child, Youth and School (CYS) Services for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command. “That means they’re experienced in dealing with stuff. But it’s not enough for them to survive; we want them to thrive.”

Spc. Robert Miller has been named the Army’s 2016 Soldier of the Year, and Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Moeller is the 2016 Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year. The two winners of the Army’s Best Warrior Competition were announced Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Miller is an explosive ordnance disposal specialist with the 8th Military Police Brigade at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Moeller serves as a cavalry scout with the 108th Training Command, U.S. Army Reserve at San Diego.

The commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command stressed the essential relationship between the Army and the companies that regularly support warfighters during Monday’s corporate member luncheon at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

If the nation wants the Army to do all of the things it is being called on to do today, “you have to pay for it,” Army Secretary Eric K. Fanning said Monday.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, Fanning listed the vital missions the Army is conducting. He noted that because of the reduced defense budgets and the smallest force since World War II, “we’re stretched thin.”

Supporting operations abroad as well as hometown infrastructure improvements earned honors for reserve component units from South Dakota and Minnesota during a breakfast ceremony Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition. 

The Walter T. Kerwin Jr. Readiness Awards went to the 153rd Engineer Battalion of the South Dakota Army National Guard, and Forward Support Company of the 367th Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve, based in St. Cloud, Minn.

The president and chief executive officer of the Association of the U.S. Army told more than 90 chapter leaders that “together, we’re going to get this thing done” in raising membership and better connecting with the Army to help get its story across to the American people.

Retired Gen. Carter F. Ham, speaking Sunday before the formal opening of AUSA’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., told the chapter presidents “the heart and soul of AUSA … resides in this room.”

Opening day of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition includes major addresses by top Army leaders, announcements of the Soldier of the Year and NCO of the Year, and several professional development forums.

And like every day during the three-day event, the exhibit floor opens at 9 a.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with more than 600 displays in five halls.