ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, a former Army chief of staff and Veterans Affairs secretary, is the 2023 recipient of the Association of the U.S. Army’s highest award.

The George Catlett Marshall Medal, awarded for distinguished and selfless service, is presented annually during the association’s annual meeting and exposition in Washington, D.C.

A three-day Leader Solarium organized by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Center for Leadership in conjunction with the association’s 2022 Annual Meeting and Exposition focused on strategies for how junior leaders—enlisted, officer, warrant officer and Army civilians—can be inspired team leaders. 

Army plans to field hybrid-drive tactical vehicles by 2035 and fully electric tactical vehicles by 2050 align with a broader service strategy to slow climate change and transition more fully to renewable energy sources. 

But the Army’s top acquisition official says this move will also make soldiers more effective against the enemy.

The Army is reconceptualizing its war for talent, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said Oct. 12.

From bringing back land navigation to examining the Army’s height and weight standards, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston is continuing his push to build cohesive teams and improve soldiers’ quality of life.

Grinston, who is in his fourth year as the Army’s senior enlisted leader, outlined his initiatives for the coming year during a briefing Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2022 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Citizen-soldiers should reconceptualize work-life balance, said the first Army Reserve woman to graduate from Ranger School.

“There is no such thing as work and life; it is a continuum,” Lt. Col. Lisa Jaster said Oct. 12 during a Warriors Corner talk at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2022 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “It’s work-life support.” 

More than 274,000 soldiers serve in the Army Reserve, and 336,000 soldiers serve in the Army National Guard, according to DoD’s 2020 demographics profile. 

As they observe the brutal Russia-Ukraine war from the sidelines, U.S. Army units in Europe have been making moves to update components, become more combat-effective and better integrate with allies on their “home turf.”

Creating cohesive teams and a healthy command climate are critical to preventing harmful behaviors such as suicide, sexual assault and harassment and substance abuse, the leaders of the Army’s People First Task Force said Oct. 12.

Speaking at the Warriors Corner during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, the task force director, said that “cohesive teams—soldiers that are connected to family, unit and friends—are foundational to the Army. This is what ‘People First’ means.”