Army Ten-Miler race officials have announced changes to the registration date and procedures for signing up to run in the 2011 race.This year, there will be a priority registration for all U.S. service members and runners who have participated in at least seven Ten-Miler races. Approximately one-third of the total 30,000 race entries – the race’s runner cap – will be reserved for this new priority registration program.Priority registration will open May 1 and U.S. service members must use a ".mil" address to register. A searchable data base will be posted for seven-time plus race participants...
If there’s anything to predict about the future of Army operations is that it will be unpredictable, according to Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and also the nominee to become the next Army chief of staff. It will be difficult to train soldiers for a specific operation and, therefore, soldiers must be trained to adapt to any situation.Training and education programs should be "relevant and challenging" and be the foundation to building soldiers who are confident in themselves so they can make decisions "when things go wrong," Dempsey said Feb. 24...
The longest-serving sergeant major of the Army emphasized the importance of maintaining an adaptable force during a farewell interview Feb. 7 at the Pentagon.Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston has served as the top enlisted adviser to the Army chief of staff for seven years, from January 2004 until March.He faced several key challenges when he first arrived, but said he feels the Army has advanced through properly manning, equipping and training the force."If you look at the Army at that time, we were in Iraq and Afghanistan at that time, we were tied up with fighting two wars," Preston...
As often seems the case when I write this column, defense funding is in flux.This year is particularly interesting as we are dealing with funding for the remainder of 2011 as well as funding for 2012.The continuing resolution that funds the Department of Defense at 2010 levels will expire on March 18. If a Fiscal Year 2011 Defense Appropriation Bill is not passed and DoD is required to continue to operate at 2010 funding levels for the rest of the year, the results for the Army could be devastating.The AUSA president, Gen. Gordon Sullivan, USA, Ret., is very concerned and has written to senior...
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla.Member, House Rules CommitteeIn the spring of 2009, one of my constituents – a navy veteran with muscular dystrophy – reached out to my office in desperate need of assistance. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had abruptly cancelled his pension and he had fallen below the poverty line. Unable to pay for daily expenses, unable to meet his mortgage payments, Mr. Scriber was on the verge of losing his home and joining the ranks of the 100,000 homeless veterans in our nation.Mr. Scriber did not break the law, nor did he commit any crime. In March 2008, he was...
The Army Family Action Plan (AFAP) is an Army-wide program designed to involve soldiers, family members, retirees and DoD civilians in a process to solve and improve quality-of-life issues.AFAP was formally adopted at the first Department of the Army (DA) planning conference in July 1983, and the formal Army Family Action Plan was published in 1984.Since AFAP began, more than 660 issues have been identified, leading to 133 legislative changes, 172 Army or Department of Defense policy changes and 192 improved programs and services.It is one of the most successful programs in the Army, and...
Cutting health care costs: How you can help. We’ve always said that retirees through service and sacrifice have already paid enormous premiums. We believe strongly that the Defense Department must expend greater efforts on reducing health costs by eliminating inefficiencies in administration, contracting, and procurement rather than looking first to beneficiaries. AUSA will continue to push them to find the inefficiencies, but we also believe that beneficiaries can help. Filling a prescription at a civilian pharmacy instead of using mail order is one of the factors driving up military costs. T...
Emphasizing the Association of the United Sates Army’s strong opposition to survivor benefit inequities that are contained in current law, Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., AUSA president, has written members of Congress supporting their legislation that would not only address these inequities, but also eliminate them.In letters to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Budget Committee, and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a member of the House Armed Service Committee, Sullivan said their proposed legislation – S.260 and H.R. 178, respectively – would repeal...
The Army Nurse Corps celebrated its 110th anniversary and another chapter in its rich tradition of dedicated service on Feb. 2.The theme for this year’s celebration "Touching Lives for 110 Years" epitomizes the women and men of the Army Nurse Corps and is the essence of what Army nurses do every day.What the Army Nurse Corps has doneMen and women have served as Army nurses since 1775.The history of the Army Nurse Corps, however, dates back to 1901 when Army nurses became a part of the Army Medical Department.Today, under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, deputy surgeon general...
The Army vice chief said the pyramid of information flow in combat operations has shifted so that NCOs and other enlisted soldiers are relied on to make "game-changing decisions."Speaking Feb. 23 at the Association of the United States Army’s Winter Symposium and Exposition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Gen. Peter Chiarelli said the speed of information flow has meant that soldiers on the ground are obtaining more information than in past wars.The fight no longer takes place on the traditional battlefield because the enemies have benefited the most from the cell phone where they can transfer...
An Army Acquisition Review Board co-chairman outlined some of the board’s findings that members suggest will result in acquisition processes having a better core workforce while reducing program costs.Speaking Feb. 25 at the Association of the United States Army’s Winter Symposium and Exposition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Gen. Louis C. Wagner Jr., USA, Ret., a former commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command and an AUSA senior fellow, said board members independently interviewed more than 100 people to include current and former chiefs of staff, secretaries of the Army, major command...
During a ceremony held in March at the Pentagon, the 13th sergeant major of the Army, Kenneth O. Preston, passed the torch to his replacement, Raymond F. Chandler.This is in keeping with Army tradition. One great soldier steps aside and another steps forward to take his place. That’s how we do it; that’s the strength of America’s Army.But in this case the 14th sergeant major of the Army has some big shoes to fill.Kenneth O. Preston has served for seven plus years as a member of the Army leadership team. That’s just short of two full terms and that makes him by far our longest serving SMA – and...
Changing the Army’s Field Manual (FM 3-0) to reflect an evolved understanding following over nine years of "persistent conflict" – in Iraq and Afghanistan – and the impact these conflicts have on how the Army operates, as Gen. Martin E. Dempsey put it, is a "Campaign of Learning" across the Army.Dempsey, commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and Army chief of staff designate, said in the introduction to Change 1 of the manual, this campaign concluded the Army must "adapt our concepts, doctrine, and processes more frequently than in the past."However, even with this...
resident Barack Obama’s budget for Fiscal Year 2012 was forwarded to Capitol Hill on Feb. 14.The president is requesting $553 billion for the Defense Department’s base budget, an increase of $22 billion above the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriation.The incremental costs of funding Overseas Contingency Operations, including the ongoing efforts in Afghanistan and transition activities in Iraq are funded separately in the budget at $118 billion. Of the $553 billion request, the Army would receive $144.9 billion.In a Pentagon press conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "The budget decisions...
The Army’s 14th sergeant major of the Army was sworn in during a March 1 standing-room-only ceremony in the Pentagon.Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond F. Chandler III, a 30-year veteran, was administered the oath of office by Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr.Following the arrival of the official party, Casey welcomed the newest SMA, his wife Jeanne and their six children to the nation’s capital. Casey told the audience it was a "great day to be a sergeant" – which brought on a rousing "Hooah" from those assembled."As I looked at trying to figure out who the next sergeant major of the Army...