The Army’s top general in the Pacific, who oversees the service operating in an area that is 52 percent of the earth’s surface – mostly water, but with about half of the world’s population – believes in the Army’s "power to bring people together."Speaking Sunday, Oct. 12, before the formal opening of the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, Gen. Vincent Brooks said from high-end warfare to complex disaster relief, "we can do all of that."Adding, "We can make a difference" in all those situations and "in how we respond" to crises and developments from Bollywood to Hollywood and from the Arctic to Antarctic. And yes, there are deserts too."All this is happening at a time when China is flexing its muscles in the region and Russia is trying to exert influence in Europe and in the Pacific."People want to work with us," Brooks said. "U.S. leadership is still sought."He said his soldiers "want to do hard training [and] interact with others. We’re focused on being trusted professionals" training for jungle operations or high altitude missions in the Himalayas with collective and international exercises."We have to be ready to fight tonight" in Korea, and project credible force when and where we are needed in the sprawling region.For AUSA’s volunteer leaders attending the dinner in their honor, he recounted how a Stryker brigade out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord linked up with an Apache attack helicopter unit in Hawaii to conduct operations in Indonesia.The force then split into separate groups to continue operating there and in Malaysia.At the same time, some of these soldiers joined with watercraft units from Fort Eustis, Va.Brooks cited this as an example of "providing more faces in more places without more bases."He told the audience to think of these movements as "activity sets" that demonstrate the Army’s flexibility.