From the day he was sworn in as the 41st chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Randy George has pushed the force to transform—and transform rapidly. “The battlefield is changing as fast as the technology in your pocket, and we know we have to change,” he said earlier this year.

“We have been watching what’s happening on the battlefield in Ukraine and the Middle East and, really, around the world,” George said. “We’ve been doing something called transforming in contact, where we’re actually getting bottom-up innovation from our troops, but it’s not a lesson learned unless you’ve actually done something to change how you train and operate.”

The Army faces an increasingly complex security environment, and the service must move quickly to keep up in a world where commercial technology is rapidly evolving, especially when it comes to autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.

As he has oriented the force toward a mindset of continuous transformation and a sense of urgency, George, who was sworn in as the Army’s top general on Sept. 21, 2023, said he’s seeing a “lot of positive change happening up and down our formation.”

In an interview in September, George said he’s been “really proud of what our tactical formations have been able to do.”

Young leaders across the Army are talented and innovative, George said. “They’re willing to take risks, push the envelope … and they understand how the modern battlefield is changing, and they are willing to help us figure out the adjustments we need to make for the Army.”

As he’s traveled across the Army and met with soldiers, George said he’s been met with enthusiasm from troops who are given the chance to test and experiment with new equipment.

Early efforts in transforming in contact, an initiative that gives soldiers just that, the chance to test and provide feedback on new technology, are a perfect example, George said.

Successful First Steps

The Army had the three infantry brigade combat teams involved in the first iteration of transforming in contact test the Infantry Squad Vehicle. “We basically had a concept and a theory … and they were absolutely able to make it much better and then actually test it out in the dirt at a combat training center and make improvements,” George said.

The experiments were so successful that the Army plans to field the Infantry Squad Vehicle to its infantry brigade combat teams and convert the brigades into mobile brigade combat teams.

“What I consistently hear from formations is we’re not moving fast enough,” George said. “I think, as an enterprise, we’re moving very rapidly.”

As an example, in July, the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division replaced some of its howitzers with High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers to boost lethality and survivability in the Indo-Pacific. The division replaced eight 105 mm and six 155 mm howitzers with 16 HIMARS launchers, and it retrained about 70 soldiers from the 13B, or cannon crewmember, MOS to 13M, multiple launch rocket system crew member, MOS.

The Army also added launched effects and adjusted its network, George said, and in November, the division will “test all that out during an exercise” at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center in Hawaii.

“So, we are moving very rapidly, but we’re also trying to do it in a way where we’re actually testing all these things as we go,” he said.

Changing Armor

While the first iteration of transformation in contact focused on infantry brigade combat teams, the 2.0 version of the initiative includes armored brigade combat teams.

In November, the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, the first transformation in contact armored brigade combat team, will start testing and experimenting with new equipment, George said. Armed with the new equipment, the unit will conduct a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

The other armored brigades identified for transforming in contact include the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team and the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Both units will begin testing new equipment in November as well, with combat training center rotations planned for 2026 and later.

“We will add ground autonomy and drones, counter-[unmanned aircraft systems], and all the things that we are going to add to these formations,” George said. The units also will look at how they train and operate, as well as how they’re

organized, he said.

As the armored brigades do their work, the Army is “very excited” to add the new M1E3 tank to its formations, George said. The plan is to have four prototypes in 2026—about four years earlier than initially thought, he said.

The Army also continues to transform its divisions and corps. As an example, when the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team goes to the National Training Center in November, the division headquarters also will participate, George said.

Integrating Technology

For those higher headquarters, a key capability the Army seeks to provide is a simulation program called Next-Generation Constructive. Tied into the Army’s Next-Generation Command and Control effort, Next-Generation Constructive allows formations to model how they will fight ahead of time but also, while in the fight, simulate and test how to best attack the enemy based on a given situation, George said.

“What we’ll actually be able to do with this is do iterations and run [simulations] at the brigade, division and corps levels on the systems that they’re actually fighting and operating on,” he said.

An early version of the program was put to the test in August during the XVIII Airborne Corps’ Scarlet Dragon exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and plans call for it to be used in smaller exercises and then in a large-scale warfighter exercise with III Armored Corps in 2026.

The Army also is making progress on its Next-Generation Command and Control program, or Next-Gen C2. Next summer, the 4th Infantry Division will test the system during a combat training center rotation, marking the first time it will be used at the division level.

They will use iPads, apps and operate in “completely collapsed, low-signature, very small C2 nodes, being able to command and control on the move,” George said.

As it moves ahead, one key priority for the Army is changing the way it buys things, George said. “We’ve been pressing very hard on agile funding, making sure that we have that going forward to buy the things that we need,” he said.

The initial request to Congress is to have additional flexibility for drones, counter-UAS and electromagnetic warfare systems.

“We want to be able to buy the best drone that’s on the market,” George said. “Every one of our [transforming-in-contact] brigades bought different drones. We’re also building our own drones, so it’s going to be a combination of those kinds of things.”

George acknowledged that the Army is trying to move fast. But it’s also doing so carefully with an eye on building and retaining a talented and agile force.

The Army is taking a targeted approach to recruiting and retention and working to improve home station training. “One of the challenges that we’ve given everybody is, how do we reduce our [temporary duty] by 50%?” George said. In addition to saving time and money, “it keeps soldiers at home station, and it allows them to refresh their skills a lot more frequently, which is critically important,” he said.

Army installations are embracing that approach, with drone and electromagnetic warfare training and other tough, realistic exercises already taking place across the force, George said.

“I can’t think of one installation that’s not flying drones and doing the things that they need to do,” George said. “The real question is how we change things to make sure that we can do it in an environment that more closely replicates what we’re going to find in combat conditions. I think that’s where the challenge is.”

Leaders also are seeking efficiencies. One example is using augmented reality or Meta glasses for maintenance. Another is an app called ParaLine, which was developed by U.S. Army Materiel Command and allows commanders to use their smartphones to log inventory, saving processing time and making life easier for soldiers.

Another effort seeks to develop a program to take over for the Digital Training Management System, allowing team leaders and squad leaders to update their soldiers’ training status from their smartphones.

“All of that is in the works, and, again, we’re testing all of this stuff inside units,” George said.

The addition of technology can also help some of the Army’s most in-demand units. “One of our most challenged formations in terms of [operations] tempo is our air defenders,” George said.

Focus on Skill Sets

In addition to recruiting more air defenders and growing more units, the Army also looks to leverage technology to reduce the number of people needed to perform the same missions, he said.

Even as the Army has seen an uptick in recruiting, it continues to focus on filling the ranks with the right soldiers with the right skill sets. Some examples of areas where the Army is trying to grow are Special Forces, infantry, field artillery, air and missile defense, cyber and intelligence, he said.

The same targeted approach applies to retention, George said. “This isn’t just about a big, broad number,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is be very specific in what skills we need to keep inside of our formation.”

George said he wants soldiers to keep doing what they’re doing.

“I’m proud of what they’re doing to help us transform the Army, especially at the speed that they’re operating on,” he said.

As the Army works to move faster, “it’s our responsibility to make sure that we can scale this and do this across the wider part of our formation, and we’re very focused on that,” he said.