The first day of the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition features a keynote address by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, as well as leadership forums, speakers and exhibits. 

The event, the largest annual land warfare exposition in North America, is being held for the 22nd time at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The three-day event will take place Oct. 13–15 and feature more than 780 exhibits in five halls on both levels of the convention center. 

“Agile, Adaptive, Lethal: Winning at the Pace of Change” is the theme of this year’s meeting, highlighting how the Army is transforming for the future battlefield. 

Driven by the Army’s continuous transformation, the service is taking on a sweeping effort that promises big changes in force structure, weaponry, platforms and acquisition as it builds a leaner and more lethal force. 

This transformation is expected to be the focus of Driscoll’s remarks during the opening ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in the conference center ballroom. 

Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, will speak at the Maj. Gen. Robert G. Moorhead National Guard and Army Reserve Breakfast, and there is a Warfighter and Family Forum on permanent change-of-station moves. 

There will be two contemporary military forums in the afternoon, titled “Transforming Army Infrastructure Through Industry Partnerships” and “Transforming Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense.”  

Presentations at the Warriors Corner, at the Army exhibit in Booth 1825, include discussions on evolving counter-small unmanned aircraft systems defense, casualty evacuation modernization, electronic warfare transformation, and campus-style dining and garrison feeding initiatives. 

A Leader Solarium hosted by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and organized by AUSA’s Center for Leadership will take place in conjunction with the Annual Meeting. About 70 specially selected battalion-level Army leaders are expected to attend. They will hear from Army leaders and civilian subject-matter experts, engage in small-group discussions and provide feedback to senior Army leaders on opportunities and challenges facing the Army. 

The Center for Leadership also will conduct a Generation Next Forum with about 100 young people, part of its Young Professionals Program to develop and grow the next generation of leaders. 

Through the Army’s FUZE program, which seeks to drive and accelerate new solutions to Army problems, the service will host a $500,000 prize competition. Called xTechDisrupt, the program scouts demonstration-ready technologies in four critical areas—electronic warfare, power generation, management and storage, unmanned aircraft systems and counter-drone systems. The demonstrations will take place at Booth 8153 in Hall E. 

The Army’s Innovator’s Corner, Booth 7841 in Hall D, will feature more than 30 small businesses demonstrating transformative technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, sensors and contested logistics.  

For the 12th year, there also will be a veterans hiring event called “Your Next Mission.” It will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day of the annual meeting at Booth 161 in Hall A. The free event aims to help veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses find employment. 

Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. The exhibits are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

This year’s hashtag is #AUSA2025. 

For the full agenda, click here. To download AUSA’s Annual Meeting app, click here. 

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