The Association of the U.S. Army is releasing six new podcasts in June, including an update from Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston and a discussion on the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness initiative.

First up in the “Army Matters” series is an interview with Grinston, who will talk about the revised Army Combat Fitness Test and its implementation across the force. He also will discuss efforts to expand the Best Warrior Competition into the Best Squad Competition, and the conflict in Ukraine.

The episode is available June 6.

Next up is a special edition featuring Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Welch, who recently was selected as the 2021 NATO Force Structure Top Soldier of the Year.

Welch, an operations NCO assigned to the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Spain, was selected for the award by a panel of judges based on his impact on his organization throughout the previous year, according to an Army announcement.

Before serving with NATO, Welch’s Army career included assignments with the 10th Mountain Division, the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. A former senior drill instructor, he has deployed five times to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The episode is available June 8.

Up next is a podcast featuring Col. Brian Ducote and Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Eckstrom, command team for the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, who will talk about leader development and the unit’s preparation for a deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

The episode is available June 13.

The next podcast will focus on Holistic Health and Fitness. It will feature Maria McConville, spouse of Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, and Alexandra Grinston, the sergeant major of the Army’s spouse, as well as Maj. Gen. Thomas Solhjem, the Army’s chief of chaplains, and Col. Sam Preston, chief of behavioral health in the Army surgeon general’s office.

The podcast will be available June 20.

On June 22, a special edition of the podcast will feature Maj. Gen. David Wilson, commander of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command in Hawaii. During the podcast, Wilson will talk about the Army’s role in the Indo-Pacific, how it’s working to build stronger relationships with allies and partners and how it’s preparing for threats in the region.

Finally, on June 27, the podcast will feature author Steven Moore, who will discuss his book, Patton's Payback: The Battle of El Guettar and General Patton's Rise to Glory.

In March 1943, in their first fight with the Germans, American soldiers in North Africa were pushed back 50 miles by Rommel’s Afrika Korps and were nearly annihilated, according to a description of Patton’s Payback. Then-Lt. Gen. George Patton was brought in to rally the troops. “Charismatic, irreverent, impulsive and inspiring, Patton possessed a massive ego and the ambition to match. But he could also motivate men to fight,” according to a description of the book.

Full details on the podcasts are available at https://www.ausa.org/podcast. Listeners also can subscribe to “Army Matters” for updates.