Host and Association of the U.S. Army Council of Trustees member retired Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz kicked off the annual Maj. Gen. Robert G. Moorhead Guard/Reserve Breakfast this morning by reiterating the theme of the 2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Among the speakers were Gen. Robert B. Abrams, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command; Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Raymond Horoho; and Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey. To a man, each reiterated the exposition theme of “building readiness.”

Abrams cited the Reserve and Guard components, along with families, for their successes in terms of readiness over the past year. “Readiness has been the primary mission of our forces command since its inception,” Abrams said, noting that “sustained readiness creates [the appropriate] culture” for individuals and individual units.

Luckey noted the Guard and Reserve are training more closely with regular Army soldiers. The program, launched in 2016, was designed to support the Army’s Total Force policy. Over the past year, the program was expanded from three to 13 participating units.

Among the awards presented were the Walter T. Kerwin, Jr. Readiness Award, presented to outstanding Guard and Reserve units with the highest level of readiness. To be considered, each unit must have been rated as having superior performance in eight areas, as well as other criteria. The 900th Quartermaster Company (Reserve) and the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Guard) were this year’s recipients.

AUSA member chapters were also honored for the greatest membership increase in Reserve component membership: Redstone-Huntsville Chapter, Ala.; Fort Leonard Wood–Mid Missouri Chapter; Gen. John W. Vessey, Jr., Chapter, Minn.; Monmouth Chapter and the Delaware Chapter.

Larry Moffi