The Army is relentlessly and rapidly transforming to stay ahead of a world that is flooded with cheap drones and lethal technology, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.

During a keynote address Oct. 14 at the Dwight D. Eisenhower luncheon, George struck a tone of urgency as he described why continuous transformation is taking place at every echelon of the Army.

Sweeping changes are underway that roundly address the four focus areas George put forth when he became chief two years ago—warfighting, delivering combat-ready formations, continuous transformation and strengthening the profession of arms.

The Army, he said, “has to change.”

“It’s a dangerous world, and we’re seeing unparallelled enemy collaboration,” George cautioned. “The other thing we’re seeing that we haven’t seen since before World War II is just how rapidly tech is changing.”

Holding up a handheld tactical-style tablet, George said the device will soon become a commander’s mobile desktop, eliminating the need to stand up a static tactical operations center that requires dozens of people to build and connect to the network.

“It's now on [this tablet] as an application and can do all the things that we needed to do, so this is where the network is going,” George said, projecting that it will be the norm across the Army within 30 months.

At the Army’s combat training centers, the opposition force is being “upgunned” months ahead of operational units so that the lessons being learned in ongoing conflicts, such as Ukraine, can be incorporated more quickly.

To enhance warfighter readiness, Army Regulation 350-1, which guides training and leader development, has been reduced from 250 pages to 80 pages, eliminating standing requirements that take time that is better spent in the field.

As part of that, the Army has gotten rid of more than 1 million pieces of equipment that is obsolete or simply no longer needed. “That means less time counting stuff, less time laying it out and less money you are spending trying to fix those things,” George said, explaining that Army Material Command developed a new application enabled by artificial intelligence to make property accountability easier.

The Army also continues to propagate the Holistic Health and Fitness program, known as H2F, across the force, has begun campus-style dining on several installations to make it easier for soldiers to get the kind of food they want and is modernizing the Army’s organic industrial base.

“I think the most important thing with continuous transformation for us, for the Army, and you heard it from the secretary yesterday, it’s a mindset,” George said referencing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s remarks Oct. 13 at the Annual Meeting’s opening ceremony. “The foundation of all of that is the fourth focus area, and that's strengthening the profession.”

Transforming is critical, he added, but it can’t be at the expense of taking care of people and developing the leaders needed to navigate the complexities of advancing technology.

“Probably the most important aspect of strengthening our profession is how we're training our people,” George said. “We get really focused on the kit and what we all realize as leaders in the Army is that the most important aspect is how are we changing our training so that our people are ready to operate this kit.”

— Gina Cavallaro