A senior leader at U.S. Army Futures Command has been tapped to lead the new U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lt. Gen. David Hodne, deputy commanding general of futures and concepts, also will receive a fourth star.

Part of the Army Transformation Initiative, Futures Command and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command will merge to create the new Army Transformation and Training Command. The consolidated headquarters is expected to be stood up later this year in Austin, Texas, where Futures Command has its headquarters. Some elements of the command are expected to remain at Fort Eustis, Virginia, home to Training and Doctrine Command.

Army officials have said more details about the merger will be available in August, and that the new command could be stood up as early as October.

A 1991 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, Hodne is a former commander of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. He has led Ranger, Stryker, cavalry, mechanized and light infantry formations and commanded at every level from company through division, according to his Army bio.

He previously was chief of infantry, commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School and director of the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team.

The Army Transformation Initiative will “reexamine all requirements and eliminate unnecessary ones, ruthlessly prioritize fighting formations to directly contribute to lethality, and empower leaders at echelon to make hard calls to ensure resources align with strategic objectives,” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George wrote in a May 1 message to the force.

Among the key changes is the merger of Futures Command and Training and Doctrine Command. Also merging into a single headquarters are U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army South and U.S. Army North. The Army also plans to eliminate 1,000 staff positions at Army headquarters.

“Our focus is on filling combat formations with Soldiers,” Driscoll and George wrote in their message. “Every role must sharpen the spear or be cut away.”

The transformation initiative also calls for restructuring within Army Aviation and converting all infantry brigade combat teams into mobile brigade combat teams. “We are trading weight for speed, and mass for decisive force,” the message says.

Efforts also will focus on achieving long-range missiles capable of striking moving land and maritime targets, electromagnetic and air-littoral dominance and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at theater, corps and division headquarters.

The Army also will work to improve counter-unmanned aerial systems mobility and affordability and integrate those capabilities into maneuver platoons by 2026 and companies by 2027.

“Our Army must transform now to a leaner, more lethal force by infusing technology, cutting obsolete systems, and reducing overhead to defeat any adversary on an ever-changing battlefield,” Driscoll and George wrote in their message.