As the Army moves to quickly adopt new technology, it must make sure its formations know how to fight on an ever-changing battlefield, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus said.

“Think about the infusion of tech and technology that’s coming—not tomorrow, but that is here today,” Mingus said Sept. 4 during a Hot Topic on Army Aviation, hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army. “Have we, as a United States Army and our partners, have we taken all that stuff, put it together in a meaningful way that changes how we fight? … I would challenge ourselves that we still haven’t figured it out.”

The Army’s “transforming in contact” initiative, which puts new and emerging capabilities in soldiers’ hands, is an important part of that process, Mingus said, particularly as the Army seeks to transform and modernize the force and its equipment. “It’s not just about the kit,” Mingus said. “It’s about how you take it, put it together and how you fight that’s just as important as the stuff that’s out there.”

Transforming in contact, an initiative led by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, emphasizes the importance of continuous change, Mingus said. “It never stops,” he said. “Every day, the Army should get up and be a little bit better than what it was yesterday.”

Technology is changing so rapidly, and threats around the world are evolving so quickly, that the Army can’t do things in a normal way, Mingus said. “We have to constantly and continuously transform,” he said, “and kind of break the paradigm of how we normally modernize.”

That transformation extends to the aviation community, Mingus said, citing as an example a mass long-range air assault mission by the 101st Airborne Division that spanned more than 500 miles as its 2nd Brigade Combat Team moved from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for a rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana.

As Army aviation continues to transform, it must focus on the fundamentals, Mingus said, particularly as the community has grappled with several helicopter crashes in the past year.

“We had a pretty rough year on the aviation side,” he said. “As I’ve gone around the Army and talked to folks, [we] spent a lot of time trying to figure out, what are we doing right? What are we doing wrong?”

In addition to making sure there’s enough time to train, the Army should look at how it trains its pilots. “From the very beginning, we have developed a system of systems where we train system integrators before we develop and train pilots,” Mingus said. “We need to think through … how we flip that because, overwhelmingly, as I talked to the senior warrants, the senior aviation community, first and foremost, we must build the best pilots in the world first before you turn them into systems integrators.”

Leaders also must ensure their soldiers are masters of their craft, Mingus said. “No matter what type of formation you’re in, the mastery of those fundamentals underpins all of this,” he said.