Faced with potential resourcing gaps in the race to include more units in its transformation efforts, the Army will need “bold and lofty goals” to maintain a sense of urgency, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said.

As the Army expands its transformation in contact initiative, “we’re going to make bold and lofty goals, … and then we’re going to force the system to figure out how much we can actually do,” Weimer said March 6 during a Coffee Series event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Transformation in contact is an Army initiative driven by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George that puts new technology and equipment in the hands of soldiers for testing under combat conditions, then obtaining their feedback about what worked, what didn’t and what might be better.

Three infantry brigade combat teams, one each from the 101st Airborne Division, 25th Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division, were the first to test the concept, and the Army now is gearing up to move to transformation in contact 2.0, which will expand the effort to two divisions, armored and Stryker brigades and other formations across the Total Army.

Weimer noted that the Army is working at the highest levels and with industry to resource the effort, explaining that “it’s not inexpensive.”

“Now that we’ve expanded it to multiple divisions and multiple type formations, there’s just unbelievable opportunities to increase the experimentation we’re doing,” Weimer said, adding that “I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s becoming a little more popular for some of our industry partners who have some pretty capable off-the-shelf technology that we’re experimenting with.”

The transformation in contact initiative also is having an unintended effect on retention, according to Weimer, who said retention levels have been higher in the brigades tapped for the initiative.

“To me, that’s a data point that I can truly sink my teeth into and know that troops want purpose,” Weimer said. “They want to be busy, not busy hanging around in the company area. They want to be training, and when you tell them that you're empowering them to make decisions for the future of the Army, this generation feels like an extra purpose. That's what we're seeing in all three of those brigades, and I'm excited because now we're going to see that in twofold divisions plus.”
Weimer added that even in brigades that haven’t had the opportunity to experiment with new equipment, he has witnessed a “transformation mindset” promoted by leaders, such as in the 10th Mountain Division, who have observed what their sister brigades are doing.

“That really stuck with me,” Weimer said. “It’s really kind of a culture piece, … and so we’re starting to see it spread.”