Poppas: Guard, Reserve ‘Ready to Fight Tonight’

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Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command speaks
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Poppas: Guard, Reserve ‘Ready to Fight Tonight’

The Army National Guard and Army Reserve are in high demand as the Army meets national and international challenges, said Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command.

“You represent the best of our Army right here at home, on our border, in our cities” and “in the face of disaster,” Poppas said Oct. 13 in remarks at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “We rescued over 500 individuals in Texas during a flash flood” and hundreds “during the hurricane that affected us in North Carolina” last September.

Poppas: Army Setting Conditions for Future Fight

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Gen. Andrew P. Poppas, commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command speaks with soldiers from Bravo Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, about the AN/TPY-2 Radar for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense during his visit to Fort Bliss, Texas, Sept. 20, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Poleski)
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Poppas: Army Setting Conditions for Future Fight

Army Forces Command has been “laser focused” on readiness to set the conditions for soldiers to dominate the future fight, commanding general Gen. Andrew Poppas said.

“We exist to fight and win our nation’s wars,” Poppas said during the 2025 Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Benning, Georgia. “In order to do that, we’ve got to make sure those formations that we stand in front of are ready.”

This includes setting the conditions with guidance, resources and training facilities to ensure units’ success, he said.

Poppas: Army Must Remain Ready in Unpredictable World

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A soldier participates in a live-fire training event.
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Poppas: Army Must Remain Ready in Unpredictable World

The predictability of conflict from the last couple of decades is over, replaced by a volatile security environment that could erupt anywhere at any moment, said Gen. Andrew Poppas, commanding general of Army Forces Command.

There was a time after 9/11, he said, when leaders knew when and where they were going to deploy, what the human and physical terrain was going to be and even select the bed they’d be sleeping in.

Poppas Speaks at Strategic Landpower Dialogue

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A Green Beret assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) sprints across a building during the inaugural United States Army Special Operations Command International Urban Assault Challenge.
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Poppas Speaks at Strategic Landpower Dialogue

Gen. Andrew Poppas, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command, will speak June 5 as part of the Strategic Landpower Dialogue co-hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The event will take place from 2–3:15 p.m. Eastern June 5 at CSIS headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. It also will be livestreamed on the CSIS YouTube channel.

Poppas: Global Threats Demand Total Army Effort

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Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of Army Forces Command speaks at AUSA2024
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Poppas: Global Threats Demand Total Army Effort

The National Guard and the Army Reserve are ready to meet evolving national and global threats, said Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of Army Forces Command.

“We saw flooding throughout the West, … record snowfall, tornadoes and wildfires throughout all of our communities,” Poppas said Oct. 14 in remarks at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition. The reserve components’ response to these disasters “all sent one clear message: Your soldiers stand ready today to face whatever threats that come our way as a nation,” Poppas said.

Army Must Prepare for ‘Dynamic’ Global Environment

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Gen. Andrew Poppas, commanding general of FORSCOM, speaks at the AUSA Contemporary Military Forum: Reality of War session at the AUSA 2023 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Eric Lee for AUSA)
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Army Must Prepare for ‘Dynamic’ Global Environment

Faced with a shifting global security environment that has grown even more uncertain in recent days, the Army is building readiness through the warfighting skills that come with trusting and empowering people, the commander of Army Forces Command said.

On the third and final day of the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Gen. Andrew Poppas led a discussion on what it will take to fight and win future wars, having listened in on security forums from Army leaders in the Indo-Pacific, Europe and Africa.

Poppas: Guard Must Prepare for Future Fight

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Gen. Andrew Poppas, commanding general of FORSCOM, speaks at the MG Robert G. Morehead National Guard and Reserve Breakfast at the AUSA 2023 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (Carol Guzy for AUSA)
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Poppas: Guard Must Prepare for Future Fight

The Army National Guard must prepare to face and define a new reality of war, the commander of Army Forces Command said. 

“We have to win the first fight,” Gen. Andrew Poppas said Oct. 9 during the MG Robert G. Moorhead National Guard and Army Reserve Breakfast at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “We have to prepare for the battle today, especially in this uncertain world. … We have to be ready today.” 

Army Readiness Critical in ‘Uncertain’ World

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Soldiers deploying
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Army Readiness Critical in ‘Uncertain’ World

Readiness must be “at the forefront of all we do” if the Army is to stay ahead of complex global threats and win in any domain, a senior leader said.

Describing the world as a “much more uncertain environment” today than it was during 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of Army Forces Command, said this means that “our readiness must increase exponentially.”

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