ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

From off-the-shelf technology that can help soldiers today to next-generation autonomous vehicles and command-and-control capabilities, Army Futures Command is looking to its industry teammates for help.

“Indisputably, the amount of technology disruption in the character of war is unprecedented, and it just keeps getting faster and faster,” said Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Futures Command.

The Army is keeping pace as it works to meet its modernization goals for the Army of 2030 and beyond, the commanding general of Army Futures Command said.

“We’re continuing on track with our deliberate modernization,” Gen. James Rainey said Dec. 13 during a breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Coffee Series. “It’s been a good year … at Army Futures Command. … We [accomplished] everything we wanted to get done last year.”

Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Army Futures Command, will speak Dec. 13 as part of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Coffee Series.

The in-person event will take place at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The event opens at 6:30 a.m. with registration, coffee and networking. The program is scheduled to begin at 7:15 a.m.

It is free for military members, government employees and the media.

As a new unprovoked invasion ignites war in the Middle East, the U.S. Army is watching—and it’s better prepared to assist now than it was two years ago.

That’s the message from Douglas Bush, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology. Speaking Oct. 9 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Bush hailed the transformation that has taken place within Army acquisition in the past year, motivated by the urgent need to support Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. 

Technology will be a necessary part of future battle, but the Army’s strength lies in its leaders and soldiers’ ability to shoot, move and communicate, said Gen. James Rainey, commander of Army Futures Command.

Speaking at the recent 2023 Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Moore, Georgia, formerly known as Fort Benning, Rainey and the command’s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Hester, emphasized the need for soldiers to be good at the basics of fighting and killing the enemy.

The Army needs help from industry, academia and others as it envisions and designs the Army of 2040, the commander of Army Futures Command said.

From transforming its formations to improving human-machine integration, “we need some help,” Gen. James Rainey said during a keynote speech at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium and Exposition earlier this year.

“War will remain a contest of wills between humans,” Rainey said. “What’s not going to change about the future? I would offer that. That is indisputable.”

The Army’s transformation push becomes more important every day, said Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Army Futures Command.

Speaking July 27 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Warfighter Summit and Exposition in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Rainey said, “There are absolutely some seriously disruptive things happening in the world and happening in our profession right now.”

Faced with one of the “most disruptive” periods in time, the Army must move now to deter aggression and transform for the future, the commanding general of Army Futures Command said.

“We have one United States Army. When the country says go, we’re going,” Gen. James Rainey said May 18 during a keynote presentation to close the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

Rainey said the Army’s modernization efforts are on track, but “we’ve got to get after this.”