ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

More than 70 years after his heroic actions during a vicious battle in the Korean War, retired Col. Ralph Puckett will receive the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House.

President Joe Biden will present the nation’s highest award for valor to Puckett, a legendary Army Ranger who is now 94, on May 21. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also attend the ceremony, the White House announced May 19.

The award would make Puckett one of the most highly decorated soldiers in U.S. history.

A career Army lawyer has been appointed as the next marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Col. Gail Curley is expected to begin her duties as the court’s chief security officer on June 21 following her retirement from the Army this summer. She will be the 11th marshal of the court and the second woman to serve in the position, succeeding Pamela Talkin, who retired last year after 19 years in the job.

Pre-pandemic training of the National Guard and Army Reserve for global missions prepared them for critical COVID-19 missions, reserve component leaders told Congress. 

At a May 18 hearing before the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the National Guard Bureau chief, and Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, the Army Reserve chief, said the quick and extended roles for Guard and Reserve members activated for COVID-19 response were possible because of earlier efforts to maintain troops’ readiness and training. 

The resumption of large-scale training exercises in the Indo-Pacific will be critical to maintaining readiness and building trust between U.S. forces and allies and partners in the region, Gen. Paul LaCamera said during his confirmation hearing to be the next commander of U.S. forces in South Korea.

In addition to recruiting the best talent, the Army must also focus on retaining those soldiers once they are in the ranks, the service’s top personnel officer said.

The Army must “compete for and retain talent,” said Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, deputy Army chief of staff for personnel. “Manning the Army is a key component of readiness.”

Balancing the Army’s current and future needs is a “delicate endeavor,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said. “We’re in a challenging time right now,” he said. 

Speaking May 13 during McAleese and Associates’ annual defense conference, McConville said the Army and its sister services must keep an eye on the future and prepare for an increasingly challenging operating environment.

The National Museum of the United States Army, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, will reopen on June 14, the Army’s 246th birthday. 

The 185,000-square-foot museum first opened on Veterans Day 2020 with great fanfare but was forced to close a little more than a month later because of COVID-19 concerns. The museum has held regular virtual events and field trips during its closure. 

Soldiers whose commanders communicated well during the pandemic were less likely to experience anxiety or loneliness, and more likely to practice good habits to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to a new survey.

“[COVID-19] really just reaffirmed what we already knew—that commanders who communicate effectively reduce stress within their organizations,” Lt. Col. Sam Preston, chief of the behavioral health division in the Office of the Surgeon General and psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general, said May 6 during an interview.

Army secretary nominee Christine Wormuth promised to be a “hands-on” leader who, if confirmed by the Senate, would focus on taking care of people while making sure the Army has what it needs to fulfill its mission.

Wormuth, who testified May 13 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a former undersecretary of defense for policy who is currently director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at Rand Corp. 

If confirmed, she would be the first woman to serve as the Army’s top civilian leader.

Cyber capabilities and weapons are among the most serious threats facing the U.S., the director of national intelligence warned Congress. 

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, intelligence director Avril Haines and Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, Defense Intelligence Agency director, warned the U.S. needs to be better prepared.