ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Army’s new approach to acquiring the systems it needs to modernize is “pretty quick” compared to the cumbersome, yearslong process of the past, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville.

With 34 major modernization systems coming to bear as part of the Army’s transformation through 2040, of which 24 systems are on track to be fielded or in prototype “in the hands of soldiers” this year, the Army has been able to streamline its process by having industry present ideas on paper first, McConville said.

Army leaders have an ambitious initiative to grow the total force to 976,000 soldiers by 2028 through dramatic improvements in Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve recruiting.

This goal would leave the Army slightly short of the 1 million uniformed members it had in 2022.

On-time and adequate funding, as well as programs focused on people, modernization and readiness, remain top advocacy efforts for the Association of the U.S. Army.

A new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army introduces the tenets of Army modernization as a primer for the service’s future leaders.

In “Tenets of Army Modernization,” author Lt. Col. Hassan Kamara lays out the individual elements that constitute how the Army “defines, constructs and operates within the context of doctrine, operations, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy,” known as DOTMLPF-P.

Facing a challenging recruiting environment, the Army must increase young people’s awareness of military life and prioritize recruit quality, a panel of leaders said during an Army Training and Doctrine Command webinar. 

“The Army’s No. 1 priority … is making sure we can recruit and field the force that we need for our Army and our nation,” Lt. Gen. Maria Gervais, deputy commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command, said during the Feb. 15 webinar titled “Maintaining the All-Volunteer Force.” 

As China’s ability to wage large-scale war grows, the U.S. military must pivot from purchasing large, expensive platforms to smaller capabilities that can deploy more quickly, according to senior defense analysts.

All the services are experimenting with innovative solutions for future warfare, but the process of moving from concept to the warfighter is cumbersome and slow and too focused on big spending when smaller, more agile technologies may be suitable more quickly.

Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine has provided a stark reminder that the U.S. and its allies and partners must be prepared for large-scale combat operations and for a regional conflict to have global implications, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said.

Speaking Jan. 18 at a Coffee Series event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army, McConville had recently returned from an 11-nation tour that left him “impressed” with how American soldiers are working with troops from other nations.