ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Sustainment soldiers operating on the future battlefield, particularly in a theater as challenging as the Indo-Pacific, will need the ability to move quickly and adapt to ever-changing conditions, a senior logistics officer said.

Faced with increasing competition in the vast Indo-Pacific, the Army must continually train and rehearse its sustainment and logistics capabilities, a senior leader in the region said.

The Army is beefing up its training capabilities in the Indo-Pacific as it seeks to deter America’s competitors and strengthen relationships with allies and partners, the commander of U.S. Army Pacific said. 

Registration is open for the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium & Exposition in Hawaii.

An international symposium and exhibition dedicated to land forces in the Indo-Pacific, the three-day in-person event will take place May 16–18 at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu. It will feature leaders from the U.S. Army and partner armies in the Indo-Pacific and government and industry representatives.

Even as the Army grows its footprint and relationships in the Indo-Pacific, it is not looking for a fight in what the service’s top civilian leader calls a “complicated neighborhood.”

“Our goal is to avoid fighting a land war in Asia,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said. “This is all about deterrence. We want to lower the temperature in the relationship with China.”

The Army’s security force assistance brigades are helping the service extend its reach and presence around the globe, particularly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

The Army should think critically about its power and presence in the vast Indo-Pacific, an Army leader in the region said. 

“Power projection in [the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command], it’s definitely a challenge,” said Maj. Gen. Jered Helwig, commander of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command in Hawaii. “We have to really think through it. We have the opportunity now to do that, and we need to take advantage of it.” 

Facing challenges of the vast Indo-Pacific theater, the Army is accelerating its work to develop and provide advanced capabilities to soldiers, a senior leader said.

“We’re accelerating everything as fast as we can. It’s not going to take 15 years,” said Young Bang, principal deputy assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology. “We’re changing the whole mindset. We’re changing how we do acquisition.”