ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Strong partnerships outside the fences of Army installations and more training are critical to building energy resiliency inside the fence line, according to a panel of energy experts.

During a discussion at a recent Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic on installation management, the panelists agreed that there must be more than one resident expert to make sure any on-post microgrid will operate as intended and assure uninterrupted power during a blackout.

China’s recent test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile demonstrates an advanced space capability that challenges the Army command responsible for defending the U.S. against such threats, according to the author of a new paper. 

Retired Col. Larry Wortzel asserts in his paper that the burden of defending against the new threat posed “by what appear to be maneuvering, hypersonic warheads orbiting in space” belongs to the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. 

As the military’s largest user of space, the Army must be able to fight and win not only on the terrestrial sphere but in the space domain as well, the commanding general of Army Space and Missile Defense Command said.

This need is made more urgent by the rapid advancement of technological capabilities at home and abroad, and “increasingly in the laboratories and field tests of our competitors,” Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler said.

Army space leaders are trying to educate soldiers about how the force heavily relies on space-enabled capabilities.

Non-space soldiers may not realize how much of their equipment relies on space-enabled capabilities and how those capabilities enhance Army combat operations, said Robert Marquez, space training division chief for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Soldiers not in space jobs also may not realize how adversaries are already trying to take advance of space.

The Army’s new acquisition chief wants to speed up the process of getting soldiers what they need, bolster software talent in the workforce and encourage innovation across the enterprise.

Doug Bush, the new assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said he plans to continue responsible use of the “new authorities we have” to enable a faster acquisition process. He said there is a demand from Army leadership and from Congress that soldiers get what they need as they confront the evolving demands of combat.