ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Building soldiers and leaders of character and reinvigorating the profession of arms are critical efforts for the Army as it transforms for the future, the commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command said.

“Strengthening the profession of arms defines what we’re all about,” Gen. Gary Brito said Sept. 20 during a breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Coffee Series.

Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of Army Training and Doctrine Command, will speak Sept. 20 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.

The Army is at a point in history where change is vital, said Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of the Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Speaking July 26 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Warfighter Summit and Exposition in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Brito said the Army must make some adjustments to prepare for future wars.

People are the centerpiece to building the Army of 2040, and the service is going to have to “recruit differently” to meet the most challenging recruiting environment in decades, senior leaders said.

The U.S. Army has pledged to do a better job aiding soldiers and their families interested in becoming naturalized citizens. 

That promise comes after officials acknowledged in response to a Government Accountability Office report that they haven’t had a good process to track citizenship requests and make certain critical deadlines are met.  

The Army isn’t alone with that problem. The Defense Department said it also plans to establish a new policy on the military naturalization process. 

The general officer in charge of recruiting the next generation of soldiers said the shrinking pool of young people who are eligible to serve represents “a problem in our nation.”

Gen. Paul Funk, commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, said the two biggest hurdles to qualifying young people for service are obesity and addiction, which he considers “national security issues that we’ve got to address.” 

The Association of the U.S. Army’s Coffee Series will feature Gen. Paul Funk, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, on June 2.

The in-person event will take place at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The event opens at 6:30 a.m. with coffee and networking. Funk is scheduled to speak at 7:20 a.m.

Army leaders must seek innovative solutions and embrace technology as they prepare their soldiers to fight on a tougher, more lethal future battlefield, the commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command said.

“The Army of 2030 requires soldiers and leaders who are highly trained, disciplined and fit, with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to operate advanced technological systems to fight in multidomain environments,” Gen. Paul Funk said during the recent Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Business as usual will no longer be enough, Funk said.