AUSA Extra - April 4

PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY www.ausa.org April 4, 2024 | AUSA Extra 1 Supplemental funding ‘critical’ for Army T he Army faces “devastating” effects if the $95 billion supple- mental spending bill pending before Congress isn’t passed, Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said. Speaking Wednesday at a break- fast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Coffee Se- ries, Camarillo explained that since the Oct. 1 start of ﬁscal year 2024, the Army has been paying for op- erations including support for NATO missions and deployments that previ- ously had been paid for with supple- mental funding. “We have been cash-ﬂowing a lot of those costs with our own internal Army funding,” Camarillo said, add- ing that the amount of cash outlay so far is about $800 million. “We need that supplemental to reimburse us, because that’s essentially operations funds that we cannot use for other things like exercises that we had planned in Europe and the Paciﬁc.” The $95 billion supplemental spending bill includes about $60 bil- lion in military aid for Ukraine as well as aid for Israel and Taiwan, the Associated Press reported. The Army was further challenged ﬁscally as it spent the ﬁrst ﬁve months of the ﬁscal year operating under a continuing resolution, stop- gap funding that keeps spending at the previous year’s levels and prohib- its new starts to programs. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the ﬁscal 2024 appropriations in late March. Camarillo said that among the areas affected by the unpredictable funding are capabilities that protect soldiers and allow them to perform their missions, such as counter-un- manned aerial systems interceptors. “There was on the order of 200 Coyote interceptors in the base [ﬁs- cal] 2024 budget that we really could have used those procurement dollars to buy them sooner,” Camarillo said, adding that the money to purchase the interceptors arrived just after the ﬁscal 2024 appropriations bill was passed by Congress on March 23. Investments in infrastructure and housing for soldiers also are affect- ed, he said, explaining that a lack of money means that work to replace or upgrade barracks has not begun. Ad- ditionally, the delays likely will “cost us more money to complete those proj- ects” because of a rise in labor and Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo, right, speaks Wednesday with retired Gen. Bob Brown, AUSA president and CEO, during an event at the association’s headquarters. (AUSA PHOTO) ‘Ghost Army’ Survivors Honored by Congress 3 George: Army Must Transform in Contact 4 Government Affairs FY 25 Appropriations Work Begins 6 Member Benefits Car Rental, Hotel Discounts 7 Chapter Highlights Coastal South Carolina 8 IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 5 NUMBER 47 APRIL 4, 2024 See Camarillo, Page 5Upgrade your connectivity Mesh Rider Radios www.doodlelabs.com RF interference detection Intelligent anti-jamming measures Automatic, fast frequency shifting Mission complete Now introducing Sense , intelligent interference avoidance and anti-jamming Mission: Connect Anything, Anywhere With Mesh Rider Radios from Doodle Labs, you can create your own resilient mesh network for tactical teams, drones, ground robotics and vehicles, even in contested or disconnected environments. A resilient, reliable network can increase situational awareness for ground soldiers and allow units to successfully complete missions in comms-challenged settings. Create a powerful MANET to share high-bandwidth data like real-time team comms or a video feed from a drone. WEARABLE NANOOEMMINI Available in Federal and Unlicensed Frequency Bands Armed with Anti-jamming features FIPS-140 compliant NDAA compliant Developed with sponsorship by DIUwww.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY April 4, 2024 | AUSA Extra 3 WWII ‘Ghost Army’ receives Congressional Gold Medal Surviving members of the Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops—known as the ‘Ghost Army’ for their use of visual, sonic and radio deception against German forces during World War II—receive the Congressional Gold Medal. (U.S. ARMY/SGT. DAVID RESNICK) AUSA Basic Members can now view a selection of articles from the April issue of ARMY magazine. To read the articles, click here. ARMY magazine April issue D uring a ceremony on Capitol Hill, three surviving mem- bers of the “Ghost Army,” a special unit that used visual, sonic and radio deception against German forces during World War II, were pre- sented with the Congressional Gold Medal. Bernard Bluestein, John Christ- man and Seymour Nussenbaum are among just seven surviving members of the Army’s 23rd Headquarters Spe- cial Troops, according to The Ghost Army Legacy Project, a nonproﬁt dedicated to honoring the soldiers who served in the unit. Bluestein and Nussenbaum served in the visual deception unit, the 63rd Engineer Camouﬂage Battalion, and are now both 100 years old, according to the nonproﬁt. Christman, 99, was a demolition specialist in the 406th Engineer Combat Company. “I’m very proud and happy to be here to receive this honor,” Bluestein said during the March 21 ceremony. It’s been 80 years since the Ghost Army landed in France, said Ricky Beyer, president of The Ghost Army Legacy Project, which spearheaded the nine-year effort to secure the Congressional Gold Medal for the sol- diers. “This is a day that’s been a long time coming,” Beyer said. Army Secretary Christine Wor- muth said the soldiers’ actions helped change the course of World War II. “The Ghost Army were master sto- rytellers. Many of the techniques you all pioneered can still be found on the battleﬁeld today,” she said. “Your sto- ry continues to inspire thousands of men and women in our Army today.” The Congressional Gold Medal is the “highest expression of national appreciation,” and it is given “for distinguished achievements and con- tributions by individuals or institu- tions,” according to a Senate website. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was activated in January 1944 with the sole mission of deceiv- ing German forces during World War II, according to the Army. Nicknamed the Ghost Army, the soldiers were “a carefully selected group of artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees,” and they were the ﬁrst mo- bile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in U.S. Army history, according to the National World War II Museum. To mislead the enemy, they used inﬂatable tanks and artillery, sent false radio transmissions, and blasted audio recordings of troop movement and construction to create phantom forces, according to the Army. “Armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns, the 23rd took part in 22 large-scale deceptions in Europe from Normandy to the Rhine River,” according to the National World War II Museum. The unit of about 1,100 soldiers, commanded by Col. Harry Reeder, was capable of simulating two divi- sions—about 30,000 troops, accord- ing to the museum. “The United States is eternally grateful to the soldiers of the 23d Headquarters Special Troops and [its sister unit] the 3133d Signal Service Company for their proﬁcient use of in- novative tactics during World War II, which saved lives and made signiﬁ- cant contributions to the defeat of the Axis powers,” according to the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act. “Rarely, if ever, has there been a group of such a few men which had so great an inﬂuence on the outcome of a major military campaign,” the act says.www.ausa.org4 AUSA Extra | April 4, 2024 Gen. Bob Brown, USA Ret. President and CEO, AUSA Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, USA Ret. Vice President, Leadership and Education, AUSA Luc Dunn Editor Desiree Hurlocker Advertising Manager Advertising Information Contact: Fox Associates Inc. 116 W. Kinzie St. • Chicago, IL 60654 Phone: 800-440-0231 Email: adinfo.rmy@foxrep.com ARTICLES. Articles appearing in AUSA Extra do not necessarily reﬂ ect the opinion of the oﬃ cers or members of the Council of Trustees of AUSA, or its editors. Articles are expres- sions of personal opinion and should not be interpreted as reﬂ ecting the oﬃ cial opinion of the Department of Defense nor of any branch, command, installation or agency of the Depart- ment of Defense. The publication assumes no responsibility for any unsolicited material. Email: extra@ausa.org ADVERTISING. Neither AUSA Extra, nor its publisher, the Association of the United States Army, makes any representations, warranties or endorsements as to the truth and accuracy of the advertisements appearing herein, and no such representations, warranties or en- dorsements should be implied or inferred from the appearance of the advertisements in the publication. The advertisers are solely respon- sible for the contents of such advertisements. MEMBERSHIP RATES. Premium membership rates are $40 for two years or $75 for ﬁ ve years. Lifetime membership is $400 and can be paid in full or in four monthly installments. A special Premium rate of $10 for two years is open to E1–E4 and cadets only. New two-year Basic membership with select beneﬁ ts is free. Learn more at www.ausa.org/join. Voice for the Army – Support For the Soldier PERK OF THE WEEK ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY George pushes Army to adapt to new technology, transform on the move D ominance on the future bat- tleﬁ eld will depend on the Army’s ability to quickly adapt to new technology and trans- form while on the move, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said. In remarks during a virtual event hosted by Defense One, George cit- ed the importance of quickly put- ting new equipment into the hands of soldiers, including some who are deploying, so that the Army and its industry partners can adjust equip- ment and technologies based on their feedback. He pointed to the value of Project Convergence, a joint and multina- tional experimentation event that took place in March at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin and the Marine Corps’ Camp Pendle- ton, both in California, as a proving ground for many of the concepts be- ing tested by soldiers. “Technology is moving really fast, and Project Convergence kind of gave us an opportunity to see just how we could do that,” George said at the March 22 Defense One event. What he saw during Project Con- vergence at the National Training Center, George said, “reinforced what we’re looking at as far as trans- forming in contact, that we actually are going to take a unit, put these systems inside the units and then let them operate it. We’re going to get our best innovation from our soldiers working with these developers.” Some systems being used now, he said, require soldiers to attend a weekslong course to learn how to operate, while other systems are so intuitive that soldiers are learning them on the ﬂ y. George offered some examples, such as the modular Ghost un- manned aerial system that a soldier was able to “master” in one day, and a tablet-like command-and-control system that a platoon leader learned Army Chief of Staﬀ Gen. Randy George, left, receives a demonstration of a next- generation command and control system from a 1st Infantry Division oﬃ cer March 18 during Project Convergence at Fort Ir- win, California. (U.S. ARMY/SGT. BRAHIM DOUGLAS) how to operate “by playing around with it for a couple of hours.” A soldier operating another piece of equipment suggested it would be better with a text box, and a correction “was made overnight,” George said. The capabilities of ground and aer- ial robotics also were demonstrated at Project Convergence. “We’ve all seen how the battleﬁ eld is chang- ing,” George said. “We know that you can’t be having these big command- and-control nodes that are out there. We know that machines can do a lot of things much more effectively and much cheaper, and we’re going to have to incorporate them into our formations.” Robotics will be “infused into” some brigades that have been se- lected to “transform in contact,” and a determination will be made about “what needs to happen at each lev- el,” George said. “We all talk a lot about incremental improvement, and I think that that’s what we’re looking at. Obviously, some of the higher end systems may take a little bit longer.” George said the Army wants to “lighten the load, have less complex, more intuitive formations, a lower signature, and we saw all of that at the National Training Center.” AUSA members save 25% when ﬁ l- ing federal and/or state returns with software from TaxAct. The company guarantees you’ll get your maximum refund—backed by $100,000. Visit www.ausa.org/tax for personal ﬁ lings and www.taxact.com/ausasmb for small business ﬁ lings.www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY April 4, 2024 | AUSA Extra 5 Camarillo From Page 1 construction costs, Camarillo said. “It’s easy to talk about it as ag- gregate numbers or processes, but if you’re a soldier facing the threat of a small [unmanned aerial vehicle] sys- tem that’s lethal or if you’re living in a barracks that is substandard, these are very real daily things to you,” he said. The cash-ﬂow crunch affects opera- tions at the unit level as well as pro- curement of critical munitions, Ca- marillo said. This includes funding for 155 mm artillery shells, which the Army aims “to be able to produce … at a rate of 100,000 rounds per month by the end of 2025,” he said. Without the funding, he said, those procurements cannot happen, and that includes investment in facilities such as the Scranton Army Ammu- nition Plant, Pennsylvania, and the Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee. The supplemental is “vi- tal to the industrial base,” it gener- ates jobs in the U.S., and it supports Ukraine, reﬂecting an ongoing com- mitment, he said. “The need to pass the supplemental is absolutely critical, not just because we’re supporting Ukraine in its con- ﬂict against Russia,” Camarillo said. “Not passing the supplemental would have devastating effects on the Unit- ed States Army.” A soldier assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment carries a 155 mm artillery shell during a live-ﬁre exercise at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. (U.S. ARMY PHOTO)www.ausa.org6 AUSA Extra | April 4, 2024 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Congress begins work on ﬁscal 2025 defense funding A ction on Capitol Hill resumes next week when both cham- bers of Congress return from recess. The good news is the ﬁscal year 2024 appropriations bills were en- acted before the break, preventing a destructive government shutdown and funding the federal government until Sept. 30. As part of its advocacy outreach with lawmakers, the Association of the U.S. Army partnered with the Enlisted Association of the Na- tional Guard of the United States, the Global Special Operations Forces Foundation, the National Guard Association of the United States and the U.S. Army Warrant Ofﬁcers As- sociation in sending a letter to the top four leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives urging passage of the ﬁscal 2024 appropria- tions. You can read the letter here. The ﬁscal 2025 appropriations process is now in full swing as con- gressional committees begin hear- ings and review the administration’s ﬁscal 2025 budget request. You can view highlights of the request for the Army here and here. Timely and sufﬁcient appropria- tions and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act remain AUSA’s top advocacy recommenda- tions to Congress. The association’s Government Af- fairs directorate also participated in an event on Capitol Hill highlight- ing the service and heroism of U.S. Army air ambulance crews that op- erated in southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The helicopter crews are credited with the evacuation of about 900,000 people—American troops and Vietnamese and allied forces—from 1962 to 1973. AUSA supports legislation to award these soldiers, known as “dustoff crews,” the Congressional Gold Medal. The bipartisan and bicameral leg - islation, known as the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act, is led in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Rep. Steve Kilmer of Washington in the House of Representatives. You can help build momentum for the legislation honoring dustoff crews and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act and ap- propriations bills by contacting your representatives and senators. We will continue to monitor these and other developments closely as we advocate for the Total Army with Congress. Mark Haaland is AUSA’s Government Aﬀairs director. Mingus speaks to Army fellows at AUSA Army Vice Chief of Staﬀ Gen. James Mingus addresses approximately 50 Army fellows Monday during a luncheon hosted at AUSA headquarters. (AUSA PHOTO) Members of AUSA’s Government Aﬀairs team participate in an event on Capitol Hill to raise support for legislation to recognize and honor Army ‘dustoﬀ crews’ of the Vietnam War with the Congressional Gold Medal. (AUSA/JOHN NOBREGA) Government Aﬀairswww.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY April 4, 2024 | AUSA Extra 7 AUSA member savings include car rentals, hotel stays M any members of the Asso- ciation of the U.S. Army re- quest membership cards or numbers to access the association’s many beneﬁt programs, but you don’t need either. While you can’t just walk into a re- tail outlet and show them your AUSA membership card for your discount, as AUSA strikes agreements with a retailer’s cor- porate headquar- ters, we have tried to make it easy for members to access their savings through a special landing page— www.ausa.org/savings . Just click on the logos of our afﬁn- ity partners on this page to get right to your savings. In some cases, your member discount will automatically apply. If a promo code is needed, it is shown in the brief description under the company’s logo on the savings page. There are many partners, so to narrow down what you’re looking for, choose a category at the top such as business/electronics, education, entertainment, ﬁnancial/insurance, health/wellness, shopping/gifts or travel. Car rental discounts For car rentals, enter your location and dates, and your special AUSA member price will appear. At Avis and Budget, combine one of the additional coupons shown on their landing pages for even greater savings. For Alamo, Enterprise and National—which are all owned by Enterprise—you’ll ﬁnd a widget that will display member pricing for all three brands if a car is available. Hertz also will automatically show member pricing. If you want to add the AUSA mem- ber discount codes to an existing pre- miere account with these companies, use: • Avis: G242800. • Budget: X741700. To use the ad- Member Beneﬁts ditional coupon codes, you’ll need to go to the savings page because they change seasonally. • Hertz: 83086. • Alamo, Enterprise and National: 6020136. Save on accommodations For hotel discounts, there are three options. Use code 00800700 at Choice Ho- tels, which includes brands such as Cambria, Park Plaza, Radisson, Comfort, Country Inn & Suites, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn and MainStay Suites. You can also provide this code directly to a location. At Red Roof, use code 622590 for your 20% discount. The Armed Forces Vacation Club is available to all AUSA members, regardless of military service. The original program—called R&R—pro- vides weeklong resort stays for just $409 a week. That price might sound unbelievable, but search the R&R Resort Page and see for yourself. There are over 200,000 resort ac- commodations in more than 100 countries with a range of unit sizes, from studio to three bedrooms. Vaca- tion rentals are priced per unit, not per person, and typically sleep two to eight people. This program is free to AUSA members, but you may also choose to join AFVC’s premium program for $119, which provides additional ben- eﬁts such as greater hotel discounts. Susan Rubel is AUSA’s Association and Aﬃnity Partnerships director. When you are making travel plans, make sure to search AUSA’s member beneﬁts land- ing page to access discounts for car rentals, hotels and more. (U.S. ARMY PHOTO) AUSA members can click on the logos of the association’s aﬃnity partners on the special landing page to get right to the or- ganization’s discounts. (AUSA GRAPHIC)www.ausa.org8 AUSA Extra | April 4, 2024 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Chapter award honors outstanding Fisher House team Retired Lt. Col. Larry Dandridge, left, vice president for veterans’ aﬀairs with AUSA’s Coastal South Carolina chapter, presents the chapter’s Outstanding Service Award to Fisher House Charleston manager Erik Zielinski. (AUSA PHOTO) T he Association of the U.S. Ar- my’s Coastal South Carolina chapter recently presented its quarterly Outstanding Service Award to the Fisher House Charles- ton team for the outstanding service it provides to families of veterans and service members. Retired Lt. Col. Larry Dandridge, the chapter’s vice president for veter- ans’ affairs, presented the award and letters of commendation and appre- ciation to Fisher House Charleston manager Erik Zie- linski, assistant manager Char- ity Anderson and housekeeping supervisor Percy Jones during a Fisher House public view- ing event sponsored by the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medi- cal Center and the Friends of Fisher House Charleston. “The award plaque and commenda- tions mention that the Fisher House Charleston team has provided out- standing service to the veterans and families staying at the house for the fourth quarter of 2023,” Dandridge said. “However, it is well known that the facility has provided extraordi- nary services to its guests since ac- cepting its ﬁrst guests in January 2018.” The Fisher House is the region’s “home away from home” for fami- lies of those receiving care at the VA medical center, Dandridge said. In addition to ﬁve-star accommoda- tions, including 16 private suites, a library, laundry facilities and free transportation to and from the medi- cal center, the Fisher House provides groceries and amenity items “so that families can focus on their hero while they receive treatment,” he said. In 2023, Fisher House Charleston maintained the third-highest oc- cupancy in the VA system out of 45 other medical centers, according to the award citation. It also was in the top two VA locations for total fami- lies accommodated and served, with 1,246 families, the citation says. The dramatic increase in occupan- cy and referrals in 2023 was driven by several process improvements and increased community outreach— a testament to the dedication and drive of Zielinski and his team. “The AUSA chapter award recognized the Fisher House Charleston’s three leaders but also the other employees and hundreds of volunteers who have made it the great lodge that it is,” Dandridge said. The Fisher House also has imple- mented a dashboard admissions re- port that was recently recognized as a national best practice, Dandridge said. The report will be accessible to all VA sites and will save an estimated $5 million in annual out-of-pocket lodging expenses for veterans and families nationwide. Fisher House Charleston has been full for the past four months, and the demand for free lodging has resulted in the need for a second location in Charleston, Dandridge said. “The VA, the Friends of Fisher House Charleston, the AUSA Coastal SC chapter and many veterans sup- port organizations are working on getting a second Fisher House built in Charleston to support the rapidly growing need for free housing for the families of veterans receiving care at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center,” he said. For more information about Fisher House Charleston, click here. Coastal South Carolina Fisher House Charleston is the region’s home away from home for families of those receiving care at the VA medical center. (FISHER HOUSE PHOTO)Next >