PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY www.ausa.org October 13, 2023 | AUSA Extra 1 Wormuth: Army becoming more modern, adaptive Army Secretary Christine Wormuth provides the keynote address Monday durng the opening ceremony of the 2023 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition. (AUSA PHOTO) George Outlines Army’s 4 Focus Areas 3 Shinseki Awarded AUSA’s Marshall Medal 4 USASOC Soldiers Sweep Best Squad Competition 5 Weimer Announces Armywide ‘Blue Book’ 6 Recruiting Initiatives, Army Profession 8, 9 Senior Leaders Address Family Concerns 11 Europe, Indo-Pacific 16, 17 Leader Solarium 20 Scenes from AUSA 2023 30, 31 IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 5 NUMBER 24 OCTOBER 13, 2023 T he U.S. Army is at a critical mo- ment in history, and it must use this moment to ask hard questions and make big decisions, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Monday in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “It is a crucial moment for the Army to summon our ingenuity, to innovate and invest in emerging technologies, to test and develop in uncharted areas like artifi cial intelligence and contested do- mains like space and cyber, to reshape and transform the force to be more adaptable and fl exible,” Wormuth said. “We’ve got to ask the tough questions and make the hard decisions on what our force needs to fi ght in the future.” The Army needs to think big, she said. “As we pursue the most signifi cant mod- ernization effort in generations, we’re building an Army that can dominate in large-scale multidomain operations.” She also spoke of still cloaked plans to realign force structure, making certain that in times of challenging require- ments the Army can fi eld “the right for- mations and ensure they are properly manned, trained and able to deliver le- thal results.” Wormuth expects Congress will be briefed on organizational changes in the next few weeks. Recruiting is another priority. “Sim- ply put, we are changing who we recruit, how we recruit them and who we recruit them with,” Wormuth said. “We’re going to broaden our prospect pool to include more of the available labor force.” She added, “The United States Army cannot and will not be irrelevant. I am confi dent that what we’re doing today Special Edition: AUSA Annual Meeting See Wormuth,Page 6OUR MISSION IS YOUR MISSION As the world leader of light tactical vehicle manufacturing, AM General stands ready to deliver the JLTV A2 with reliable, networked-protected mobility to serve those who serve.www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY October 13, 2023 | AUSA Extra 3 Chief calls on Army to focus on ‘core’ warfighting mission Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George addresses the Dwight D. Eisenhower Luncheon Tuesday during AUSA’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. (AUSA PHOTO) A merica’s Army is doing a lot of things “really well,” but “we’ve got some work to do,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said. Speaking Tuesday at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Luncheon at the As- sociation of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., George said he is proud of the Army and its soldiers. “Wherever I go, I consistently see soldiers of every generation willing to innovate, train and endure hard- ship for the team and the mission,” he said. George wants Americans to see the same Army. “I want them to feel the pride that I feel because their Army is the best ground fighting force in the world,” George said. “When our Army hits the dirt, our nation means business. Our allies and partners don’t want to fight without us, and our adversaries are wise to fear us.” George said he has been reflect- ing on the Army’s motto: “This We’ll Defend.” First used as a battle cry by the Continental Army, “it reminds us that our Army’s purpose is timeless and clear: to fight and win the nation’s wars,” George said. “That is our man- date from the American people.” Meeting that mandate requires action in four focus areas: warfighting, delivering ready combat forma- tions, continuous transformation and strengthening the Army profession, George said. To maintain its fo- cus on the “core purpose” of warfight- ing, the Army must “ruthlessly prior- itize” how it uses time and resources, George said. It also must reduce complexity in how it fights, equips and builds teams. “Soldiers need to shoot, move and communicate, and they need to bond together by tough training and overcoming adversity side by side,” he said. “Technology should facilitate those fundamentals, not encumber them.” The Army’s ability to deliver ready combat formations is another focus area for George. “We must always be ready to answer the call to get our formations to the fight and sustain them there,” he said. This includes trim- ming excess equipment from units. George cited as an example a company commander in Europe whose property book was 118 pages. “That makes no sense,” George said. “We will take that off command- ers’ plates and off soldiers’ plates. They shouldn’t be spending time car- ing for equipment they don’t need.” The Army also is looking to refine how it conducts maintenance. “Main- tenance is critical and something we must get right, but we will make it more efficient,” George said. Continuous transformation is an- other focus area. This includes more than modernizing equipment. “Con- tinuous transformation means itera- tively adapting and evolving how we fight, how we organize, how we train and how we equip,” George said. He then asked industry for help. “Please help us transform continuously and build agility into the Army,” he said. “The lines of communication are open.” Finally, the Army must focus on strengthening the profession, George said. “This focus area underpins all the rest,” he said. “To maintain America’s trust, we must serve the nation with competence and charac- ter. Every time I get out to talk to our formations, I see mission-focused leaders and soldiers, but we must stay self-aware and continually seek improvement.” Leaders must enforce standards and ensure discipline within forma- tions, George said. “When it comes down to a close fight, grit, character and discipline are what make the dif- ference,” he said. When our Army hits the dirt, our nation means business ... our adversaries are wise to fear us.”www.ausa.org4 AUSA Extra | October 13, 2023 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. 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Voice for the Army – Support For the Soldier PERK OF THE WEEK ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Spouse-ly is an online marketplace to shop and support a variety of military- and first responder- owned businesses. AUSA members save 10% with promo code “AUSA” at www.spousely.com. Through its one of-a-kind platform, anyone can shop small, make a big impact and purchase with a purpose. Shinseki receives 2023 Marshall Medal Retired Gen. Bob Brown, left, AUSA president and CEO, and retired Gen. John Tilelli, right, a member of the association’s Board of Directors, present AUSA’s George Catlett Marshall Medal to retired Gen. Eric Shinseki. (AUSA PHOTO) T he Association of the U.S. Army awarded its highest hon- or for selfl ess service to retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, a former Army chief of staff and former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The 80-year-old Hawaii native re- ceived AUSA’s George Catlett Mar- shall Medal Wednesday, the fi nal day of the association’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition, saying he was “deeply humbled” to receive the award. The Marshall Medal is named for the Army offi cer and statesman who led the Army, the State Depart- ment and Defense Department. Shinseki, born one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, said, “I don’t come from a military family,” yet he feels “I’ve been a soldier most of my life.” His fi rst exposure to soldiers came from men in his family who served in the famed 442nd Regimental Com- bat Team during World War II. He recalls that they were young and robust, “fl ush with confi dence in a sense of having done something big.” His own Army career would begin with an appointment to the U.S. Mil- itary Academy at West Point, New York. Seven months after his 1965 graduation, Shinseki was shipped to Vietnam. A fi eld artillery reconnais- sance sergeant helped prepare him so he wouldn’t be a liability to the team, an act that was the beginning of Shinseki’s deeply held admiration for NCOs. He would serve two tours in Viet- nam and was wounded twice in com- bat. He commanded at all levels, and in June 1997 became the fi rst Asian American to reach the rank of four- star general. Shinseki served as the 34th Army chief of staff from June 1999 to June 2003. He was VA secretary from Jan- uary 2009 to May 2014. During his career, Shinseki said he learned that it’s hard to lead if you lack credibility and knowledge of your basic skills, a message now embraced by new Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ran- dy George, and that trust and confi - dence are critical for leaders. “Can anyone do that better than soldiers who have been raised and trained in the profession?” Shinseki said. “If you want to change, it takes leadership and innovation. Change doesn’t happen on its own.”www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY October 13, 2023 | AUSA Extra 5 Army announces 2023 Best Squad Competition winners F ive soldiers from Army Special Operations Command are the winners of the Army’s 2023 Best Squad Competition. Sgt. Jacob Phillips, Spc. Chancel- lor McGuire, Staff Sgt. Andre Ew- ing, Spc. George Mascharka and Spc. Shane Moon were named the winning squad Monday during a lun- cheon at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. Additionally, McGuire was named the 2023 Soldier of the Year, and Phillips is the NCO of the Year. “One of the things that makes our Army so successful is people. People like you, who are tough and go far beyond the normal to achieve suc- cess,” said Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, di- rector of the Army Staff, who was the event’s keynote speaker. Piatt emphasized the importance of being ready regardless of resourc- es. “Anyone can lead when conditions are perfect,” he said. “You have made it clear that you can lead under the harshest conditions.” The profession of arms takes a toll on those who serve, Piatt said, so it is important to watch out for other sol- diers. “Lead with strength, but also lead with compassion,” he said. “We are a values-based organization. … That is what makes our Army strong.” The Best Squad Competition, over- seen by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer, took place Sept. 24–Oct. 6 at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and in Wash- ington, D.C. Twelve squads represent- ing major commands across the Army competed in the event. Each squad had five soldiers—a squad leader who is a sergeant first class or staff ser- geant, a sergeant or corporal team leader and three squad members in the ranks of specialist or below. The competition featured fitness and combat skills events, including the Army Combat Fitness Test, weap- ons lanes, a 12-mile foot march and individual warrior tasks and squad battle drills. It culminated with a board-style interview testing the sol- diers’ knowledge and professionalism in front of top Army leaders. “We exist to fight and win,” Weimer said. “You represent what it means to be ready for when we say ‘This We’ll Defend.’ I couldn’t be more proud of every single team that participated in this event.” Honorary SMA Weimer also announced Monday that retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmie Spencer, a former director of NCO and Soldier Programs at AUSA, is this year’s Honorary Sergeant Ma- jor of the Army, a tradition that be- gan in 2016. “I don’t think thank you is a strong enough word to convey how grateful I am for this great honor,” said Spen- cer, who enlisted in 1961 and served more than three decades in uniform. “My journey started over half a century ago when I joined the ‘team of teams,’” Spencer said. “I always had someone to my left, someone to my right, and shoulder-to-shoulder we faced whatever the future had in store. There’s always been some- one behind me … willing and able to come to my rescue should I falter, and somebody in front of me to show me the way.” After leaving the Army, Spencer said, he joined another team, AUSA, where he continued his lifelong pas- sion for taking care of soldiers, fami- lies and veterans. “I was a soldier. I am a soldier, and I will always be a soldier,” Spencer said. “My sincere wish for everyone in this room is that you may be in heaven 30 minutes before the devil knows you’re dead.” Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, left, director of the Army Staff, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer, right, recognize the team from Army Special Operations Command, winners of the Army’s 2023 Best Squad Competition. (AUSA PHOTO) Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmie Spen- cer, a former director of NCO and Soldier Programs at AUSA, is this year’s Honorary Sergeant Major of the Army. (AUSA PHOTO)www.ausa.org6 AUSA Extra | October 13, 2023 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Armywide ‘Blue Book’ will help NCOs maintain standards N COs drive change across the Army, and they will have a critical role as the service renews its focus on standards and discipline, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Mi- chael Weimer said. “We’re going to get after stan- dards and discipline,” Weimer said Wednesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “I can’t go anywhere in the Army and not have a conversa- tion about standards and discipline.” Weimer acknowledged that while NCOs bear a large responsibility for soldier standards and discipline, it is not an easy burden to bear. “It’s tough being the standard every day,” he said. “You’re going to get injured. You’re going to have things happen in your life. It’s tough coming to work with a good attitude every day if you have stuff going on at home.” But being the standard means some- thing, Weimer said. “When you work on it and you stay steady with it and you add a little humility in there, you’ll build that cohesive team,” he said. To help NCOs with this effort, Weimer said the Army is building an Army “Blue Book” that will be “the base document for everybody to know what right looks like.” The Blue Book traces its origins to 1779, when Friedrich Von Steuben published Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, and the printer, fac- ing a paper shortage, bound the book with the blue paper he had on hand, according to the Army. The Blue Book isn’t new, Weimer said, but this new version will be a foundational document that “will be the same for every single one of us.” A team of soldiers from the Army’s Software Factory will build the Blue Book in app form, allowing the Army to update information quickly and ef- ficiently, Weimer said. The goal is to have it ready by the 2024 AUSA An- nual Meeting, Weimer said. Soldiers will hear a lot about stan- dards and discipline, Weimer said, so the Army must be clear about what it expects. “If we don’t level what the standards are, we’re going to be frus- trated,” he said. The Blue Book will include Army history, the oath, the soldier, NCO and other creeds, links to com- monly used publications and other relevant information, Weimer said. Army leaders also are seeking feed- back from soldiers for what the book should include. But standards and discipline don’t end with a book, Weimer said. “The book itself doesn’t create standards and discipline and lethality,” he said. “You still have to lead ... to have the personal courage to live the standard and enforce the standard.” The Army also is looking to put rig- or back into training, said Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Harris, senior enlisted leader for Army Training and Doctrine Command. “We have to be good at our tasks at all times,” Harris said. He used land navigation as an example. “Land nav is not just for the infantry, it’s not just for the scouts,” he said. “When you hold each other accountable, we’re going to get proficient in our tactical tasks and our warrior tasks and battle drills.” As the Army enforces standards and discipline, unit cohesion will grow and harmful behaviors should decline, Weimer said. These efforts will be crucial if the Army is called to fight the nation’s wars, he said. “The foundation of being a phe- nomenal warfighter is based on stan- dards and discipline,” Weimer said. “If we’re truly going to be ready for large-scale combat operations, we’ve got to get tight on those standards and discipline.” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer dis- cusses his initiatives and priorities during a briefing at the AUSA 2023 Annual Meet- ing and Exposition. (AUSA PHOTO) Wormuth From Page 1 and in the years ahead will ensure that we remain the greatest land fighting force in the world.” Wormuth made a continued plea for Congress to pass full-year Army ap- propriations so it can avoid a looming late-November government shutdown, and to confirm more than 150 Army general officer nominations. Delays are causing “needless uncertainty,” she said, adding that promotion de- lays are a “discouraging signal.” Progress is being made on trans- forming the force with new capabili- ties, she said. “We’ve got to continue to embrace innovation and transfor- mation or risk failing to address fu- ture threats,” Wormuth said. “The good news for our Army is that across the force, I see us embrac- ing change, looking to the future and becoming the more modern, more le- thal and more adaptive force we need to be in close partnership with indus- try,” Wormuth said. “The Army has pressed ahead and stayed on track to implement our most ambitious mod- ernization effort in 40 years.”www.ausa.org8 AUSA Extra | October 13, 2023 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Army launches ‘significant’ recruiting transformation Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George discusses upcoming changes to Army re- cruiting during a forum at the AUSA An- nual Meeting. (U.S. ARMY/SGT. DEONTE ROWELL) T he Army is professionalizing its recruiting force with a new MOS and an assessment process aimed at selecting the right people for the job, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said. In remarks at a talent manage- ment forum at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., George outlined the coming trans- formation in Army recruiting, which will include a shift in how recruiters are identified and where they recruit. Recruiters typically are selected from Army formations, but when he’s visited recruiting battalions, George said, “people would tell me, ‘Hey, I could tell almost immediately whether somebody had the skills to be a good recruiter.’ It’s a tough job to be able to sell those kinds of things.” With the premise that recruiters will do better the longer they stay in one area, where they get to know the community, build cultural rapport and perhaps even speak a couple of languages, George said, people who qualify for the new MOS, 42T, will be selected much as soldiers are chosen to be in Special Forces. “We’re going to go after selecting the right people … and then training them and keeping them so we’re not rotating them all the time,” George said, pointing out that the model is similar to the way the Army National Guard recruits. “They can continue to progress, but they’re going to be out there where they’re actually go- ing to know the environment and be more effective.” The move to professionalize the re- cruiting force is part of a larger effort to transform the Army’s recruiting enterprise. The moves come as the service missed its recruiting goal for the third consecutive year. Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, command- er of Army Recruiting Command, said during the Monday discussion that the best ideas to boost the num- ber of new recruits have come from recruiters. One of those is the Fu- ture Soldier Preparatory Course, a program run at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Fort Moore, Georgia, that helps new recruits improve their test scores and get into better physi- cal shape. “Everything we’ve done in this command is really the feedback from these recruiters,” Davis said. “It has allowed us to move resources and invest in their needs. When the re- cruiting force sees that, there’s this surge of energy to get out there and do more.” The need to professionalize the re- cruiting force was evident to Lt. Gen. Douglas Stitt, deputy Army chief of staff for personnel, G-1, as he walked the halls of the Annual Meeting. “When you walk around the halls here, you see all of this great kit that’s in the hands of our warfight- ers,” Stitt said. The overhaul of the recruiting enterprise “is the most significant transformation that’s happened within [Recruiting Com- mand]. Well, we want the best kit in our soldiers’ hands to do any mission that they’re given. Recruiting Com- mand is no different.” Stitt pointed out that the training a young sergeant receives to be a re- cruiter “is shorter than everything except for two military occupational specialties within the United States Army.” To modernize and “upskill” the re- cruiting force, he said, “we want to make this a career for a recruiter” while maintaining the value of a clear career path with opportunities for leadership positions and author- ity within the organization. It will require setting the condi- tions to catch up with a 21st century labor market and developing Recruit- ing Command into a “resilient orga- nization that is able to withstand economic or geopolitical impacts on the labor market,” Stitt said. Retired Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, left, AUSA’s vice president for Leadership and Education, mod- erates a forum on recruiting during the AUSA Annual Meeting. (U.S. ARMY/SGT. DEONTE ROWELL)Gen. Gary Brito, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, address- es a forum on the Army profession during AUSA’s Annual Meeting. (AUSA PHOTO) www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY October 13, 2023 | AUSA Extra 9 Leaders seek to instill pride, professionalism in soldiers R einforcing the fundamentals of professional soldiering has emerged as a drumbeat among Army leaders as they prepare the force for future combat. The focus on strengthening the Army profession is less a change than it is an effort to instill anew the foundational tenets of cohesive teams—teams that are built on trust and discipline and rely on compe- tence, character and standards. “It’s always been part of our DNA as a military, but it’s an inflection point right now for our Army,” Gen. Gary Brito, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, said Wednesday during a forum on the Army profession at the Associa- tion of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washing- ton, D.C. “Switching from [counterinsur- gency] to large-scale combat opera- tions, it just fits in well, and we also have some new Army leadership, so I would say that we’ve had a strong Army profession, [but] there’s a point that we always re-look at it as well,” Brito said. Jeffrey Peterson, director of the Character Integration Advisory Group at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, said in- stilling an ethos of professionalism among the young men and women who will become the Army’s future leaders starts at school and contin- ues through regular reinforcement. “There is a bit of a back-to-basics approach here, there is no silver bul- let to this,” Peterson said. “This re- quires consistent effort, consistent discussion and consistent prioriti- zation on adhering to Army Values and living by our ethic, and always asking if what we’re doing is building trust or undermining trust, no mat- ter what the task.” Peterson pointed out that because competence in basic soldiering skills is easier to measure than character and commitment, it’s understandable that it would receive most of the at- tention. But, he said, taking charac- ter and commitment out of the equa- tion would result in failure. “You can be really competent, you can have pretty good character, but if you’re not committed to the mission, to the organization, to your unit, then you’re probably not going to be trustworthy, because when the chips are down, you’re going to be looking out for yourself more than you are your soldiers, your unit or the mis - sion,” Peterson said. Strengthening the Army profession is one of the top priorities of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer has placed a focus on being “brilliant at the basics,” with a prom- ise to renew the focus on standards and discipline. “The character of war is chang- ing, and we have to transform,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Har- ris, senior enlisted leader at Train- ing and Doctrine Command. “We are continually transforming. That goes right with our being a steward of our profession. We have to continually reinforce what we do.” Brito pointed out that the culture of pride in being a soldier starts when young people arrive for Initial Entry Training and when officers go through the Basic Officer Leader Courses. Training, education and re- inforcement of the Army profession is instilled “through the continuum of learning,” Brito said. “So, that private today is going to come back as a sergeant later on for some additional education, the same with the lieutenants, they’re going to come back as a captain or major lat- er on, so it’s reinforced there,” Brito said. New soldiers arrive at Fort Moore, Georgia, for basic training. (U.S. ARMY/CAPT. STEPHANIE SNYDER)Next >