PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY www.ausa.org October 23, 2025 | AUSA Extra 1 Legendary Ranger named Honorary SMA R etired Command Sgt. Maj. Richard “Rick” Merritt, a vet- eran of more than 36 years of service, 25 of which he spent in the 75th Ranger Regiment, was named Honorary Sergeant Major of the Army during the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition. “This is special,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said as he introduced Merritt on Oct. 15 at the conclusion of a professional develop- ment forum he hosted. A legendary soldier who is in the Ranger Hall of Fame, Merritt logged 1,500 raids over a cumulative 57 months in combat, was a senior in- structor at the U.S. Army Jungle Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Richard 'Rick' Merritt, third from right, is recognized as an Honor- ary Sergeant Major of the Army by, from left to right, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer and former Sgts. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley, Ken Preston, Dan Dailey and Michael Grinston. Dailey currently serves as AUSA's vice president for NCO and Soldier Programs. (AUSA PHOTO) Special Operations Leaders Speak at AUSA 3 Army Should Build on Recruiting Gains 4 Family Readiness Annual Meeting Family Forums 9 Chapter Highlights Central Texas 10 IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 7 NUMBER 24 OCTOBER 23, 2025 See Merritt, Page 6 School at Fort Sherman in Panama, served as command sergeant major of the 75th Ranger Regiment, was the command senior enlisted leader for two U.S. Joint Special Operations Command task forces, was command sergeant major of the 10th Mountain Division, and he was command senior enlisted leader to the commanding general of Eighth U.S. Army Korea in Yongsan and Camp Humphreys, Weimer said. Merritt now escorts Korean War veterans to Korea to see the places where they served and fought in the 1950s. Merritt began his remarks before dozens of senior sergeants major by invoking the memory of Sgt. Jona- than “Doc” Peney, a 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, combat medic who was killed in action in Afghani- stan on June 1, 2010, at the age of 22 while tending to a wounded soldier on a rooftop. “Where do we find soldiers like Doc Peney? I know where we find 'em. I know, because I'm looking at them,” Merritt said. “That's right, look left, look right, look in the mirror. You are them and the soldiers you lead. We find them in the backyards, farms, cities and suburbs. They're out there, they’re our charge, American citizens, sons and daughters that we will give every opportunity to live, combat, fight our battles, take care SECURE AMERICA DEPLOY RAPIDLYDOMINATE RELENTLESSLY WITH SPEED AND INTELLIGENCE AUTONOMOUS MISSION-READY DEFENSE SYSTEMS THAT PROTECT, TRAIN, AND DOMINATE ACROSS EVERY DOMAIN. WWW.HARMATTAN.AIwww.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY October 23, 2025 | AUSA Extra 3 Special operations ‘driving change’ for the future fight Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, practice room clearing tactics at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia . (U.S. ARMY/SGT. DAVID RESNICK) Lindsay Manning joined AUSA in March. She enjoys spending time with her family, who live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In her free time, she loves to travel, with the past summer being full of trips to waterfront locations along the East Coast with friends. She hopes to plan a trip abroad in 2026. Meet the AUSA headquarters staff Lindsay Manning Conference and Event Center Manager A rmy special operations forc- es are transforming for the future by increasing multi- domain capabilities, growing asym- metric lethality and expanding the ability to compete and win in the information space, senior special op- erations leaders said. There are some 36,000 soldiers in U.S. Army Special Operations Com- mand, at least 2,500 of whom on any given day are deployed to as many as 70 countries, Brig. Gen. Kirk Brink- er, acting commanding general, said Oct. 14 during a Warriors Corner presentation at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meet- ing and Exposition. Continuous transformation will enhance the broad suite of capabili- ties within the command, he said. At the 75th Ranger Regiment, leaders have modernized how the regiment recruits, assesses and se- lects its soldiers, in part by using ar- tificial intelligence to “see the inven- tory of talented personnel who meet the same profiles and subscribe to the ideals of Rangers in our forma- tions,” said regimental commander Col. Kitefre Oboho. Lethality is being enhanced throughout the regiment, including in its embedded logistics, sustainment and protection skill sets. The Rang- ers also are focusing on interoperable communications between Rangers and other special operations forces and an enhanced ability to target over the horizon. “Our goal is to ensure that the Army's Ranger regiment can reach out and touch any adversary no matter where they may be,” Oboho said. “There's no such thing as denied territory to the Ranger regiment.” Col. Steve Smith, commander of the 160th Special Operations Avia- tion Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, said new tactics, tech- niques and procedures are being de- veloped to operate in denied areas, to include leveraging the cover of dark- ness, weather, low-altitude flying and flying into areas where there are no enemy systems. The 160th also is leveraging tech- nology to increase survivability by seeking to extend the range of air- craft through aerial refueling and collapsible fuel systems inside the aircraft, “because if you go to ground, you’re vulnerable,” Smith said. At the Special Operations Center of Excellence, new courses in electro- magnetic warfare, robotics, informa- tion warfare and signals intelligence have been established, and the Cap- tain’s Career Course now includes instruction in artificial intelligence. “I'm one of 11 centers of excellence across the Army, all led by two-stars, everything I just talked about I'm doing hand-in-glove with all of those other commanders and all the com- manders up here on the stage,” said Maj. Gen. Jason Slider, commander of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. “We are driving change.”www.ausa.org 4 AUSA Extra | October 23, 2025 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. To celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, from April 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025, membership rates are reduced to a fi ve-year Premium rate of $50 and a two- year Premium rate of $30. Lifetime member- ship is $250. A special Premium rate of $10 for two years is open to E1–E4 and cadets only. Two-year Basic membership with select ben- efi 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 Paper: Army recruiting needs a remix A s it competes for young Amer- icans’ attention in a tight la- bor market, the Army needs a recruiting approach that is “more targeted” and “agile,” according to a new paper published by the Associa- tion of the U.S. Army. “Gone are the days of expecting prospects to simply walk into recruit- ing offi ces across the United States,” Maj. Ryan Crayne writes. “Advertis- ing alone will not persuade; what is needed is a concerted effort to meet young people on their own terms.” In “Army Marketing: From De- but to Remix,” Crayne outlines the momentum created by the Army Enterprise Marketing Offi ce and underscores the need for continued recruiting advancements. Before the Army Enterprise Mar- keting Offi ce, military marketing largely relied on commercial re- search that “maps consumer behav- iors to demographics and zip codes,” Crayne writes. “While useful in re- tail contexts, this method fell short for the Army.” In response, the Army Enterprise Marketing Offi ce and an industry partner rooted their campaigns in “seeking to understand what young people want in their lives, what mo- tivates them to serve, and what bar- riers keep them from considering the Army,” he writes. Crayne is an AUSA scholar and an Army marketing and behavioral eco- nomics offi cer who currently serves as the innovation lead of the Army Enterprise Marketing Offi ce. He is a fellow with the LTG (Ret.) James M. Dubik Writing Fellows Program and has a master’s degree in business ad- ministration from the University of Michigan. Crayne’s paper is part of AUSA’s Harding Papers series, which was launched in conjunction with the Ar- my’s Harding Project, an initiative that aims to revitalize scholarship and writing across the force. With the Army’s marketing and recruiting “at an infl ection point,” it is time to build upon the foundation the Army Enterprise Marketing Of- fi ce built, Crayne writes. “The future is in the Army Mar- keting Cloud,” which “aims to be the connective tissue between commu- nications and contracts,” he writes. “Conversion rates of leads have more than doubled since" the cloud was im- plemented, “days from lead to contract have dropped from over 150 to closer to 60 and the cost of marketing and recruitment efforts per contract has been cut by two-thirds since 2020.” To recruit effectively, the Army needs an “authentic” and adaptable message that goes beyond marketing alone, Crayne writes. “The message has to be authentic, the beat has to keep moving, and the grind never stops. With the remix of Be All You Can Be, the Army Mar- keting Cloud, the growth of the mar- keting offi cer program, and a focus on providing tools to the recruiter,” the Army Enterprise Marketing Of- fi ce “serves as an indispensable pil- lar in the force generation apparatus of our Army,” he writes. Read the paper here. Benefi tHub is the world's largest member/employee discount program with exclusive and larger savings, sav- ing members an average of $2,500 per year on deals from thousands of lead- ing brands. And, you now earn cash back rewards when shopping. Visit ausa.benefi thub.com for more. Capt. Nicole Norton, left, assigned to the 2nd Recruiting Brigade, administers the oath of enlistment to a recruit in Hunts- ville, Alabama. (U.S. ARMY/MARENZO DOMINGO)www.aevex.com Atlas launched effect pairs long-range autonomy with assured navigation to deliver effects on time and on target, even in contested EW and GPS-degraded environments. 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As a Soldier for Life, Merritt said, he will always continue to serve, talk to soldiers and give back. “Now, I'm not one to say fl owery things, but I'll tell you, this is an honor that even the president of the United States hasn’t achieved,” Mer- ritt said. “All I ever did was surround myself with folks better than I, and from the looks of today, I can see I'm still doing just that. They're here, men and women that I walked with on the shoulders of giants.” The tradition of naming an Honor- ary Sergeant Major of the Army be- gan in 2016 when retired Gen. Gor- don Sullivan, a past president and CEO of AUSA, received the honor. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Richard 'Rick' Merritt, this year's Honorary Sergeant Major of the Army, speaks Oct. 15 at a forum for NCOs during the 2025 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. (AUSA PHOTO) Merritt From Page 1www.ausa.orgOctober 23, 2025 | AUSA Extra 7 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Army’s advanced manufacturing addresses supply gaps S everal months ago, the 1st Theater Sustainment Com- mand-Forward was in a bind. One of its Patriots in the U.S. Cen- tral Command area of responsibil- ity was down as a result of a broken hydraulic hose. With the replacement part’s lead time at 900 days, the unit called Army Materiel Command for help. Its Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Cen- ter in Illinois had the ability to craft a homegrown replacement. Personnel reverse engineered the part, studied its composition and material, and printed a temporary hydraulic hose on one of their 16 3D printers. The turnaround time was 45 days. The part was not “fully quali- fied,” meaning it wasn’t certified for long-term use, but it gave the unit the ability to fix the Patriot while it waited for a certified replacement, said Brig. Gen. Beth Behn of U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Arma- ments Command. “It’s probably still on that Patriot right now, given the lead time for the actual part,” Behn told an audience attending the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. 3D printing, machining The Army is embracing advanced manufacturing by using 3D print- ers and machining to repair battle- damaged platforms and address gaps in the supply chain that can happen when logistics are interrupted, parts become obsolete, manufacturers go out of business or lead times are too long. The service has created a process for identifying parts that could be good candidates for the Battle Dam- age Repair and Fabrication program, which determines whether the ser- vice has the capability to produce them and the need for the parts. Shortly after the Army began producing these temporary replace- ments, officials wondered if they could create fully qualified parts— ones that could be stored as a second- ary supply source. As of July, Army Materiel Command has the authority to fully qualify, with all due process, advanced manufactured parts, Behn said. Behn said the service is not at- tempting to replace vendors; it is looking for innovative ways to keep its equipment working in the absence of available parts, especially with legacy systems. Their 3D printers produce parts with a variety of ma- terials, from polymers to titanium. And the Army is partnering with places like the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University in Kansas to dissect sys- tems, reverse engineer them, create 3D models, test the parts and deter- mine what materials work best. Fully qualified parts As of Oct. 1, Army Tank-automo- tive and Armaments Command has fully qualified 61 parts for Army platforms—items like an access pan- el for a Bradley fighting vehicle and the hydraulic hose. Not only is the technology being considered to craft replacement parts, it is essential to the service’s effort to grow its drone production capabili- ties, Behn said. The service is look- ing to use composite-based advanced manufacturing to produce 10,000 drones a month. The bodies will be built at Rock Island, and the circuit cards and motors will be created at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylva- nia. Red River Army Depot, Texas, will contribute propellers and batter- ies and conduct final testing. The idea, again, is not to replace what industry can build, but the ef- fort will help build the service’s ca- pabilities. “[It’s] not the only way to get our hands on unmanned aerial systems, and it’s insufficient to the require- ment, but we need to have an [or- ganic industrial base] capability, and so that is what we are generating,” Behn said. Brig. Gen. Beth Behn, commander of U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Com- mand, speaks during the 2025 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition. (AUSA PHOTO)NEXT GENERATION MACHINE GUN FIRE CONTROL For use on multiple weapon platforms, the FCS™ 14 is a direct view optic for crew-served weapons - greatly increasing accuracy on both static and moving targets. With compact size/ weight along with user-friendly operation, the system provides the ultimate solution for faster engagements and increased first shot hits. Performance from Trust ™ •Direct view optic with removable thermal imager •Onboard ballistic computer •Integrated laser range finder •Ballistically compensated 2 MOA green dot 014584 CLICK HERE FOR PRODUCT INFORMATION AND DEMO VIDEOSwww.ausa.orgOctober 23, 2025 | AUSA Extra 9 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Soldier, family resources on display at Annual Meeting P lenty of valuable resources for soldiers and families were available throughout the As- sociation of the U.S. Army’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition last week, including our Family Readi- ness events. Both in-person and virtual attend- ees received access to resources high- lighted by the Warfighter and Family Forum speakers and panel members and from the 23 military support- ing exhibitors that were in the Fam- ily Readiness Pavilion. All these resources were provided in compli- mentary tote bags and through the Digital Resource Center from AUSA’s Family Readiness directorate. The My Army Post app, the Harding Project, and the Army Qual- ity of Life Digital Front Door web- site were among the many tools and resources shared during the popular Army Senior Leader Fireside Chat, titled “The Soldier and Family Ex- perience.” We also were proud during the fo- rum to honor the family of Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Miller as the 2025 AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year. Warfighter and Family Forum II, titled “Building a Healthy Home- front,” focused on Army health care and resources and strategies for a holistic approach to well-being, espe- cially as it relates to prevention. Vital components included physical fitness, spiritual fitness, mental resilience, nutritional wellness and sleep readi- ness—all of which play an important role in soldier and family health, a cornerstone of Army readiness. Lt. Gen. Mary Izaguirre, the Army surgeon general and commander of U.S. Army Medical Command, told attendees that the command’s 97,000 soldiers and civilians are “dedicated professionals who are proud to serve our nation’s premier land force.” “Caring for families is a critical part of what we do, because there’s Family Readiness no way a soldier can focus on their mission downrange if they’re worried about their family getting medical care back home,” Izaguirre said. Our first Warfighter and Fam- ily Forum, titled “Relocation Read- iness–A PCS Integration Forum,” covered best practices and proactive planning for families navigating permanent change-of-station moves and integrating into new communi- ties. Panelists shared resources and explored areas such as pre-move checklists, Army Housing Online User Services, child care, navigating school transitions, spouse employ- ment, mentorship and sponsorship. In a special appearance, Gen. George and Martha Washington reenactors told participants about important support systems such as Army Community Service, Sol- dier and Family Readiness Groups and other available programs and networks. They also reminded us that the most valuable resource is the spirit of unwavering devotion, strength and resilience of our sol- diers and their families. Holly Dailey is AUSA's Family Readiness director. Top: Gen. George and Martha Washington reenactors discuss Army family support sys- tems at a Warfighter and Family Forum during the 2025 AUSA Annual Meeting. Below: Army senior leaders and AUSA Family Readiness sponsors greet the associa- tion's Volunteer Family of the Year during the 2025 AUSA Annual Meeting: Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Miller, his wife, Christy, and their son, Mason. (AUSA PHOTOS)Next >