PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY www.ausa.org November 16, 2023 | AUSA Extra 1 Budget delays impact Army programs A fter more than a decade of operating under temporary spending bills, the Army has gotten “used to” the uncertainty, but spending is inefficient and programs are delayed and disrupted, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said. “At one level, we’re a little bit used to this, but I think it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that every time we go into a continuing resolu- tion, we’re essentially spending the money we have much less efficiently,” Wormuth said Tuesday during a de- fense summit hosted by Politico. At a time when the military is fac- ing the threat of China in the Indo- Pacific and supporting the war in Ukraine against Russia in Europe, “it makes no sense to spend taxpayer dollars inefficiently,” Wormuth said. The Army and the rest of DoD and the federal government have Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, left, speaks with soldiers and civilians from Army Cyber Command Oct. 27 at Fort Eisenhower, formerly Fort Gordon, Georgia. (U.S. ARMY/JOHN CHANDLER) Space Dominance Critical to Future Fight 3 China-Taiwan Tensions Threaten Global Stability 4 NCO & Soldier Programs Caring for Soldiers and Families 6 Chapter Highlights Northern New York-Fort Drum Community Partner Challenge 7 IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 5 NUMBER 29 NOVEMBER 16, 2023 been operating under a stopgap mea- sure since fiscal 2024 began Oct. 1. This week, Congress passed another stopgap bill to keep the government funded until early next year. As of Thursday morning, it was on its way to President Joe Biden for his signa- ture. The current measure had been set to expire Friday. Modernization programs would suffer under a continuing resolution that lasts more than six months, Wormuth said. “We’ve sadly learned to adapt our business practices to manage through these more short-term [con- tinuing resolutions],” Wormuth said. “I think, heaven forbid, if we went to closer to a year continuing reso- lution, some of our new moderniza- tion programs would be significantly disrupted.” Under a six-month continuing res- olution, which keeps funding at the previous year’s levels and prohibits new program starts, approximately $6 billion in programs would be af- fected, Wormuth said. She added that “eight to 10 new procurement starts” would be de- layed or disrupted with a temporary spending bill. “We are budgeted to spend over $2 billion on the Army’s organic indus- trial base this year, and some of that money would be disrupted, we would see some slowdowns,” Wormuth said. Citing another funding problem “that is of personal concern to me,” she said, “we have about 22 different [military construction] projects, in- cluding family housing, that will be delayed” under a continuing resolu- tion, as well as aging and dilapidated barracks.www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY November 16, 2023 | AUSA Extra 3 Space capabilities key to current, future Army operations O n the future battlefield, the success of land forces will de- pend on critical space capa- bilities that are increasingly at risk of becoming vulnerable to America’s adversaries, the commander of U.S. Space Command said. “The land component will be a very pivotal, critical element to any future fight, whether it’s today or 2040, but I would also tell you that space will make those formations, that Army, successful in all that it does,” Gen. James Dickinson said Nov. 8 during an event in the Strategic Landpower Dialogue series co-hosted by the As- sociation of the U.S. Army and the Center for Strategic and Internation- al Studies. Noting the Army’s dependence on space enablers such as satellite com- munications, GPS, missile warning and electronic warfare, Dickinson said that those “core space enabling effects will facilitate any future fight and a current fight today.” Within Space Command’s mission to provide space capabilities to joint and combined forces, its work to pro- tect and defend the space domain is critical because adversaries such as China and Russia have developed and continue to test their own grow- ing capabilities. That means U.S. assets are at risk of being exploited, even though the U.S. remains ahead in the space do- main, said Dickinson, who has led Space Command since August 2020. While it’s important for the U.S. to understand the capabilities being launched into space by its adversar- ies, it’s equally important for leaders to understand the reasons behind the adversaries’ actions, he said. “I’m talking about actually un- derstanding their philosophy, their thinking, how their leadership is incorporating space into their opera- tions,” Dickinson said. He pointed out that Russia and China each es- tablished space commands in 2015, four years ahead of when U.S. Space A soldier with the 1st Cavalry Division repairs a satellite dish during a command post exercise at Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland. (U.S. ARMY/PFC. JACOB NUNNENKAMP) Command and the U.S. Space Force were established in 2019. “As we do operations around the world, particularly in the Middle East, we leverage, obviously, space very much,” Dickinson said. “They’re watching us, they’re understanding our philosophy and how we incorpo- rate space.” In just the past two years, Dickin- son said, China has doubled the num- ber of satellites it maintains in orbit, including anti-satellite weapons that can strike and destroy satellites and other military or commercial equip- ment in higher orbits. China also has demonstrated the ability to put something into orbit at a high rate of speed, with the abil- ity to circle Earth in 90 minutes and the potential to reenter wherever it wants. This presents “a challenge for us in terms of missile warning, mis- sile defense tracking and custody of that capability,” Dickinson said. “They’ve done technical demon- strations that show they have a di- rect [anti-satellite] capability that can hold our high-value assets or our satellites at risk,” Dickinson said. “We’ve also seen the fact that they can fly their own version of a space plane a couple of times, and we also know that they’re building capabili- ties from a terrestrial perspective that can have effects on space.” For its part, Russia perpetrated a “destructive” action in November 2021 when it used an anti-satel- lite weapon to create a dangerous 1,500-piece debris field that still or- bits today, Dickinson said. But Rus- sia’s space activity has slowed since it launched the war against Ukraine in February 2022, he said. Another of Space Command’s re- sponsibilities is tracking and re- porting on active and inactive de- bris and objects in space. Dickinson noted that when Space Command was established in 2019, “we tracked about 25,000 objects. Today, it’s over 45,000, and that’s just a short period of time, four years.” The space domain, he said, is in the sights of the United Nations, which is “recognizing the fact that we need to have norms of behavior in space because of the dependency, not only of the military, but of our populace as well.” “It’s not just the United States, it’s our allies and partners, too,” Dick- inson said. www.ausa.org4 AUSA Extra | November 16, 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 reflect the opinion of the officers 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 reflecting the official 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 five 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 benefits is free. Learn more at www.ausa.org/join or by emailing membersupport@ausa.org, phoning 855-246-6269, or mailing Fulfillment Manager, P.O. Box 101560, Arlington, VA 22210-0860. Voice for the Army – Support For the Soldier PERK OF THE WEEK ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AUSA members interested in military history can save 20% on HistoryNet publications using code AUSA2023. HistoryNet is the world’s largest publisher of history magazines, covering topics like the Civil War, the Vietnam War, World War II, aviation and the Wild West. For more information, click here. Paper: Taiwan needs ‘stronger ties’ to counter Chinese aggression F or Taiwan to survive as a de- mocracy, it must continue to strengthen ties with the West and China’s other regional adversar- ies, writes the author of a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Land War- fare series. “Preserving Peace and Democracy in Taiwan” was authored by Victoria Djou, a former AUSA intern who is a junior at the University of Virgin- ia majoring in foreign affairs with a Chinese minor. She is currently studying abroad at National Cheng- chi University in Taiwan. While giving in to China’s demand for reunification may seem to be the simplest, most peaceful solution for preventing war, “it comes at a huge cost both for the people of Taiwan and for global stability,” Djou writes. “Preserving the integrity of Tai- wan’s healthy, vibrant democracy is in the best interest of the United States and its partners,” Djou writes. She pointed to Taiwan’s presidential election, slated for January, as an anxiously awaited event that will “help to determine the trajectory of Taiwan’s democracy in the face of long-standing tensions with China.” China’s president, Xi Jinping, she writes, has repeatedly stated his in- tention to reunite China “as a unipo- lar power” in Asia, a prospect that, if achieved, would have far reaching effects on multiple fronts, including the global supply chain, internation- al relations and the lives of Taiwan- ese citizens. Djou points to China’s 2020 “crack- down” in Hong Kong as proof that Chi- na, which has stated that it desires a peaceful reunification with Taiwan, would not respect a “one country, two systems” framework. Rather, civil freedoms would be curbed, and Chi- na’s values would be “hardhandedly” imposed, Djou writes. In its quest to maintain long-term peace and solidify its democracy, Djou writes, Taiwan must work to become closer to other nations and “form new partnerships with neigh- boring countries that have a mutual interest in restraining” China and its power-hungry president. “Only by strengthening diplomatic relations among Taiwan, the West and China’s other regional adversar- ies can both peace and democracy survive in Taiwan,” Djou writes. Read the paper here. Capt. John Christian, right, of the U.S. Eighth Army, shows a Republic of Korea Army sol- dier proper shooting form during an exercise in South Korea. Combined training like this helps strengthen alliances and deter adversaries in the region. (U.S. ARMY/PFC. TIEN-DAT NGO)www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY November 16, 2023 | AUSA Extra 5 T he Military Order of the World Wars, founded after the end of World War I, is a nonpartisan veterans organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, civic responsi- bility, public service and leadership in communities across the U.S. In 1919, Gen. John Pershing, com- mander of the American Expedition- ary Forces, requested that his fellow soldiers “carry home your high ide- als and continue to live as you have served—an honor to the principles for which you have fought and to the fallen comrades you leave behind.” In that spirit, a group of officers in- corporated the American Officers of the Great War. The name later was changed to the Military Order of the World War—the name was plural- ized two decades later when the U.S. became involved in World War II. Today, membership in the organi- zation is open to former or current officers in the military services, the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanographic and Atmo- spheric Administration. Its mem- bers, known as “companions,” seek to promote patriotism, youth leadership and veterans’ welfare. The organization hosts youth lead- ership conferences for high school students across the nation, where students receive education on “civic responsibilities associated with pre- serving American rights and free- doms,” as well as developing speaking, writing and leadership skills, accord- ing to the organization’s website. The organization also sponsors awards programs for outstanding ser- vice members, veterans, law enforce- ment officers and first responders. For more information, please visit https://moww.org/. If your association is interested in partnering with AUSA, contact Su- san Rubel at srubel@ausa.org. Association Partnership with AUSA is an opportunity for like-minded military service organizations to join AUSA in support of the Total Army—soldiers, DoD civilians and their families. Spotlight on AUSA Association Partner: MOWWwww.ausa.org6 AUSA Extra | November 16, 2023 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Supporting soldiers and families, past and present Members of AUSA’s Creighton W. Abrams chapter recreate the new AUSA logo as retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey, AUSA’s vice president for NCO and Sol- dier Programs, looks on. (AUSA PHOTO) Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey, center right, AUSA’s vice president for NCO and Soldier Programs, joins members of the association’s Creighton W. Abrams chapter and the local Sergeant Morales Club to clean and maintain the American Kinderfeld, or children’s cemetery, in Frankfurt, Germany. (AUSA PHOTO) W hen an Association of the U.S. Army chapter wins Best Chapter for the year in its category at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washing- ton, D.C., what happens when its mem- bers return home? In late October, I traveled all the way to Wiesbaden, Germany, to find out. AUSA’s Creighton W. Abrams chapter was once again named the association’s Best Overseas Chapter this year. Shortly after the Annual Meeting concluded Oct. 11, the chap- ter invited AUSA’s NCO and Soldier Programs team to take part in events the chapter had planned for the end of the month—so, I packed my leder- hosen and got on a plane. Within a few hours of my arrival, I found the chapter members cele- brating their hard-earned victory in style. They organized a Halloween party at the Penta Hotel, a chapter Community Partner, that was widely attended by AUSA members, soldiers and members of the local community. The highlight of the evening was when Gemma McGowen, the chapter president, showcased the new AUSA logo for those who missed the unveil - ing at the Annual Meeting. But a photo wasn’t going to cut it for AUSA’s Best Overseas Chapter. Two chapter members dressed up, one in a World War II-era uniform and the other in a modern-day uni- form, and recreated the new logo, which is inspired by the actions of Army Rangers on D-Day. AUSA chapters aren’t crowned the best just for celebrating. It takes hard work, and that’s exactly what the Abrams chapter did the very next morning. Despite the seasonal rainy weath- er, I joined chapter members as they traveled with the local Sergeant Mo- rales Club to the Frankfurt Main Cemetery to help clean and main- NCO & Soldier Programs tain the American Kinderfeld, or children’s cemetery. Frankfurt was home to many mili- tary troops after the end of World War II in 1945. Military policy at the time stated that the government would not pay for the transportation of remains if a child was less than 2 years old at the time of death, so a burial place was created for service members’ de- ceased children in Frankfurt’s Main Cemetery. Today, there are records of 695 children who were buried there throughout the years. Like most gravesites in Germany, they must be maintained. This is of- ten done by family members or vol- unteer groups, and the American Kinderfeld is no exception. On the day we arrived, we trimmed the grass, raked the leaves and cleaned the precious headstones. To ensure that care of this sacred ground continues in the future, the Abrams chapter is in the process of officially adopting the Kinderfeld. So, what does an AUSA Best Chap- ter do once its members return home? They get back to work. Congratulations to the Creighton W. Abrams chapter and thank you for all you do for our soldiers and fami- lies in Germany—past and present. AUSA’s NCO and Soldier Programs team wishes you all the best in 2024. Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey is AUSA’s vice president for NCO and Soldier Programs and was the 15th sergeant major of the Army.R etired Command Sgt. Maj. Joe McLaughlin, a board member of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Northern New York-Fort Drum chapter, encouraged veterans to share their stories with the Amer- ican people during a wreath-laying ceremony Nov. 9 at Fort Drum, New York. “Anything they sell at our [post] exchange with the 10th Mountain Division powder keg on it, I buy it, and I wear it wherever I go, hop- ing to strike up a conversation with someone about our great division in the United States Army,” said McLaughlin, according to an Army news release. McLaughlin, a former Fort Drum NCO Academy commandant who was the guest speaker at the 10th Moun- tain Division’s Veterans Day ceremo- ny, said veterans have an obligation to share their stories, which can mo- tivate, inspire and inform. “Being a veteran means shar- ing the Army story. Whether you’re talking to people in your family or talking to total strangers, you should brag up the Army and tell the Army story,” he said, according to the Army news release. Regardless of what the future holds, the Army is going to be ready, said Col. Kendall Clarke, the 10th www.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY November 16, 2023 | AUSA Extra 7 Chapter member urges veterans to share their stories Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Joe McLaughlin, left, a board member of AUSA’s Northern New York-Fort Drum chapter, joins Col. Kendall Clarke, the 10th Mountain Division’s deputy commander for operations, and Sgt. Maj. Thomas West, the division’s opera- tions sergeant major, for a Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony. (U.S. ARMY/MIKE STRASSER) Northen New York-Fort Drum Mountain Division’s deputy com- mander for operations, who intro- duced McLaughlin. “Veterans Day reminds us that people are the greatest strength in our Army,” Clarke said. After retiring in 2000, McLaugh- lin has continued to serve soldiers, veterans and their families through AUSA and the Fort Drum Sergeants Major Association. He currently runs the AUSA chapter’s Adopt-A-Unit program—started by the late retired Col. Mike Plummer—which connects community members and organiza- tions with Army units deployed over- seas. “Due to my role in this program, I often brief groups who want to adopt a platoon, and I get to share Army stories,” McLaughlin said, according to the Army news release. “I love get- ting invited to participate in events involving soldiers and veterans. I en- joy listening to other veterans’ sto- ries and telling mine.” McLaughlin closed by thanking the veterans and soldiers in atten- dance and across the nation for being “the 1% who raised their right hand and, as Col. Mike Plummer put so eloquently, wrote a blank check pay- able to the United States of Amer- ica. I would also like to thank the families of our veterans who support them while they serve, both here and abroad, and again thank our Gold Star families present here today.” Community Partner Challenge The following chapters are the October winners of AUSA’s Community Partner Challenge in their award categories. Each winner receives $500 and 5 points toward Best Chapter in their group. • George Washington – Award Group 1 • Greater Augusta-Fort Gordon – Award Group 2 • GA Omar N. Bradley – Award Group 3 • Monmouth – Award Group 4 • Rhode Island – Award Group 5Next >