AUSA Extra - October 9

PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY www.ausa.org October 9, 2025 | AUSA Extra 1 Paper: Army must learn from its history T oday’s Army faces challenges similar to those it has faced throughout history, and the force should learn from its past as it prepares for the future, according to a special report published by the As- sociation of the U.S. Army. “The rise to superpower status and the expansion of national inter- ests to a global scale have added to the Army’s role and responsibilities, presenting a spectrum of potential conﬂicts in which the most danger- ous contingencies are not necessarily the most likely, but for all of which A special report published by the Association of the U.S. Army underscores how the Army has been shaped by factors that are still relevant to the service today. (AUSA GRAPHIC) New MREs Coming in 2026 3 2025 Green Book Features Army Leaders 4 Government Affairs Federal Government Shutdown 10 NCO & Soldier Programs AUSA SkillBridge Intern 11 Chapter Highlights Greater Augusta-Fort Gordon Redstone-Huntsville 12, 13 IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 7 NUMBER 22 OCTOBER 9, 2025 the Army must prepare,” writes Da- vid Hogan Jr. “And it does so under the nuclear specter, an existential danger that constrains the full use of American power.” In “To Build the Nation’s Might: Tradition and Adaptation in the U.S. Army, 1775–2025,” Hogan un- derscores how the Army has been shaped by cultural factors and ad- versary strategies and tactics that are still relevant to the service today. Hogan recently retired from his position as director of histories at the U.S. Army Center of Military History after 37 years with the or- ganization. He has a doctorate from Duke University and is an expert in American military history. Today, the Army faces the rise of its global competitors and is prepar- ing for conventional conﬂict, just as it did against its adversaries during the 1970s. “With the rise of peer competitors in China and Russia, the Army again is preparing for high-intensity, con- ventional conﬂicts … as it tries to move on from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Hogan writes. During the 1970s, the Army “focused on the war it wanted to ﬁght”—conventional war, Hogan writes. “High-intensity conventional war in Europe of the World War II type would allow the Army to exploit its strengths of mechanization and See Army history, Page 11 Special Annual Meeting Issue Coming Friday, Oct. 17SECURE AMERICA GOBI RAPIDLY DEPLOY AUTONOMOUS COUNTER-UAS SYSTEM BUILT TO PROTECT CRITICAL DOMESTIC AND DEPLOYED NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES DEFEAT FPV, FIXED-WING DRONE THREATS BEFORE THEY REACH YOUR CRITICAL ASSETS NEUTRALIZE INSTANTLY WWW.HARMATTAN.AIwww.ausa.org ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY October 9, 2025 | AUSA Extra 3 New MRE options coming soon, driven by soldier feedback F eedback from hungry soldiers craving new ﬂavors has guid- ed Army food experts in the development of the next iteration of MREs, according to a Pentagon news release. Expected to come out in 2026, so- called MRE 46 will replace items unpopular with soldiers, such as the beef taco ﬁlling, pork sausage patty and jalapeño jack beef patty, with items soldiers said they’d prefer, such as Cuban-style beef picadillo with vegetables, buffalo-style chicken and Thai-style red curry with chicken and rice, according to the release. "Buffalo chicken is something that [soldiers] have requested. It's a popu- lar item … so we're hoping that this item will be longstanding," said Julie Edwards, a senior technologist and registered dietitian with the Combat Feeding Division in the Army Com- bat Capabilities Development Com- mand Soldier Center in Natick, Mas- sachusetts. The new MRE menus also will feature more protein-ﬁlled snacks, including new s'mores recovery bars and freeze-dried chocolate peanut butter bites, and more caffeinated products. "What we’ve noticed is caf- feine is one of the least consumed items in the MRE," Edwards said in the release. "Previous generations were big coffee drinkers, but the newer generation of soldiers are not." As replacements, researchers looked to develop new beverage op- tions, as well as energy chews, energy gels, caffeinated gum and even caf- feinated jelly beans, the release said. Edwards said service members also requested a larger, more durable towelette. Each year, food scientists work to develop new components of MREs based on feedback from troops. Re- searchers also look at trends in the commercial sector to see what might play well on newer menus. "Any new item that we get that can help bring variety and increase ac- ceptability is important," Edwards said in the release. "We know that eating an MRE isn't everyone's No. 1 thing, but we want to make it safe to eat—that’s our No. 1 priority—and then to make it taste good as well." As with the new Close Combat As- sault Ration, a lightweight, nutrient- dense individual ﬁeld ration, devel- opers of MRE 46 also focused on reducing the weight and volume of the new meals without cutting calo- ries or nutritional value, according to the release. All new items being considered for MREs must meet shelf-life require- ments before they can be evaluated by troops, meaning they must still be edible after spending six months in 100 degrees Fahrenheit and three years at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, ac- cording to the release. After shelf-life requirements are met, operational testing begins with teams of researchers who work with troops in the ﬁeld to determine what they like. Then, behavioral psycholo- gists hold focus groups to elaborate on the data, according to the release. “We want you to give us this feed- back because it does help, it does make a difference,” Edwards said in the release. "From start to ﬁnish, it's about a four-year process until the soldier actually sees [the new meals].” Meanwhile, items for MRE 47 are already in development and expected in 2027. Based on a request from one ser- vice, the Combat Feeding Division has developed plant-based animal crackers, a new recovery bar, a pro- tein bar and fruit-ﬂavored cereal. Edwards said the four vegetarian meals currently available to troops will be replaced with plant-based en- trees, according to the release. Pfc. Juan Ospinal, assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, opens an MRE during exercise Saber Junction 25 in Hohenfels, Germany . (U.S. ARMY/SGT. MARIA GOODWIN) A display at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center in Natick, Massachusetts, demonstrates the composition of an MRE . (U.S. ARMY/KATIE LANGE)www.ausa.org 4 AUSA Extra | October 9, 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 Leaders outline Army’s transformation in AUSA's 2025-2026 Green Book A little more than six months into the job, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is transforming the Army while tackling decades-old processes and systems he believes have stymied the service’s progress and hampered soldier’s ability to ﬁ ght and win. “I think the decision-making ap- paratus in the Pentagon for probably the last 30 or 40 years has optimized for a lot of things that don't actually have to do with soldiers and their families,” Driscoll said in an inter- view in the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2025–2026 Green Book. “It has calciﬁ ed and broken.” The Army’s continuous transfor- mation is a key step to ﬁ xing that, Driscoll said. Another element is Driscoll’s pledge to be “the soldier’s secretary.” “What I think it means to be the soldier’s secretary is trying optimize every single decision that comes in for the actual soldiers whose lives it will impact the most,” Driscoll said. Published as AUSA hosts its Annu- al Meeting and Exposition Oct. 13–15 at the Walter E. Washington Conven- tion Center in Washington, D.C., the Green Book also features exclusive interviews with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer, Army Nation- al Guard Director Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs and Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Robert Harter. To read the senior leader articles, click here. Also in the Green Book is a compre- hensive update on some of the Army’s key modernization efforts, includ- ing Next-Generation Command and Control and counter-drone capabili- ties; a Year in Review of major Army developments; a guide to the Army’s installations; and listings of key com- mand and staff. George, who has been the Army’s top general since September 2023, continues to push the Army to adapt and transform quickly. “The battle- ﬁ eld is changing as fast as the tech- nology in your pocket, and we know we have to change,” George said. As the Army has expanded its transforming in contact initiative, which puts emerging and new tech- nology in soldiers’ hands so they can experiment, learn and provide feed- back that senior Army leaders can use to shape the future force, George said he has been “really proud” of what the service’s tactical formations have accomplished. Young leaders across the Army are talented and innovative, George said. “They’re willing to take risks, push the envelope … and they understand how the modern battleﬁ eld is chang- ing, and they are willing to help us ﬁ gure out the adjustments we need to make for the Army.” Premium members of AUSA will receive their copies of the Green Book by mail or email. A limited number of copies will be distributed at the An- nual Meeting. It is available for download here. For more information on the An- nual Meeting, click 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. www.ausa.org 6 AUSA Extra | October 9, 2025 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Apply Today! Scan the QR code, use our mobile app³ or visit navyfederal.org/auto Navy Federal is federally insured by NCUA. ¹Credit and collateral subject to approval. ²Direct deposit is required. This military special may expire at any time. Applicants must contact Navy Federal by phone or visit a branch to receive the discount. Active Duty rate discounts (which are also available for retired military members) can be applied, subject to certain restrictions. ³Message and data rates may apply. Visit navyfederal.org for more information. © 2025 Navy Federal NFCU 14497 (5-25) You could get on the road with: decisions in seconds, in most cases preapproved loans good for up to 90 days military discounts available² Treat Yourself to a New Ride With Our Great Rates¹ A phlebotomist with the U.S. Army Re- search Institute of Environmental Medi- cine draws blood from a soldier during a study on heat-related illnesses at Fort Rucker, Alabama. (U.S. ARMY/MADDI LANGWEIL) Army study seeks indicators of soldier heat stress risk R esearchers with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine are tracking down risk factors and bio- markers of soldiers who are more re- silient to heat-related illnesses in a new study, according to a Pentagon news release. “Heat illnesses pose a serious threat not just to individuals, but also to units and deployability,” said Gabrielle Giersch, a research physi- ologist with the Research Institute of Environmental Medicine’s thermal and mountain medicine division. “We don’t have a lot of data on the factors that contribute to the onset of heat illness or optimal recovery time.” Giersch and her team had 24 sol- diers assigned to 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment, at Fort Rucker, Alabama, participate in a 5-mile run and an 8-mile ruck march. Partici- pants served as the study’s control group and provided blood and urine samples, and their heart rate, skin temperature and core temperature were monitored. Data from the study “gives us a very good indication that we have a really good control group to identify what individuals who don’t become heat illness casualties look like rela- tive to those who do,” she said. Beyond interest from soldiers who participated, the study will have a lasting impact on the Army’s ability to understand heat-related illnesses and shape policy decisions. “People were constantly coming up to me and asking what their core tem- perature was, when we’d have their blood data and similar questions,” Giersch said. “They want to see the papers when they get published and learn how our study impacts policy. They really want to make life bet- ter for their future battle buddies, whether they know them or not. That makes it all worthwhile.”www.ausa.orgOctober 9, 2025 | AUSA Extra 7 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AUSA announces winners of birthday artwork contest The winners of AUSA's inaugural Army Birthday Writing and Artwork Contest are, clockwise from top left, Mary Johnson in the 2nd– 3rd Grade category, Rosemary Stallings in the 4th–5th Grade category, Anna Johnson in the 6th–8th Grade category, Soﬁa Graham in the 9th–12th Grade category and Cassidy Montgomery in the Undergraduate Students category. (AUSA PHOTOS) T he Association of the U.S. Army is proud to announce the winners of its inaugural Army Birthday Writing and Artwork Con- test. Launched in celebration of the Ar- my’s 250th birthday, the contest was open to students from kindergarten through college, and it invited par- ticipants to reﬂect on their connec- tion to the Army. Here are the winners in each cat- egory. • Mary Johnson from Chantilly, Virginia, is the winner in the 2nd– 3rd Grade category. Johnson drew a picture of herself, her two sisters and their dog. Togeth- er, their ﬁrst initials spell “ARMY.” “We are an Army family because my dad is in the Army,” the second grader wrote in a letter accompany- ing her entry. “My dad works hard for our country.” • Rosemary Stallings from Pana- ma City, Florida, is the winner in the 4th–5th Grade category. Stallings, who is in the fourth grade, dedicated her artwork to her great uncle, Brig. Gen. John Bissonnette, who died in December 2024. “Everyone started talking about him, I ended up learn- ing a lot about the Army,” Stallings wrote. “I learned that the Army is not just about ﬁghting, it takes a lot of smart people like my uncle John.” • Anna Johnson from Chantilly is the winner in the 6th–8th Grade category. A student in seventh grade, Anna Johnson is the older sister of Mary Johnson, the winner in the 2nd–3rd Grade category. “Being born into a U.S. Army family teaches me most about service and sacriﬁce for our country,” she wrote. • Soﬁa Graham from The Colony, Texas, is the winner in the 9th–12th Grade category. Graham, who’s in the 11th grade, is an Army child whose father is a soldier. Her artwork features items from his service, including his name tape, dog tags and unit patch. “Sac - riﬁce comes in many forms, and not all of them are worn on a uniform,” she wrote. • Cassidy Montgomery, a junior in college from Lees Summit, Missouri, is the winner in the Undergraduate Students category. Her artwork represents the mem- bers of her family, including her dad and grandfathers, who served in the military. “Their invaluable sacriﬁces serve as a constant reminder for me that freedom isn’t free,” she wrote. The winning artwork will be recog- nized during AUSA’s Annual Meet- ing and Exposition next week in Washington. D.C. For more information on the con- test, click here.www.ausa.org 8 AUSA Extra | October 9, 2025 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA READY FOR ACTION An Arsenal Secure Weapons with Spacesaver’s Storage Systems spacesaver.com/military I ncorporated in 2002, the 1st Sig- nal Brigade Association exists to enhance camaraderie among past and present members of the brigade, preserve the unit’s historical heri- tage, and promote and establish ac- tivities in furtherance of the brigade and the Signal Corps. The 1st Signal Brigade was ac- tivated on April 1, 1966, in South Vietnam, according to the U.S. Army Center for Military History. At the peak of the Vietnam War, the bri- gade consisted of more than 21,000 soldiers in six groups, 22 battalions and several communications agen- cies, making it the largest signal unit in the Army at the time. In 1972, the unit was relocated to South Korea, where it continues to provide communications support to Eighth Army, U.S. Forces Korea and United Nations Command. Spotlight on AUSA Association Partner: 1STSBA “The highlight of the brigade is its people,” retired Lt. Gen. Peter Kind, the association’s chairman of the board, writes in a message on the group’s website. “We admire Viet- nam veterans who not only enabled military and civilian activities to communicate but also supported or- phanages, tutored and served as am- bassadors to their local communities. We salute our soldiers who met the challenges of the cold war in Korea … and continue to represent our coun- try with the highest of standards.” The group holds biennial reunions on even numbered years, and has contributed to the Fisher House at Fort Gordon, Georgia, the Boys and Girls Club and the Hanbit School for the Blind in South Korea. For more information, please visit https://1sba.wildapricot.org/. If your association is interested in partnering with AUSA, contact Su- san Rubel at srubel@ausa.org. Association Partnershipwith 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.Collaboration Data Discovery and Dissemination Multi-domain Imagery Exploitation Geospatial Analysis at the Tactical Edge & Beyond Get A Hands-on Demo þ go.nv5.com/meeting-at-ausa Marriott Marquis (connected to the convention center) Penn Quarter Room (Meeting Level 3) Tuesday, 14 October Hours: 0800-1700Next >