The U.S. Army has announced a new command will be based in Austin, to help the Army adapt to the emerging threats from powers such as China and Russia, after years of counterinsurgency warfare. The new Futures Command will be led by a four star general.
And delegations from Texas A&M and the A&M system worked with Austin officials since last fall to bring the command and its 500 soldier-scientists to the capital city.
Click below for comments from Texas A&M associate vice president Chad Wootton, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Army leaders say the creation of a new Texas-based Army command focused on the future will help the service adapt to the emerging threats from powers such as China and Russia, after years of counterinsurgency warfare.
The Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Mark Milley, tells reporters that the military recognized that China and Russia have improved their capabilities while the U.S. has been fighting insurgents for the past 16 years.
Milley says the Army is in the midst of a change in the very character of war. He says modernization programs had been set aside in order to wage the current fight.
In response, the Army says it’s launching Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to insure the service is ready for future wars.
News release from the U.S. Army:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army announced today that, after a months-long review of potential sites, its new Futures Command will be headquartered in Austin, Texas.
Army Futures Command, which began operations on July 1, will lead the Army’s future force modernization enterprise. The command is expected to assess the future operational environment, emerging threats, and new technologies in order to develop and deliver concepts, requirements, future force designs, and modern materiel solutions to meet our Soldiers’ wartime needs.
The Army has worked hard increasing current readiness and strengthening its combat formations. Futures Command will provide that same focus to future readiness by fine tuning and implementing the service’s modernization strategy to increase the Army’s lethality against near-peer competitors in tomorrow’s conflicts.
“The establishment of the Army Futures Command is the best example of our commitment to the future readiness and lethality of the force,” said Secretary of the Army Hon. Mark T. Esper. “Army Futures Command will help fulfill the Army Vision by addressing the key shortcomings of the current acquisition system, providing unity of command, effort, and purpose to the entire modernization enterprise.”
Futures Command will lead the Army’s force modernization efforts; it is charged with providing Soldiers the weapons and equipment they need, when they need them. This new four-star command will complement the Army’s other four-star headquarters — Forces Command, Training and Doctrine Command and Army Materiel Command — and is scheduled to reach full operational capability in summer 2019.
“This is a big year for the Army because we believe that we need to significantly reform the way the Army does research and development, testing and evaluation, procurement, and everything else that contributes to the modernization process,” said Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the Army.
Establishment of the command marks the most significant reorganization of the institutional Army since 1973, when it created U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Unique in structure and design, it is being headquartered in Austin, Texas to better partner with academia, industry, and innovators in the private sector, while providing a good and affordable quality of life for Futures Command personnel.
When it reaches full operating capacity in summer 2019, the headquarters will comprise about 500 personnel. Sub-organizations, many of which currently reside within TRADOC and AMC, will transition to Army Futures Command in the coming months. The Army has no plan to physically move units or personnel from these commands at the present time.
“This is not about moving lots of people from other commands,” said Ryan D. McCarthy, Under Secretary of the Army. “Army Futures Command can be best characterized as a restructuring and de-layering to maintain the ‘best in breed’ in all military capabilities.”
Army Futures Command also oversees the Army’s eight cross-functional teams, which are aligned against the Army’s six modernization priorities. Each CFT is expected to facilitate faster acquisition decision making by Army senior leaders in order to meet the needs of the future force, consistent with the Army Vision.
News release from the Texas A&M system:
The Texas A&M University System will join a consortium of higher education institutions and state agencies that will offer expertise, research and innovations in support of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) in Austin, the U.S. Army announced Friday from the Pentagon.
During a press conference, Army officials said the effort leverages higher education offerings in Texas with private sector innovation, cutting-edge science and technology, prototyping and demonstrations and warfighter testing and feedback.
“The Texas A&M System is ready to support Army Futures Command,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said. “This is a great day for the state of Texas. Government and academic leaders came together to offer an unbeatable combination of talent and resources.”
Chancellor Sharp added that The Texas A&M System campuses in the region – including College Station, RELLIS, San Antonio and Central Texas – as well as the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service will bolster the core mission of the Army Futures Command. The A&M contribution will give American soldiers a technological advantage to bolster national security.
“We are honored to support the U.S. Army in this exciting next chapter,” said Michael K. Young, President of Texas A&M University. “With more than 15,000 graduates per year – nearly half of whom are in STEM fields – and nearly $1 billion per year in research, as well as more than 1,000 current veteran students, Texas A&M University is well equipped to deliver on expertise and innovation for future success.”
The U.S. Army Futures Command — which was announced in October 2017 and informally referred to as “modernization command” — has eight cross-functional teams working toward reducing prototype development, demonstration and testing, and the evaluation process from 60 months down to approximately 12.
“The state has a wealth of capabilities to bear between its military resources and broad academic and research base,” said Steve Cambone, Director, Texas A&M System Institute for National-Security and Cyber-Security Education and Research. “We have the breadth of resources and testing and evaluation facilities within the Texas A&M System to help the Army ‘fail early and succeed quickly’ in support of the Army’s mission to modernize.”
Among the areas the Army is aiming to modernize include development of improved long-range precision fires, a next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift platforms, a mobile and expeditionary Army network, air and missile defense capabilities and soldier lethality.
The Texas A&M University System’s offerings include producing graduates with bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees in high-need fields including biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials and materials engineering.
The establishment of the command marks the most significant reorganization of the institutional Army since 1973, according to Army officials. It is being headquartered in Austin to best partner with academia, industry and innovators in the private sector, while providing a good and affordable quality of life for command personnel.