FORT LIBERTY, N.C. –
Senior Army leaders from Fort Liberty and across the U.S. Army and industry will provide details and discussions on “America’s Army: Ready for Today, Modernizing for 2030 and Beyond” at the upcoming Association of the United States Army Warfighter Summit and Exposition July 26-27 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“This year’s Warfighter Summit will highlight how the U.S. Army’s next ground war will be fought,” said Gen. Andrew Poppas, the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. “For a global security environment as complex and dynamic as today’s, the Army cannot afford to wait until future requirements become clear. Today, our formations are driving the readiness we need to deter, fight, and win tomorrow’s wars wherever we’re called to do so. And because those future requirements are still uncertain, we must be even more ready, more capable, and more flexible than ever before.”
This is the second year AUSA is hosting the Warfighter Summit.
The summit’s primary focus is the Soldier and the defense industry professionals who support the Army warfighter. To meet evolving threats, the U.S. Army is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation to develop the capability to converge effects on land, in the air, sea, space and cyberspace. This transformation includes investment in people, reorganization of Army forces, the development of new equipment, and the adoption of new concepts on how to fight and allow the Army to maintain superiority over any potential adversary.
The Army has been consistent and persistent in pursuing modernization initiatives to deliver the Army of 2030 and design the Army of 2040. It is committed to six modernization portfolios: long-range precision fires, next generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift, the network, air and missile defense and Soldier lethality.
Delivering the Army of 2030 and designing the Army of 2040 are priorities of Forces Command, Army Futures Command and Army Training and Doctrine Command. All three commands — as well as the U.S. Army Special Operations Command — will be represented at the two-day professional forum. The Warfighter Summit opens July 26 with a keynote presentation by Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command.
“The Army’s most valuable asset is its people,” said Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. “Our Army will, and it always has … acquired the best tank, the best helicopter, the best Humvee, the best you name it,” he said. “All of those pieces of equipment … will not work, if not for our Soldiers, leaders, and civilian professionals from all walks of life and every state and territory.”
“This is a big, total-team effort, and we will succeed at this,” Brito said. “To deliver the Army of 2030 and get ready for 2040, we are turning today’s recruiting challenge into an opportunity and continuing to innovate our talent management approaches.”
“I think from a technology perspective, this is probably the most disruptive period of time since World War II,” said Gen. James Rainey, Army Futures Command commanding general.
“The Army must keep up its modernization momentum, we need to approach 2040 with a sense of urgency now,” Rainey said. “Transforming the Army to ensure war-winning future readiness … is the best guarantee that our successful materiel modernization efforts will produce lethal formations that will deter our enemies, and, if required, dominate the land domain in conflict.”
Fort Liberty leaders will emphasize the Army post’s role as America’s Contingency Force during a discussion by Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, and by XVIII Airborne Corps’ Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas J. “T.J” Holland. U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s deputy commanding general, Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, also will highlight Fort Liberty’s role in irregular warfare.
There will be a fireside chat with Maj. Gen. Donn Hill, commanding general of the Army Security Force Assistance Command, also based at Fort Liberty; and by Lt. Gen. Kevin Vereen, deputy Army chief of staff for installations, G-9, at the Pentagon.
Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims, the U.S. Army Forces Command’s command sergeant major, will speak during the summit about “Training the Force of 2030” — to include the Army’s premier Combat Training Centers: the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana.
A highlight of the Warfighter Summit will be a discussion by Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, who will speak about the vital role of the U.S. Army’s Non-Commissioned Officer Corps as the U.S. Army faces the future’s often uncertain events.
“America is entering a new era of global security challenges,” Poppas said, “and with it we are ushering in a new generation of warfighters. We must be ready for what comes next.”
To view the livestream coverage of AUSA Warfighter Summit and Exposition, visit the special DVIDS feature page.
Visit the AUSA website to register for the Warfighter Summit or for more information.