AMC -- Sustaining an Army to win in a complex world

By Gen. Dennis L. Via, commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel CommandOctober 5, 2015

Complex -- no other word best describes the world we live in today. From the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, to the delicate nuclear negotiations with Iran, and the fragile ceasefire in Ukraine, from humanitarian assistance in West Africa to earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, the global security environment remains unstable, unpredictable, and exceedingly complex.

Today, our United States Army is engaged across the globe in simultaneous missions on multiple continents to prevent and deter aggression, shape the operational environment, and win when necessary to preserve freedom. The Army Materiel Command (AMC) is there as well, enabling, delivering, and sustaining our Soldiers. Globally responsive, regionally aligned and engaged, AMC provides strategic agility and operational flexibility to the six geographic Combatant Commands (COCOMs) as part of the Army's foundational enabling capabilities to the Joint Force.

With remarkable teaming and collaboration with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), AMC is committed to ensuring our Army remains the best-led, best-trained, and best-equipped fighting force in the world.

GLOBALLY POSITIONED

As our Army remains forward-engaged and deployed around the world, so does AMC. Within each COCOM, AMC is appropriately postured to provide and sustain the capabilities our warfighters need. Among the many ways AMC enables Army readiness is through the modernization and optimization of Army Prepositioned Stocks and Activity Sets. These strategically positioned sets allow units to quickly deploy and fall-in on equipment that is maintained in the highest state of readiness.

In Europe, through support of the Department of the Army headquarters, AMC has built the European Activity Set (EAS). Working closely with U.S. Army Europe and the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, AMC is transitioning the battalion-sized set of equipment, first drawn by the 1st Cavalry Division in April 2014, to a brigade-sized set including tanks, towed artillery, weapon systems, and communications, intelligence, and reconnaissance assets. The EAS enables U.S. regionally aligned forces and partner nations in Europe to participate in multinational training exercises and contingency operations while increasing responsiveness and decreasing deployment timelines.

In the U.S. Central Command area of operations, AMC is working in close concert with U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, U.S. Transportation Command, and Defense Logistics Agency to close out the complex mission of retrograding thousands of pieces of remaining equipment and materiel from land-locked Afghanistan. Simultaneously, we're ensuring deployed units in theater are equipped to successfully complete their Operation Freedom's Sentinel mission.

AMC re-established logistics capabilities in Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Through contracting support, Foreign Military Sales, and Brigade Logistics Support Teams deployed with units in support of the Advise and Assist mission, AMC's involvement is essential to mission success.

As our Army continues its rebalance towards the Pacific, AMC is ramping up its presence. This year, the command supported the Pacific Pathways training deployments to Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia, providing logistics and sustainment base support. In July, AMC uncased the colors of the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) in Hawaii to expand the command's direct reach in support of U.S. Army Pacific and the Pacific Command theater.

Through the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, AMC reaches more than 150 nations across the globe, supporting every COCOM's theater security cooperation efforts. Foreign Military Sales continue to reach record numbers, yielding billions of dollars in new business and increasing the capacity and capabilities of our Allies.

The Army Operating Concept envisions a future Army that has adapted to be expeditionary, tailorable and scalable, serving as the enabling foundation for the Joint Force. AMC provides the foundational logistical capabilities with primary responsibility for setting the theater, sustaining operations, maintaining freedom of movement, and extending operational reach. From aviation to ground combat vehicles, from communications to contracting, from munitions to research and development, and installation logistics support to the destruction of chemical weapons, AMC is developing and delivering global readiness solutions every day and in every theater.

ADVANCING EFFICIENCIES AND DRIVING INNOVATION

Not only is our Army operating in an exceedingly complex world, but also during a period of downsizing and budget uncertainty. To lessen the impact, AMC continues to find ways to operate more efficiently across all core competencies and enduring operations. We are working with FORSCOM and TRADOC to return many maintenance and sustainment tasks back to our Soldiers, ensuring they remain proficient in their skills, increasing unit deployability and sustainment, and preserving valuable resources.

We continue to drive for efficiencies in the Army's Organic Industrial Base (OIB), consisting of 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants. The OIB serves as a national security insurance policy for the nation, essential to our ability to maintain fleet readiness and meet surge requirements for future contingencies.

As we draw down from the peak of combat operations, we have a tremendous opportunity to incentivize positive change across the OIB. In pursuit of this objective, our Army has invested more than $1.5 billion in capital improvements, and we are optimizing the OIB to lower costs, meet schedules, and increase quality, ultimately providing high quality equipment and products on time at best value. We are establishing materiel enterprise structures and protocols for leveraging the innovation and production capabilities of the private sector to support rapid equipping and fielding initiatives. Public-Private Partnerships allow us to exploit the power of the best of what industry and the OIB have to offer. Our end state is an efficiently operating OIB that is shaped for success in support of the future force.

As the Army's Lead Materiel Integrator, AMC is also placing continued emphasis on providing responsive global logistics, acquisition and technology support. The Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) is a true business transformation for our Army -- a $1.1 billion investment that replaced 35-year-old legacy systems and now provides greater accuracy, reliability and speed. LMP allows us to better deliver readiness in support of global operations, and AMC is advancing efforts to better manage one of the nation's largest, fully-integrated global supply chains -- our U.S. Army's.

Declining resources also require intense focus and a determined resolve to assure our military's technological advantage on the battlefield, and prevail in all domains. We must drive innovation and align potential future capabilities with validated requirements.

Managing approximately 75 percent of the Army's annual investment in Science and Technology and Research and Development, AMC is increasing operational effectiveness and better enabling the warfighter. More than 12,000 Army scientists and engineers are working in labs and research centers across the nation developing solutions that will make our Army's equipment more efficient, lethal, and reliable, safer and less expensive to operate and maintain while increasing mobility. We are leveraging technology breakthroughs to reduce the logistics burden for the individual Soldier and unit while increasing effectiveness on the battlefield.

From owning the skies with aviation dominance where Future Vertical Lift capabilities will allow our Soldiers to fly faster and farther with more payload and less fuel, to owning the ground where an Augmented Reality Sand-table will essentially put the battlefield in the hands of the Soldier, AMC is delivering progressive technologies to warfighters. AMC continues to play a critical role in the research, design, and development for every item a Soldier wears, drives, flies, communicates with, or operates on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, we are looking ahead and engaging in cutting-edge research to develop follow-on technologies for the Army of 2030 and 2040. AMC is conducting the basic research that will yield the yet unforeseen innovations of the future, exploring the art-of-the-possible in fields from quantum science to polymer chemistry.

As we continue to look for efficiencies in this austere environment, we can only be successful through close collaboration and effective partnerships. We are working closely with government, industry and academia -- in the U.S. and internationally -- to capitalize on opportunities for increased Public-Private Partnerships, research agreements and initiatives, and collaborative alliances.

ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP

More than 60,000 strong, our dedicated workforce remains the cornerstone of everything we do; our people truly are our most valued resource. Our Army professionals -- Officers, Soldiers, and Department Civilians -- have faced tremendous adversity through 13 years of conflict. At AMC, we are absolutely committed to enhancing performance and resiliency by promoting policy, programs, and training aligned with the five dimensions of strength: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and family. We will champion the Ready and Resilient Campaign and provide professional development opportunities to ensure our workforce remains Army Strong.

AMC is also committed to recruiting and shaping the next generation of Army professionals. "AMC's 1000 Interns" initiative will provide 1,000 college and high school internship opportunities annually for the next five years to expose new talent to careers in federal service, while AMC's "Always a Soldier" program helps veterans with incomparable skills and values find positions across the command.

AMC is building a multi-skilled workforce, guided by capable, proficient leaders, with knowledge, capabilities, and skills in support of a rapidly deployable, regionally aligned and expeditionary force.

CONCLUSION

We are at an unprecedented point in our Army's history, having supported more than a decade of sustained combat operations, while remaining engaged in multifaceted, complicated contingencies around the world. As we navigate this challenging and complex global environment during this time of sequestration and budgetary uncertainty, we must maintain focus on the Army's overarching mission of Prevent, Shape and Win.

AMC will continue to do its part to develop, deliver, and sustain materiel solutions in support of Unified Land Operations, anytime and anywhere, to ensure our Army's ability to ultimately win in this complex world.