ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. -- Happy New Year to all of us at Aberdeen Proving Ground!

I want to start off by congratulating everyone for a successful 2010. We did a tremendous job of supporting the Warfighter.

I want to talk to you a little bit about how successful you were in a fast and furious time. We delivered new technologies, tested new equipment and stood ready to support our Army in every way possible. We implemented great new ideas through your creative thinking, innovation and hard work. But the challenge does not end with the ending of last year.

We still face great challenges. Each and every day the men and women of our Armed Forces provide us with opportunities to exceed the standards we've set for ourselves.

I'd like you to focus on how you contribute to empowering, unburdening and protecting those young men and women, our nation's most precious resource, in their task of defending America in a time of war.

I would like to ask you to set a few goals for yourself this year.

In 2011, we're going to move forward and globally engage with our Warfighters by getting closer to those formations to provide clarity to their problems and understand how our contributions can empower them in new and innovative ways.

I'd ask you to think about how you can reform and transform some of those systems, to reinvent capabilities that they already have to be more efficient, leaner and less of a burden.

I'd ask you to stop and think about how you can be proactive instead of reactive. Anticipate the problems our Soldiers face. Ask yourself what you can do to make their equipment more reliable, sustainable, lighter, effective, and more efficient.

In the past we've made many breakthroughs. These advances didn't happen easily. People had to look deeply into the problems and understand how our technologies get the capabilities to the field.

Sometimes it's not the elegance of the solution, but simplicity that is really of the most value to the Warfighter.

I'd ask you to break status quos.

Come up with new ideas and new advances in everything we produce. This means from the basic research and science, to the technologies and engineering solutions we develop from it.

Great minds and creative people will make that happen for our Army. Whatever you do at Aberdeen Proving Ground, as a Servicemember, Family Member, civilian employee or contractor, each of us has a part to play.

In a time when we have to tighten the belt on resources, those resources become incredibly precious and well-focused. The tightening of resources will allow us to focus ourselves better, providing greater synergy and integration into what we do.

In 2011, we're going to hear more about our People, Places, Purse, Processes and Products as we drive more integration into what we've done.

As the Base Realignment and Closure process comes to a close this year, we can expect to see the culmination of rigorous planning and hard work come to fruition. This year, Aberdeen Proving Ground begins its new role as the Army center for science and technology. It's an exciting time to be part of a dynamic team.

I'd ask you to do three things:

*I want you to begin this new year by developing an individual plan and concept of what will define your success, and the success of your team.

*Look to your peers and collaborate with them. Innovation occurs when bright, talented people get together and communicate and talk and argue over ideas, the pluses and minuses, the pro's and con's of everything we do.

*I ask you once again to focus on those young men and women in our Armed Forces in harm's way.

Our Soldiers make an incredible sacrifice in the face of unprecedented challenges. To empower, unburden and find ways to protect them is our calling. There's no one else in the United States Army who does this mission but you.

I wish you all the best this year. Happy New Year!

Army Strong!