DCS, G-9 participates in 2025 ADC

Arlington, VA -- LTG David Wilson, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9 participated as a panelist on Day two of the 2025 Association of Defense Communities National Summit. The theme for this year’s National Summit is Navigating Change, where top leaders from DoD, Congress and beyond tackle evolving policies and transitions regarding the defense strategy.

Wilson was joined on the panel by Michael Saunders, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment and Christine Ploschke, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations & Environment. The panel was moderated by John Conger, Conger Strategies president. The topic was focused on reforming installation management at the enterprise level.

Wilson opened the panel stating, “Everything we do is about taking care of our soldiers and families across the 104 installations where they reside, work, train, and play.”

He went on to discuss the importance of maximizing Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSAs) to deter costs and partner with communities “so that commanders can focus at echelon on their priorities, which is warfighting.”

“We have 185 IGSAs in the Army, from childcare to water treatment, in 125 towns, states and universities. We are always looking at how we enable efficiency but not lose effectiveness. From across the enterprise, we also have to ensure our Soldiers have good housing, access to adequate childcare and quality of life programs.”

Wilson also discussed innovative ways the Army is creating new structures using additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Wilson shared with the audience how the Army just opened three 3D printed barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Army 3D printed these barracks as part of a pilot developed by the Austin-based ICON construction technology company in collaboration with the Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit, Fort Bliss leadership and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Wilson highlighted the time and cost savings.

“Traditional MILCON takes 5-7 years. The Army was able to 3D print 3 transient barracks in less than one year and it cost $1.1 million versus $3.5 million per building. That is one third the cost and astronomically faster while ensuring the structures meet the unified standards and the seismic test requirements.” He added that lessons learned included bringing in all the stakeholders from the beginning of a project like this.

As the panel ended, Wilson discussed the Army’s efforts across all 3 compos (components including the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve) regarding Facilities Investment Plans. Wilson talked about the importance of allowing 4-star Army commands to balance between barracks, housing, childcare facilities, and mission training facilities to meet their priorities.

“Installation management contributes to a commander’s ability to build and preserve readiness. Our installations are power projection platforms where we project, mobilize, train, deploy and redeploy our forces. We must be able to evolve, modernize and build resilience.”

The Association of Defense Communities was founded 50 years ago to build resilient communities that support America’s military. There will be over 300 military communities in attendance whose primary focus is on partnering with all installations from all services within the DoD.

Throughout the three-day event, the National Summit will include more than 300 military communities in attendance whose primary focus is on partnering with all installations from all services within the DoD.