Maj. Gen. John Cushing, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, outgoing commanding general, right, passes the DEVCOM guidon to Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general, June 27, 2025, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Cushing served as the DEVCOM commanding general for two years.

Brig. Gen. Robert Born, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, incoming commanding general, center, receives the DEVCOM guidon from Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general, June 27, 2025, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Born previously served as the Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver) for 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

Brig. Gen. Robert Born, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, commanding general, delivers a welcome speech to participants of the DEVCOM change of command ceremony June 27, 2025, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Born is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Brig. Gen. Robert Born assumed command of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, from Maj. Gen. John Cushing June 27, 2025, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

“I want to thank Lt. Gen. Miles Brown and Gen. James Rainey for entrusting me with this extremely important mission and command,” Born said. “I am truly honored.”

Cushing, who will next serve as the Army Futures Command, or AFC, chief of staff, prioritized empowering the workforce to deliver the best technologies to Soldiers.

“There are so many amazing people in this organization,” he said. “The quality of the civilian workforce has just been simply amazing. Listening to them talk about what they do and seeing the depth of knowledge they have, they really are so talented, and the Soldiers that work in the command are critical in terms of providing feedback to our scientists and engineers.”

Born, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, previously served as the Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver) and the Deputy Commanding General (Support) of 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

He takes charge of DEVCOM on the cusp of a merger between AFC and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, as part of the Army Transformation Initiative which will deliver critical warfighting capabilities and optimize force structures.

“To my DEVCOM teammates, I am honored and excited to join your ranks at this decisive time in our Army’s history,” Born said. “We have a critical mission, and I am dedicated to providing the best leadership I can. We will ensure that our Soldiers have a decisive advantage on the next battlefield, and I cannot think of a more honorable calling.”

During the ceremony, presiding officer Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general and former DEVCOM commanding general, spoke to the scope and scale of the DEVCOM mission and highlighted DEVCOM's motto, Pro Futuro, or Fight for the Future. He challenged Born to lead as an expert and to continue pushing DEVCOM to fight for the future on behalf of the Soldiers who will depend on the technologies developed by the command.

Born wrapped up the ceremony in a similar way to how Cushing started it: acknowledging the DEVCOM workforce.

“I have been so impressed with the skill, professionalism and commitment of the DEVCOM team, and I am proud to move forward as the DEVCOM commander.”

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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery, DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil.