The Army Materiel Command's top leader said today's Army is consuming readiness as fast as it can be generated.
Gen. Dennis L. Via described the command's role in the current operating environment at the Association of the United States Army Institute of Land Warfare Global Force Symposium and Exposition April 1.
Via said he agreed with the recent assessment made by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, that the national security environment is the most uncertain he has seen in his career.
"At AMC, our optempo is reflective of the chief's statement," Via said. More than 1,100 Soldiers -- a third of those assigned to the command -- and nearly 4,300 civilians are now deployed or forward stationed in support of operations around the world.
The Training and Doctrine Command is the featured organization of this year's symposium. The symposium's theme, Win in a Complex World, is taken directly from the new Army Operating Concept published late last year, which describes how future Army forces will prevent conflict, shape security environments and win wars.
Via said AMC is in full support of the concept and will continue to enable and sustain Army readiness in a world that is becoming more and more complex. He recounted the rise of the Islamic State, delicate nuclear negotiations in Iran, and a fragile ceasefire in the Ukraine among several examples of the growing worldwide threats.
But despite those threats, funding challenges, the danger of sequestration, and a reduction in force, Via said he is highly confident that "our nation will have the best trained, best led and best equipped Army in the world."
Via recounted all the command has accomplished this past year, even while enduring sequestration, a personnel reduction and a declining budget. Among those successes, Via highlighted the following:
*Utilization of the first battalion-sized European Activity Set, which includes more than 2,400 pieces of combat equipment
* Support of the Ebola crisis, including delivering Soldier support facilities, opening port operations, providing aircraft maintenance and contracting support
*The return of equipment in Afghanistan, reducing the number of bases from more than 800 to 25, and returning more than 48,000 vehicles and nearly 100,000 20-foot containers
*The neutralization of more than 600 tons of chemical weapons from Syria
*The generation of more than 4,800 foreign military sales cases supporting 158 countries and totaling more than $20 billion
*Support of training deployments to Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia
Looking to the near future, Via said AMC will formally stand up an Army Field Support Brigade in Hawaii to expand the organization's foothold in support of the Pacific region. The command is also preparing for the first brigade rotational force to South Korea when Fort Hood's First Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team departs for the peninsula later this year.
While the command continues to ensure the appropriate disposition of equipment and materiel , Via said his organization is working with other Army commands to return many maintenance and sustainment tasks back to Soldiers.
"This will ensure they remain proficient in their skills, increase unit deployability and sustainment, and save valuable resources," Via said.
Using that concept, Via said the Army reduced the number of communication and technology field service representatives, avoiding about $100 million in costs.
Via said the command will continue to strive for efficiencies in the Army's Organic Industrial Base facilities. "They remain essential to our ability to maintain current fleet readiness and to meet surge requirements for future contingencies," he said. Growing the Army's Public-Private Partnerships are key to preserving the industrial base's workforce. Via projected more than 276 active partnerships by the end of the year, "and we're always looking for more."
Looking at AMC's support of Force 2025 and Beyond, Via said the command is focused on sustaining and developing the capabilities the Army needs. "We do this by providing readiness. Readiness to the current force and building readiness for the future force."
Via noted the command's $6.5 billion science and technology portfolio that seeks solutions for making "equipment and materiel more efficient, more lethal, more reliable, safer and less expensive to operate and maintain."
Many examples of that portfolio were on display at the Army's exhibit at the symposium. Scientists, engineers and Soldiers displayed up-and-coming technologies including an augmented reality sand table, wearable solar panels and neurotechnology research.
"Those are just a fraction of the cutting-edge technologies we're currently developing for the Force of 2025 and Beyond," he said.
Via said the command is also conducting research that will yield the yet unforeseen innovations of the Force of 2040, "innovations that may seem science fiction today, but will be science fact in the future. "
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