AMCOM Commander discusses sustaining readiness at AUSA Global Force Symposium

By Mr. Daniel James OBoyle (AMCOM)April 3, 2015

AUSA Global Force Symposium
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Maj. Gen. Jim Richardson, AMCOM Commander, joined six other panel members Thursday at the von Braun Center to discuss "Sustaining Army Readiness to Win in a Complex World," by saying that he was humbled to be surrounded by the great people and the great Association of the United States Army organization.

"We can't do our mission at AMCOM without our team of Soldiers, civilians and contractors, because it is all about that Soldier on the ground," Richardson said. "Where we are, where we are going and the uncertainty of the future centers on enabling sustainable readiness for our aviation and missile Soldiers. That is pretty simple, but it's a mighty tall task to accomplish."

The commander reflected on his days as a battalion and brigade commander.

"We need to be responsive to those commanders in the field," Richardson said. "We can't sit and wait for them to call us; we have to be calling them."

He noted that as the command looks toward 2025, six core competencies are guiding the direction to that future.

"Our roles and responsibilities are organized to accomplish the mission," Richardson said. "In line with that, we are focused on support to acquisition, and how we can do that better. Key to that effort is getting AMCOM involved early in the requirements process."

The command is embedding professional logisticians at Fort Rucker, Ala., and Fort Still, Okla., to get things right up front.

Summary highlights included AMCOM's Test Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) Activity and Security Assistance Management Directorate (SAMD). Richardson said that a Mobile TMDE capability will deploy with units to provide calibration, while SAMD has tallied $9 billion in Foreign Military Sales thus far in fiscal year 2015.