FORT MONROE, Va. - Brig. Gen. James L. Terry assumed his duties today as the Director, Future Force Integration Directorate, Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), at Ft. Bliss, Texas. BG Terry previously served as Deputy Commanding General (Operations), 10th Mountain Division (Light)/Deputy Commanding General, Combined Joint Task Force-76, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.
During his welcoming ceremony, Terry commented that "It is an exciting time to be at Fort Bliss and to be a part of the Army's most important modernization effort - the Future Combat Systems program - which is already beginning to empower Soldiers with manned and unmanned systems integrated into a network for tremendous situational awareness."
The Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) is the Army's leader in the identification, design, development, and synchronization of capabilities into the Modular Force, both current and future, bringing together all Army as well as Joint, Interagency, Multinational and other partners to manage rapid change. The Future Force Integration Directorate (FFID) is a new ARCIC organization. Its purpose is to synchronize the delivery, preparation and evaluation of all Future Combat Systems (FCS) related products for the FCS-equipped Brigade Combat Team (BCT) and the Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF). It will accelerate the delivery of select FCS capabilities to the current force (called Spin-Outs) to reduce operational risk prior to fielding the first FCS Brigade Combat Team. Additionally, the FFID will serve as the interface between the AETF and the doctrine, training, materiel development, simulation, and test communities.
The AETF enables the Army to thoroughly evaluate materiel and develop tactics, techniques and procedures, as well as the means to train and develop leaders, which will maximize the program's value to not just the Army, but to combatant commanders who will employ these combat formations. It will help the Army "get it right the first time" with FCS by identifying any potential flaws or improvements earlier so the Army can rapidly deliver the best equipment for our Soldiers. The AETF will allow the Army to integrate and field the enablers for achieving technology and training superiority, which are the necessary ingredients to future operational success. For example, the Army recently completed FCS Experiment 1.1. During the experiment, a platoon of 36 Soldiers staged a mock urban assault and then cleared out several buildings that were infested with insurgents using a suite of new networked capabilities that reduced Soldier risk, increased Soldier awareness and battlefield understanding, and enhanced overall mission effectiveness. The AETF will build on these types of developmental events as it assesses FCS capabilities.
Lt. Gen. Mark Curran, ARCIC Director, noted that "Brig. Gen. Terry's experience in Afghanistan will be uniquely valuable in moving the FCS program forward and providing our Soldiers new capabilities to successfully meet the national security challenges of the 21st century."
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