FORT LIBERTY, N.C. — The annual Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting 2024 kicks-off Oct. 14-16, 2024, with the theme, “Transforming for a Complex World.” It’s a theme that encapsulates a multitude of concepts and systems to modernize and restructure the Army to ensure a combat-ready and lethal force now and into the future. The focus on Army readiness also fits U.S. Army Forces Command’s overall mission.
On Oct. 15, the second day of the AUSA Annual Meeting, Gen. Andrew Poppas, FORSCOM commanding general; Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia, commander, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); and Dr. Fred Kagan, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute, host a panel discussion called “Transforming Warfighting Readiness.” Professor Carolyne Davidson, National Defense University, will moderate the panel.
During the CMF, the panel will discuss how FORSCOM readiness initiatives reflect changes to the operational environment and how units are transforming to fight tomorrow’s wars — two themes Poppas touched on recently.
“Warfighting is our focus, and we have to be ready for challenging times ten years down the road,” said Poppas, during an address at the recent Maneuver Warfighter Conference, Fort Moore, Georgia. “Today’s battlefields are test beds for new technology.”
Earlier this year, Secretary of the Army, the Hon. Christine Warmouth, acknowledged that being prepared for the future is absolutely key to winning against any adversary.
“We face new threats, new technologies and new developments in warfare,” she said, “and we are transforming to be ready for the future fight.”
Given U.S. Army Forces Command is the largest Army command, it’s no wonder its top leaders want to ensure not only the highest levels of readiness for FORSCOM Soldiers but also ensure they are provided with top-notch training and weaponry.
Earlier this year, Gen. Randy George, Army Chief of Staff, said there’s a new urgency in the ranks now that necessitates making adjustments. “The character of war is changing rapidly, and we need to build cohesive teams,” he said adding, “and that also means maintaining readiness.”
To ensure readiness remains a priority, training at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, and at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, is key to refining every formation.
The AUSA “Transforming Warfighting Readiness” panelists will also continue ongoing conversation regarding Divisions in the Dirt and recent rotations at the Combat Training Centers.
“Divisions in the dirt training is so important when it comes to refining the formation,” Poppas said earlier this year. “Brigades now have to be predictive; they have to synchronize warfighting functions and plan over multiple spaces,” he said. “So, we’ve worked hard this year to elevate our capability at the battalion, brigade, and division level and focused on structure, equipment, and training.”
This synchronization fits into Poppas’ four wins for Operationalizing Warfighting Readiness. Win the First Fight means training battalions and brigades to synchronize their warfighting formations and position divisions as principal tactical warfighting formations. Winning the Future Fight means optimizing resources to reinvest in modernization and infrastructure but also means incorporating deployment and collective training lessons learned in order to build warfighting advantages.
Training and specifically, War Fighter Exercises, now incorporate the theater armies to include U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Army Europe as the higher commands for divisions and corps. Corps will fight at the direction of the theater Army as was demonstrated for the first time when the XVIII Airborne Corps completed a Warfighter Exercise with PACOM and worked through a scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We created the four wins. It's what we do," said Poppas. "Winning is an all-the-time thing; we win, trust, and empower leaders; win the first fight, win the future fight, and win as a balanced, total Army. That’s the approach we have to take,” he said.
The “Transforming Warfighting Readiness” CMF will be livestreamed on the FORSCOM Facebook page.
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