WASHINGTON - Today is the last day of the annual AUSA conference in Washington D.C. This past week I've had the opportunity to hear directly from the Army's senior leaders, see all that industry has to offer to our Soldiers on the battlefield and provide feedback on systems still in development - incredible opportunities all.
The conference kicked off Monday with a presentation by the newly installed Secretary of the Army John McHugh. He talked about the quality of the American Soldier, saying that the men and women who don the uniform of the U.S. Army are simply the greatest force of good the world has ever known. But the reason our Soldiers own the edge, he said, is not because of weaponry or firepower, but because they love this country.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates echoed these sentiments, stating that there are more Soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan now than two years ago during the surge. He then alluded to recent headlines about President Obama and top officials debating the possibility of sending even more troops into Afghanistan. Gates told the AUSA audience it is important we take our time to do all we can to get this right. He then added the caveat, of course whatever the President decides, we will salute.
On Tuesday Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. addressed conference participants during the Eisenhower Luncheon. He focused on where the Army has been, how senior leaders see the future and how they are preparing for that future, noting that the Army is in a period of continuing change. He said you can't go onto an Army installation these days without seeing cranes (a sight we at Fort Benning are quite familiar with, both on post and off). However, despite the congested traffic and constant detours, Casey said those cranes are a good thing because they are a sign of progress for our Soldiers and their families.
Those are the highlights from the past few days, but there is literally so much at the AUSA conference that it's impossible to cover it all in a single blog post. You can learn more at www.army.mil and even follow along on any of the Army's Social Media Web sites, such as Twitter and the Army Live Blog. For more Fort Benning coverage from the conference, as well as the Army Ten-Miler, be sure to check out this week's edition of The Bayonet and next week's episode of Fort Benning TV.
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