“It comes down to data standards and it comes down to architecture. How does the Air Force architecture integrate with the Army architecture and with the Navy architecture? What are those crossover points?”
By Theresa Hitchens“There are a lot of differences between the FCS experience and the path we’re on,” the Army Futures Command chief told us. This time, he said, “I don’t think there is hubris. I think there’s actually humility.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Each service has unique problems to solve and billions invested in legacy systems. “I just can’t throw away everything we own — nor can the Air Force — and start over,” Gen. Mike Murray, head of Army Futures Command, says. “How does the Air Force architecture integrate with the Army architecture, with the Navy architecture?”
By Theresa Hitchens“Decision dominance … is the ability for a commander to sense, understand, decide, act, and assess faster and more effectively than any adversary,” said Army Futures Command chief Gen. John “Mike” Murray.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.New technologies and organizations will give soldiers an edge, Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe said, but tanks and foot troops will still face brutal close combat.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army must take risks to modernize, the Futures Command chief said, and the modernization effort will survive the inevitable failures along the way.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“There are ways to be innovative in the Army,” retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr said. But you have to protect the innovators from the institutional culture of the Pentagon: “You can send them someplace else, like Austin.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Army Futures Command will not become a comfortable resting place for platoons of old generals. Rather, I think the secretary and the chief expect Futures Command to be the engine of innovation for the Army.
By Carter Ham“I know that I have good numbers in ’18. I think if the budget agreement holds, we’ll have good numbers in ’19. I cannot predict the future,” Sec. Esper said. “What’s in my control to lay out the clearest possible vision of what the Army of 2028 should look like.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.