News. Society of National Association Publications - Award Winning Newspaper Published by the Association of the U.S. Army VOLUME 42 NUMBER 2 www.ausa.org December 2018 Inside the News 2018 Annual Meeting Award Presentations – 9, 12 to 16 – New Army Uniform – 2 – Piggee on Logistics – 2 – AUSA Family Readiness Building a Battle Plan – 3 – AUSA Book Program Secret War in Laos – 6 – Capitol Focus New Army Vets in Congress – 10 – Future Vertical Lift – 10 – Synthetic Training Environment – 21 – Chapter Highlights Redstone-Huntsville 3 NCOs Honored – 18 – Charleston VA Nurse Honored – 21 – Sniper teams from across the globe travelled to Fort Benning, Ga., to compete Robert E. Lee in the Annual International Sniper Competition. The goal of this competition Vietnam War Anniversary is to identify the best sniper team from a wide range of agencies and organiza- – 22 – tions that includes the U.S. military, international militaries, and local, state and federal law enforcement. (Photo by Master Sgt. Michel Sauret) Redstone-Huntsville The Wall That Heals See NCO Report on Page 8 – 24 – 2 AUSA NEWS q December 2018 ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY Piggee: Command maintenance, supply discipline are essential AUSA Staff In the past two years, the Army has regained its footing with improvements in the supply of spare he Army’s ability to sustain itself in an aus- parts across the Army and standardized brigade tere environment against a capable adversary combat team supply stockage, which has resulted in Twill depend on leveraging today’s technol- more weapon system repairs in forward locations. ogy more quickly, the Army’s chief logistician says. Excess equipment is being turned in and redis- It will also require focusing on the fundamentals tributed more efficiently, ammunition stockpiles are of command maintenance and supply discipline, up and combat pre-positioned stock is expanding, Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee, Army deputy chief of Piggee said. staff, G-4, for logistics, said in remarks at a break- Continued modernization is now focused in four fast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s areas, Piggee said: demand reduction; advanced Institute of Land Warfare. parts manufacturing capabilities, including on the “A hundred years ago we were really only wor- battlefield; autonomous resupply; and leveraging ried about two domains – land and sea. Now we the Global Combat Support System, an automated look to secure the ultimate high ground, space, logistics system that provides a common operating while also leveraging and protecting information in picture from the tactical to the strategic level. cyberspace,” Piggee said. Piggee also pointed to the need for improve- Adding, “From my perspective, logistics will be ment in processes. Soldiers, he noted, “buy lots of contested in every one of these domains.” stuff online” and rarely visit storefronts to purchase Since 9/11, Army logisticians “lost proficiency” Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee, Army G-4, told the goods. Adding, “But when it comes to picking up on the fundamentals of maintenance and supply dis- AUSA audience ‘logistics will be contested’ in uniforms and equipment, we’re still using 20th-cen- ciplines because the tasks were performed by con- every future domain. (AUSA News photo by Luc tury processes. Changing our distribution system is tractors on the battlefield, he said. Dunn) a big opportunity.” New Army uniform – green jacket, tan pants approved e support the decision changing the Army uniform to the iconic World War WII-style green jacket and tan pants that present distinctive Army identity and reflect an im- portant period of Army history. And, frankly, the Army needs a little boost in visibility at a time when it is having difficulty re- cruiting in an environment where only a small per- cent of service-aged youths is both qualified and interested in military service. Uniform changes are never easy, and critics abound, both in and outside the Army. But the proposed greens uniform – a name drawn from the pinks and greens uniform that first appeared in the mid-1920s and was retired in the mid-1950s – provides a smart, stylish look for Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey, center left, and soldiers model the new Army greens uniform, everyday wear that allows dress blues to become modeled on the Army World Wat II ‘pinks and greens’ uniform, while attending the 2018 Association what they were always intended to be: the dress of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition held in October. (AUSA News photo) uniform that is a bit too formal to wear every day. Limited soldier testing, like at the recent Asso- While cost is most certainly a factor in this deci- As two old soldiers with an enduring love of ciation of the United States Army Annual Meeting sion, it is not the only or even the primary reason to our Army, we think the time is right to make this and Exposition in Washington, D.C., drew largely change. change. We especially like that the Army is on the positive responses, particularly from younger sol- America’s Army needs a uniform that is its own, path to a new everyday service uniform that will diers and officers. that is readily identifiable by the citizens the Army stand out in a crowd. With a long phase-in to avoid out-of-pocket serves. The uniform should create a positive, pro- We know sharp-looking soldiers will wear costs for enlisted soldiers and for senior NCOs and fessional public image for the Army at a time when greens with pride. officers who are nearing retirement, the Army has many Americans know little about their Army, and Gen. Carter F. Ham, U.S. Army, Ret. stated it does not intend to seek any increase in ap- couldn’t tell the difference between a soldier or a AUSA President and CEO propriated funds to implement this change. police officer. Preliminary indications are that the Army will The greens uniform does all of that. Sergeant Maj. of the Army delay issuing the new uniform to troops until they We like the preliminary decision that the wom- Kenneth O. Preston, USA, Ret. actually complete initial entry training, thereby en’s version of the uniform will be issued with AUSA Vice President, Noncommissioned slacks and low-quarter shoes, with optional pumps reducing the costs attached to issuing service uni- Officer and Soldier Programs forms to those who cannot successfully complete and skirts for those who wish to purchase them. training. And, the new uniform is expected to have The Army does need to redesign the maternity uni- (Editor’s note: This story was printed with the a 33 percent longer wear life. form, though. The first versions were pretty awful. permission of Army Times) ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY December 2018 q AUSA NEWS 3 ‘Battle Plan’ designed to support military and veteran families AUSA Family Readiness Patty Barron Director AUSA Family Readiness he Association of the United States Army was honored to collaborate with the Military TFamily Research Institute at Purdue Univer- sity (MFRI) on an all-day event titled “Building Your Battle Plan to Support Military and Veteran Families.” The event, held on Nov. 13 at AUSA’s Gordon R. Sullivan Conference and Events Center in Arling- ton, Va., featured experts and authors from MFRI’s initiative, “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” This publication, the fourth in MFRI’s “Risk and Resilience in Military Families” series, was a re- Left to right: Jay Mancini, Amy Laura Arnold and Mallory Lucier-Greer are presented the 2018 sult of a 2015 convening of high-level experts and MFRI Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award by MFRI director Shelley thought leaders in the fields of government, high- MacDermid Wadsworth. (AUSA News photo by Luc Dunn) er education, corporate, philanthropy, behavioral health, higher education and research on military “These important groups are coming together to grams, policies, and practices, strengthening con- families. actively engage and collaborate to find solutions for nections between researchers and practitioners and The event aimed to leverage the synergy from the military and veteran families,” said Shelley Mac- raising awareness about military and veteran fami- 2015 gathering and build on the 2018 book release. Dermid Wadsworth, MFRI director. lies across many disciplines. Participants heard presentations from chapter Adding, “History has shown us that major con- The 2017 research award winners were: Janet authors who summarized their topics and also pro- flicts can arise without warning. These changes Kahn, Ph.D., LMT; William Collinge, Ph.D., MPH, vided insights on “how to develop their own battle affect military and veteran families in a variety of LCSW; and Robert Soltysik for their paper titled plans to support military families before, during and ways. With this in mind, the attendees collectively “Post 9/11 Veterans and their Partners Improve after future conflicts.” built viable solutions that can be strategically im- Mental Health Outcomes with a Self-directed Mo- The audience then set to work during tabletop plemented during a future major conflict.” bile and Web-based Wellness Training Program: A activities building their own plans of support by an- The highlight of the day was the presentation of Randomized Control Trial.” swering questions such as: “What would I do differ- the 2017 and 2018 MFRI Excellence in Research on This study featured Mission Reconnect, an on- ently to support military and veteran families when Military and Veteran Families Award. line wellness training program for veterans and the next conflict breaks out? or “What lessons have According to MFRI, the award aims to bring vis- their partners to use individually and together at I learned that I can implement immediately during ibility of military and veteran families by increasing home.