WEBVTT 00:20.640 --> 00:22.473 Okay , good morning , ladies and 00:22.473 --> 00:24.696 gentlemen , thank you all for joining . 00:24.696 --> 00:26.807 It's great to see so many people here 00:26.807 --> 00:28.918 today , I'm Colonel Cathy Wilkinson . 00:28.918 --> 00:31.140 I'm the army media relations director . 00:31.140 --> 00:33.970 And today we have secretary warmth to 00:33.970 --> 00:36.192 staff , the army General McConville and 00:36.192 --> 00:38.026 some major of the army , Michael 00:38.026 --> 00:40.192 Greenstone . The secretary just gave a 00:40.192 --> 00:42.414 speech up in the , in the ballroom . So 00:42.414 --> 00:44.470 we don't have any opening comments . 00:44.470 --> 00:46.637 We're gonna get right into questions . 00:46.637 --> 00:48.803 Um , I will call on you . So please do 00:48.803 --> 00:50.692 it for me well . And we'll rotate 00:50.692 --> 00:52.803 between people in the room and on the 00:52.803 --> 00:55.026 phone . So if you could please identify 00:55.026 --> 00:57.026 yourself and your outlet and in the 00:57.026 --> 00:59.192 sake of time , please one question and 00:59.192 --> 01:01.359 if we have any follow up so we can get 01:01.359 --> 01:03.500 to those later on . So ma'am , I'm 01:03.500 --> 01:05.556 sorry . I'm doing opening comments . 01:05.556 --> 01:08.290 Okay , so we have , uh , leader Baldur 01:08.290 --> 01:09.460 on the phone lita 01:12.340 --> 01:14.507 Hi , good morning . Thanks so much for 01:14.507 --> 01:17.670 doing this . My question is for the 01:17.680 --> 01:20.750 secretariat for the chief . Could you 01:20.750 --> 01:23.390 talk a little bit about the effort to 01:23.400 --> 01:25.960 roll out the mandatory vaccine ? How 01:25.960 --> 01:28.660 that's going ? What percentage of your 01:28.670 --> 01:31.290 active duty force and what percentage 01:31.300 --> 01:33.411 do you think of the gardeners or have 01:33.411 --> 01:36.250 you been able to get vaccinated and 01:36.260 --> 01:39.640 considering the challenges posed by 01:39.650 --> 01:41.872 doing this for the guard ? Can you talk 01:41.872 --> 01:43.928 about any additional effort that the 01:43.928 --> 01:46.630 army , they may be in order to get that 01:46.640 --> 01:49.490 done And uh , some of his justified 01:49.490 --> 01:52.220 thing . Has that affected recruiting in 01:52.220 --> 01:55.160 any way do you think ? Thank you . 01:57.240 --> 01:59.520 Good morning . Lead . Uh , I don't want 01:59.520 --> 02:01.464 to touch the microphone after this 02:01.464 --> 02:03.464 morning , but can you all hear me ? 02:03.464 --> 02:06.730 Okay , Okay . Um , here's where we are 02:06.730 --> 02:09.008 on the mandatory vaccines and you know , 02:09.008 --> 02:11.063 first of all , I want to just stress 02:11.063 --> 02:13.640 that the vaccines are important for the 02:13.640 --> 02:15.807 health and safety and readiness of our 02:15.807 --> 02:17.862 force . So this is something that we 02:17.862 --> 02:19.862 need to be doing and it's the right 02:19.862 --> 02:22.650 thing to be doing . I get notifications 02:22.940 --> 02:25.770 of any time a soldier in our army dies . 02:25.770 --> 02:28.040 And I can tell you that the number of 02:28.040 --> 02:29.818 soldiers and Department of Army 02:29.818 --> 02:31.707 civilians or contractors that are 02:31.707 --> 02:34.470 passing away due to Covid has increased 02:34.470 --> 02:36.692 markedly in the last couple of months . 02:36.692 --> 02:38.803 I think , reflecting , you know , the 02:38.803 --> 02:40.859 effects of the delta variant . So at 02:40.859 --> 02:43.120 this time we've got about 02:43.130 --> 02:47.030 67% of the total army has 02:47.030 --> 02:50.760 received at least the first shot . And 02:50.760 --> 02:53.160 for the active duty component , that is 02:53.160 --> 02:56.520 91% of our active duty soldiers have 02:56.520 --> 02:59.760 received at least one shot . And if I'm 02:59.760 --> 03:02.620 not mistaken , I think about 81% of the 03:02.620 --> 03:06.370 active force is fully vaccinated . Um , 03:06.380 --> 03:09.090 our numbers are somewhat lower in the 03:09.090 --> 03:11.420 Garden Reserve , uh , in the reserve 03:11.420 --> 03:14.110 for example , we've got about 44% of 03:14.110 --> 03:16.332 our reserve soldiers who have gotten at 03:16.332 --> 03:18.460 least the first shot . Uh , and I'd 03:18.460 --> 03:20.516 refer you to the Guard Bureau to get 03:20.516 --> 03:22.682 the percentages for the Guard Bureau . 03:22.682 --> 03:24.738 And I think what you're seeing there 03:24.738 --> 03:26.960 with our reserve components is a couple 03:26.960 --> 03:29.000 of things . You know , they're 03:29.000 --> 03:31.167 obviously , first of all , we have the 03:31.167 --> 03:33.389 largest reserve component of all of the 03:33.389 --> 03:35.556 services . And so I think that's , you 03:35.556 --> 03:37.778 know , it's important to sort of factor 03:37.778 --> 03:39.556 that in . But obviously we have 03:39.556 --> 03:41.778 soldiers that are spread all around the 03:41.778 --> 03:43.944 country . Many of our reservists uh do 03:43.944 --> 03:46.167 not live necessarily particularly close 03:46.167 --> 03:48.410 to the unit that they belong to . They 03:48.410 --> 03:50.632 only come in , you know , one weekend a 03:50.632 --> 03:53.620 month . Uh and so our ability to 03:53.620 --> 03:57.050 collect data on them and to um check 03:57.050 --> 03:58.994 with them on how they're doing and 03:58.994 --> 04:01.106 making sure that they've gotten their 04:01.106 --> 04:03.272 vaccination status into med pros . You 04:03.272 --> 04:05.494 know , we only have a few opportunities 04:05.494 --> 04:07.717 to do that relative to the active force 04:07.717 --> 04:09.661 that we see every day . Now . I do 04:09.661 --> 04:11.828 think , you know , there is probably a 04:11.828 --> 04:14.050 significant percentage of our guard and 04:14.050 --> 04:15.939 reservists who have actually been 04:15.939 --> 04:17.717 vaccinated uh you know , in the 04:17.717 --> 04:20.240 civilian market if you will but may not 04:20.240 --> 04:22.690 have entered that data into med Pros 04:22.690 --> 04:24.857 yet . So what we're trying to do is to 04:24.857 --> 04:26.968 make sure when they come in for drill 04:26.968 --> 04:29.134 weekend to capture that and you know , 04:29.134 --> 04:31.357 just as an example and she'll she'll be 04:31.357 --> 04:33.523 annoyed that I mentioned this . But my 04:33.523 --> 04:35.690 sister is in the army reserves , she's 04:35.690 --> 04:37.912 a surgeon and she's been vaccinated for 04:37.912 --> 04:40.023 months as you can imagine for as part 04:40.023 --> 04:42.250 of her civilian job but I kinda have a 04:42.250 --> 04:44.583 feeling her data is not yet in med pros . 04:44.583 --> 04:46.694 So she is a good example , I think of 04:46.694 --> 04:48.861 the phenomenon that we're going to see 04:48.861 --> 04:51.480 in our guard and reserve on the vaccine 04:51.600 --> 04:54.060 implementation plan and I'll stop there 04:55.640 --> 04:59.350 okay in the room . See they 05:00.140 --> 05:03.950 come on roll out . Sharp remains right 05:06.440 --> 05:08.830 with the announcement recently with The 05:08.830 --> 05:11.090 first stage of the sharp revamp with 05:11.100 --> 05:13.100 effectively what are sexual assault 05:13.100 --> 05:15.044 resource centre is opening up in a 05:15.044 --> 05:17.156 handful of basis . That's basically a 05:17.156 --> 05:19.156 sequel to a program the army did in 05:19.156 --> 05:22.470 2014 . Uh , most of the rollout isn't 05:22.470 --> 05:25.580 gonna happen for for most things until 05:25.580 --> 05:28.540 2027 . Uh , we're a year and a half 05:28.540 --> 05:30.762 after the Vanessa again incident . Um , 05:31.240 --> 05:33.073 and the first step is just these 05:33.073 --> 05:35.129 centers that we already have in some 05:35.129 --> 05:37.310 base or have had in the past . So is 05:37.310 --> 05:39.477 this , does this show that the army is 05:39.477 --> 05:41.588 serious about tackling this stuff and 05:41.588 --> 05:43.588 what other tangible programs as the 05:43.588 --> 05:45.477 army going to do to combat sexual 05:45.477 --> 05:47.830 assault harassment ? Sure , I'll take 05:47.830 --> 05:50.052 that . First of all , I would say we're 05:50.052 --> 05:52.274 doing much more to deal with the sexual 05:52.274 --> 05:54.400 harassment sexual assault challenge 05:54.400 --> 05:56.233 than just rolling out the fusion 05:56.233 --> 05:58.456 directorate pilots . Um , you know , we 05:58.456 --> 06:00.511 we have been working on this problem 06:00.511 --> 06:02.622 since immediately after what happened 06:02.622 --> 06:05.040 at fort Hood . You know , fundamentally , 06:05.040 --> 06:07.700 I think what's really needed to make 06:07.710 --> 06:10.300 change is to focus on our command 06:10.300 --> 06:12.356 climate and making sure that we have 06:12.356 --> 06:14.620 healthy command climates at all of our 06:14.620 --> 06:17.640 installations worldwide and to do that . 06:17.640 --> 06:19.696 We're doing a few different things . 06:19.696 --> 06:21.751 First of all we have that this is my 06:21.751 --> 06:23.973 squad philosophy which is really trying 06:23.973 --> 06:26.670 to do bottom up making sure that our 06:26.680 --> 06:30.150 soldiers are looking after for each 06:30.150 --> 06:32.206 other , that our leaders are looking 06:32.206 --> 06:34.039 after our soldiers and trying to 06:34.039 --> 06:36.560 connect soldiers , leaders and families . 06:36.740 --> 06:38.830 We also have our cohesion assessment 06:38.830 --> 06:41.270 teams which we are essentially flying 06:41.270 --> 06:43.700 out to installations Where either a 06:43.700 --> 06:45.700 commander has asked for the team or 06:45.700 --> 06:47.922 where we have concerns that there could 06:47.922 --> 06:50.190 be an issue with the command climate . 06:50.200 --> 06:52.380 We've done several of those this year 06:52.380 --> 06:54.602 and we're going to have the capacity to 06:54.602 --> 06:56.980 have 12 cohesion assessment teams 06:56.990 --> 06:59.480 annually . So that will be an important 06:59.480 --> 07:02.300 tool . We have our detox command 07:02.300 --> 07:04.467 climate surveys that are helping us as 07:04.467 --> 07:07.150 well . And we have , as I said in my 07:07.150 --> 07:09.840 speech , hired a civilian director for 07:09.840 --> 07:13.010 side and we're moving to have 60% of 07:13.010 --> 07:15.177 our special agents be civilian . Which 07:15.177 --> 07:17.010 will mean that we'll have deeper 07:17.010 --> 07:19.580 investigative expertise at our 07:19.580 --> 07:21.810 installations because we won't have 07:22.180 --> 07:24.320 such a large percentage of our agents 07:24.330 --> 07:26.390 moving from assignment to assignment 07:26.390 --> 07:29.000 will be able to have people who are um 07:29.010 --> 07:31.490 deeply specialized to complement our 07:31.490 --> 07:34.360 military C . I . D . Agents . So that 07:34.370 --> 07:37.130 that's all there as well as the Fusion 07:37.130 --> 07:39.186 directorate . But there's more to be 07:39.186 --> 07:41.463 done . Uh don't get me wrong . I think , 07:41.463 --> 07:43.686 you know , we have to make sure that we 07:43.686 --> 07:45.852 don't take our eyes off this ball . Um 07:45.852 --> 07:47.963 This is something we're going to have 07:47.963 --> 07:50.241 to focus on year after year after year . 07:50.241 --> 07:52.241 It can't just be sort of a cycle of 07:52.241 --> 07:56.200 crisis to complacency . Okay . 07:56.200 --> 07:57.644 Singing room john johnson 08:01.240 --> 08:03.580 uh Secretary warmth , you mentioned in 08:03.580 --> 08:05.691 your speech today are focused on your 08:05.691 --> 08:08.700 speech , on some analysis that it will 08:08.700 --> 08:10.589 be across the board that you have 08:10.589 --> 08:12.533 ongoing now to look at things from 08:12.533 --> 08:15.020 readiness to modernization . Um So I 08:15.020 --> 08:17.470 wanted a sense of what is on the table . 08:17.470 --> 08:19.581 What is it not on the table ? Are you 08:19.581 --> 08:21.692 considering the potential of reducing 08:21.692 --> 08:23.359 and strength ? For instance , 08:26.840 --> 08:29.020 we're looking at , as I said in my 08:29.020 --> 08:31.230 speech , everything that we do and 08:31.230 --> 08:33.980 everything about how we do it . So 08:33.980 --> 08:36.091 we're looking at , you know , how can 08:36.091 --> 08:38.340 we be innovative , How can we do more 08:38.340 --> 08:41.740 with what we have um what kinds of 08:41.750 --> 08:44.050 force structure do we need to make sure 08:44.050 --> 08:46.272 that were relevant for the future ? War 08:46.272 --> 08:48.272 fight , what that mix needs to be , 08:48.272 --> 08:50.680 what are the kinds of capabilities that 08:50.690 --> 08:52.523 that force structure needs to be 08:52.523 --> 08:54.634 effective ? So , I think it's fair to 08:54.634 --> 08:56.357 say we are , we are looking at 08:56.357 --> 08:59.850 everything but it is essential that we 08:59.850 --> 09:02.130 transform for the future and the 09:02.130 --> 09:04.074 modernization program that we have 09:04.074 --> 09:06.490 embarked on is a critical piece of that 09:06.490 --> 09:08.990 transformation . As General McConville 09:08.990 --> 09:11.046 says frequently , you know , this is 09:11.046 --> 09:13.101 the most ambitious modernisation the 09:13.101 --> 09:16.050 army has undertaken in four decades and 09:16.050 --> 09:19.100 that set of modernization priorities is 09:19.100 --> 09:20.989 incredibly important . So we will 09:20.989 --> 09:24.290 certainly be looking to uh protect that 09:24.300 --> 09:26.440 because it's so core to what we're 09:26.440 --> 09:29.960 doing here . We 09:33.840 --> 09:36.660 Haley rips you a task and purpose used . 09:37.440 --> 09:39.662 The secretary , you spoke about this um 09:39.662 --> 09:41.773 in your comments , but a lot of the , 09:41.773 --> 09:43.607 this is my squad people first is 09:43.607 --> 09:45.773 looking at the installations , looking 09:45.773 --> 09:47.940 at that command climate . Um and these 09:47.940 --> 09:50.107 lower echelon units . Um but in recent 09:50.107 --> 09:52.218 weeks we've seen news that you know , 09:52.218 --> 09:54.384 uh the head of a couple which works at 09:54.384 --> 09:56.440 the pentagon with all of you may not 09:56.440 --> 09:58.329 have been abiding by that kind of 09:58.329 --> 10:00.329 thinking about command climate . Is 10:00.329 --> 10:02.496 there any concern ? Um you know , that 10:02.496 --> 10:02.180 some of these leaders who have been in 10:02.180 --> 10:04.236 the army for a long time , they have 10:04.236 --> 10:06.291 been having a hard time adjusting to 10:06.291 --> 10:08.291 this . Uh you know , sort of people 10:08.291 --> 10:10.624 first new way of of prioritizing things . 10:10.624 --> 10:12.791 And do you feel that you know , you as 10:12.791 --> 10:14.902 senior leaders should be looking more 10:14.902 --> 10:14.630 at those higher echelon leaders and 10:14.630 --> 10:16.630 making sure that they're abiding by 10:16.630 --> 10:19.850 those uh people first mentality as well 10:19.850 --> 10:21.572 as the lower echelon leaders . 10:23.940 --> 10:26.107 Well , Haley , I don't want to comment 10:26.107 --> 10:28.273 on an ongoing investigation , but more 10:28.273 --> 10:30.218 broadly , you know , here's what I 10:30.218 --> 10:32.520 would say . Uh it is critical that we 10:32.520 --> 10:34.860 be looking at the ability of our more 10:34.860 --> 10:37.150 senior leaders to have healthy command 10:37.150 --> 10:40.410 climates and we are trying to do that 10:40.420 --> 10:42.420 in a number of different ways . You 10:42.420 --> 10:44.642 know , again , with the cap and see cap 10:44.642 --> 10:46.960 program , we are explicitly looking at 10:47.540 --> 10:50.170 uh you know , a potential leaders past 10:50.170 --> 10:52.370 performance in terms of climate . Part 10:52.370 --> 10:54.640 of the psychological evaluations that 10:54.640 --> 10:57.260 are part of those programs allow us to 10:57.260 --> 11:00.020 look essentially at , you know , to 11:00.020 --> 11:02.320 screen out toxic leaders if you will . 11:02.320 --> 11:04.650 And I think as we've been running that 11:04.650 --> 11:07.520 program , we've been able to use that 11:07.530 --> 11:09.690 effectively to help us do that . So I 11:09.690 --> 11:11.690 think that will be something that's 11:11.690 --> 11:13.912 going to be a really important tool for 11:13.912 --> 11:15.968 us going forward . And with the deok 11:15.968 --> 11:18.079 surveys are also a very valuable tool 11:18.079 --> 11:20.134 in terms of helping us understand uh 11:20.134 --> 11:22.190 when some of our , you know , one or 11:22.190 --> 11:23.968 two star generals may have some 11:23.968 --> 11:26.079 challenges and may need some coaching 11:26.079 --> 11:28.079 there . So we're trying to leverage 11:28.079 --> 11:30.900 that to help us find where we have 11:30.900 --> 11:34.440 trouble spots . Madam Secretary , if 11:34.440 --> 11:36.660 you don't mind real quickly on that is 11:36.660 --> 11:38.493 that for the start majors at the 11:38.493 --> 11:41.730 brigade level we will have , it will be 11:41.730 --> 11:43.730 a binding assessment , they will go 11:43.730 --> 11:45.730 through and during that they do the 11:45.730 --> 11:49.100 enlisted leader evaluation tool . When 11:49.100 --> 11:51.156 we look at some of those things that 11:51.156 --> 11:53.340 may we may not have looked at in the 11:53.340 --> 11:55.284 past . So we're working at it from 11:55.284 --> 11:57.480 TIM's from the squad were also holding 11:57.480 --> 11:59.536 those leaders are cannibal that they 11:59.536 --> 12:01.591 have to go through the assessment um 12:01.591 --> 12:03.800 before there will be a brigade CSM and 12:03.800 --> 12:06.022 that will be binding and that starts in 12:06.022 --> 12:08.244 november . And that's one of those ways 12:08.244 --> 12:10.522 we're looking at , not just , you know , 12:10.522 --> 12:10.460 we're looking at it from all levels . 12:14.740 --> 12:16.796 Uh hi get real with like global , my 12:16.796 --> 12:18.684 question is about mobility in the 12:18.684 --> 12:20.851 pacific , does the army field that has 12:20.851 --> 12:22.851 enough transport to move its troops 12:22.851 --> 12:25.430 around the pacific obviously really 12:25.440 --> 12:27.440 rely a lot on the air force and the 12:27.440 --> 12:29.662 navy for that . Are you looking at ways 12:29.662 --> 12:32.350 to increase your capacity um to pop 12:32.350 --> 12:33.517 around the pacific ? 12:36.140 --> 12:38.196 I'll say a couple of things and then 12:38.196 --> 12:41.070 General McConnell may want to add um as 12:41.070 --> 12:43.126 I said in my speech , you know , the 12:43.126 --> 12:45.070 vast distances of the indo pacific 12:45.070 --> 12:47.237 theater are are definitely a challenge 12:47.237 --> 12:49.292 and its logistics and sustainment or 12:49.292 --> 12:51.292 something that we're , we have been 12:51.292 --> 12:53.459 looking hard at and I think that we'll 12:53.459 --> 12:55.626 have to continue looking hard at , you 12:55.626 --> 12:57.830 know , for example , I've had um some 12:57.830 --> 13:00.040 retired generals raised concerns to me 13:00.040 --> 13:02.207 about the number of watercraft that we 13:02.207 --> 13:04.262 have , for example , and having been 13:04.262 --> 13:06.484 able to go out to hawaii and see one of 13:06.484 --> 13:08.373 our water crafts and what they're 13:08.373 --> 13:10.540 capable of doing . You know , that's a 13:10.540 --> 13:12.596 really important capability that the 13:12.596 --> 13:14.707 army has had the responsibility to do 13:14.707 --> 13:16.651 the um joint concept for contested 13:16.651 --> 13:19.280 logistics and through that kind of a 13:19.280 --> 13:21.460 project , we are looking hard at what 13:21.460 --> 13:23.460 our capabilities are and whether we 13:23.460 --> 13:27.460 have enough for what we need to do just 13:27.460 --> 13:31.270 to add that speed and range really 13:31.270 --> 13:33.480 matter uh in the pacific and if you 13:33.480 --> 13:35.480 take a look at what are some of the 13:35.480 --> 13:37.591 modernization priorities , our future 13:37.591 --> 13:40.050 long range assault aircraft that flies 13:40.060 --> 13:42.310 much faster and goes much further ? 13:42.320 --> 13:44.431 That's what's driving at , you know , 13:44.431 --> 13:46.653 the the idea of watercraft and how will 13:46.653 --> 13:48.764 still have to move around the pacific 13:48.764 --> 13:50.931 again , after you move by ear , you're 13:50.931 --> 13:53.098 gonna move by sea . Just kind of makes 13:53.098 --> 13:53.030 sense . And we need to have those 13:53.030 --> 13:55.197 capabilities and we need to have those 13:55.197 --> 13:56.863 capabilities in the contested 13:56.863 --> 13:59.740 environment and and that's where um 13:59.750 --> 14:02.083 we're developing a lot of those systems . 14:02.083 --> 14:04.139 And even when we take a look at long 14:04.139 --> 14:06.250 range precision fires , I mean that's 14:06.250 --> 14:08.083 why the speed and range is there 14:08.083 --> 14:10.083 because you're gonna have to engage 14:10.083 --> 14:12.250 targets that at significant range with 14:12.250 --> 14:14.361 significant speed and the other thing 14:14.361 --> 14:16.361 about speed . His speed is just not 14:16.361 --> 14:18.610 about the individual weapons system . 14:18.620 --> 14:21.030 It's really about the convergence of 14:21.040 --> 14:23.950 multiple systems . If you can make 14:23.950 --> 14:26.790 decisions faster based on sensors and 14:26.790 --> 14:29.060 shooters , uh you actually get much 14:29.060 --> 14:31.116 quicker speed and the actual weapons 14:31.116 --> 14:33.338 system itself . So all those things are 14:33.338 --> 14:35.560 part of project convergence . All those 14:35.560 --> 14:37.504 part of the decision dominance and 14:37.504 --> 14:39.560 that's what we think it will give us 14:39.560 --> 14:41.727 the overmatch , we need to support the 14:41.727 --> 14:42.893 Joint Force . Yeah . 14:47.440 --> 14:49.670 Hi Ashley rookie with James , um I just 14:49.670 --> 14:51.892 want to drill down a bit more about the 14:51.892 --> 14:54.240 analysis and modernization , Madam 14:54.240 --> 14:56.240 Secretary , you have been have been 14:56.240 --> 14:58.351 very forthcoming that you support the 14:58.351 --> 15:00.573 modernization but you've also cautioned 15:00.573 --> 15:02.684 that you might need to take a look at 15:02.684 --> 15:04.740 certain programs ? Could you sort of 15:04.740 --> 15:06.851 elaborate on what that looks like and 15:06.851 --> 15:08.962 sort of the timeline , what questions 15:08.962 --> 15:11.184 are you dealing with right now ? Um and 15:11.184 --> 15:13.351 maybe sort of how that change from the 15:13.351 --> 15:15.351 previous administration and sort of 15:15.351 --> 15:15.240 what are sort of the timetables and 15:15.240 --> 15:18.020 questions you have going forward um to 15:18.020 --> 15:20.076 look at the budgets and where things 15:20.076 --> 15:24.010 stand . So I'm not 15:24.010 --> 15:26.177 gonna say very much about the analysis 15:26.177 --> 15:28.399 right now because it's pre decisional . 15:28.399 --> 15:31.340 Um but you know , we are we are again 15:31.350 --> 15:33.620 looking at some of the fundamental 15:33.620 --> 15:35.676 questions that I raised in my speech 15:35.676 --> 15:37.842 which is , you know , how are we going 15:37.842 --> 15:40.064 to fight , which theaters do we need to 15:40.064 --> 15:41.620 be really focused on , what 15:41.620 --> 15:44.290 capabilities do we need uh and we're 15:44.290 --> 15:46.401 going to use analysis to help us look 15:46.401 --> 15:48.770 at those kinds of questions I think um 15:48.780 --> 15:50.790 obviously we're also going to be 15:50.790 --> 15:52.957 looking at things like the performance 15:52.957 --> 15:54.957 of the new programs that we have in 15:54.957 --> 15:57.123 development . You know , are they on , 15:57.123 --> 15:59.457 are they staying on schedule ? You know , 15:59.457 --> 16:01.623 are they coming in at the cost that we 16:01.623 --> 16:03.790 expect them to be at ? You know , when 16:03.790 --> 16:05.957 we look at at scaling up some of these 16:05.957 --> 16:08.179 programs that are just prototypes right 16:08.179 --> 16:10.290 now . What does that mean in terms of 16:10.290 --> 16:12.512 affordability ? So I think this will be 16:12.512 --> 16:12.350 something that will be iterative . You 16:12.350 --> 16:14.183 know , we we get the pleasure of 16:14.183 --> 16:16.239 building upon every single year . So 16:16.239 --> 16:18.350 there will be opportunities each year 16:18.350 --> 16:20.350 to sort of inject the insights that 16:20.350 --> 16:22.572 we're getting from our analysis to help 16:22.572 --> 16:24.517 General McConville and I make good 16:24.517 --> 16:26.628 decisions about the overall program , 16:28.040 --> 16:29.040 Caitlyn , 16:31.940 --> 16:34.460 Hi Caitlin Kenney with Defense one . in 16:34.460 --> 16:36.516 your speech you talked about some of 16:36.516 --> 16:38.750 the roadblocks internally about meeting 16:38.750 --> 16:40.917 the challenge is trying to be creative 16:40.917 --> 16:42.972 and and maybe some skepticism to new 16:42.972 --> 16:45.139 thinking . Is there any way within the 16:45.139 --> 16:47.361 army that soldiers can contribute their 16:47.361 --> 16:49.361 ideas and opinions too ? You know , 16:49.361 --> 16:51.583 some of the ways that you guys can face 16:51.583 --> 16:53.639 like these future challenges whether 16:53.639 --> 16:55.750 regardless of rank , where they are , 16:55.750 --> 16:58.150 you know , within like the army uh and 16:58.150 --> 17:01.720 what jobs they're possessing . That's a 17:01.720 --> 17:03.887 great question and I want to say , you 17:03.887 --> 17:05.664 know , I I know the chief and I 17:05.664 --> 17:08.430 absolutely welcome input from the field , 17:08.440 --> 17:11.760 you know from soldiers from uh N C O . 17:11.760 --> 17:14.500 S . We want good ideas . Uh and I think 17:14.500 --> 17:16.667 there's a variety of different ways to 17:16.667 --> 17:18.800 get that to us . But you know , one 17:18.800 --> 17:20.967 thing I would highlight for example is 17:20.967 --> 17:23.133 with 18th Airborne Corps , they have a 17:23.133 --> 17:25.650 program . I forget exactly what um 17:25.660 --> 17:27.438 General Carrillo calls it , but 17:27.438 --> 17:29.382 essentially like a shark tank like 17:29.382 --> 17:32.640 competition to basically allow soldiers 17:32.640 --> 17:35.260 to submit ideas and sort of compete and 17:35.260 --> 17:37.149 pick the most creative ones . And 17:37.149 --> 17:39.204 that's been really successful . So I 17:39.204 --> 17:41.430 think building on that kind of a of an 17:41.430 --> 17:44.020 initiative is a very smart thing for us 17:44.020 --> 17:46.020 to be doing one of the things about 17:46.020 --> 17:48.330 really , all our modernization programs 17:48.330 --> 17:51.030 now , 31 plus four , what we're seeing 17:51.030 --> 17:52.863 is we're bringing , what we call 17:52.863 --> 17:55.360 soldiers . Touch points points in much 17:55.360 --> 17:57.582 sooner rather than , you know , handing 17:57.582 --> 17:59.749 off to uh , you know , the acquisition 17:59.749 --> 18:01.860 community and they come back a couple 18:01.860 --> 18:03.971 of years later with the program . Now 18:03.971 --> 18:05.749 we're working very closely in a 18:05.749 --> 18:07.582 collaborative way where soldiers 18:07.582 --> 18:09.749 actually that are going to operate the 18:09.749 --> 18:11.749 system , get a chance to get on the 18:11.749 --> 18:11.610 system and they're , they're bringing 18:11.610 --> 18:14.110 in great feedback for the engineers and 18:14.110 --> 18:16.277 they are making those changes as we go 18:16.277 --> 18:18.221 along and we're finding that we're 18:18.221 --> 18:20.443 getting much better results from having 18:20.443 --> 18:22.777 the soldiers involved all along the way . 18:24.540 --> 18:26.651 Okay , over on this side , go ahead . 18:29.240 --> 18:32.100 Hi matt Leinart from defense daily . So 18:32.100 --> 18:34.250 following up a bit on the analysis 18:34.250 --> 18:35.861 piece and looking at how the 18:35.861 --> 18:37.972 modernization programs are performing 18:37.972 --> 18:40.083 in the lead up to this budget cycle . 18:40.083 --> 18:42.139 We heard a lot of the talk about the 18:42.139 --> 18:44.250 low hanging fruit in terms of pulling 18:44.250 --> 18:43.820 off from some of those funds to shift 18:43.820 --> 18:45.764 to fully funding modernization was 18:45.764 --> 18:47.820 getting tougher choices were getting 18:47.820 --> 18:49.931 tougher . Is there more consideration 18:49.931 --> 18:52.153 than being given to stretching out some 18:52.153 --> 18:54.042 of the schedules of the 31-plus 4 18:54.042 --> 18:56.270 signature systems in order to save 18:56.270 --> 18:59.280 those funds that you may be , aren't 18:59.280 --> 19:01.224 being able to get with all the low 19:01.224 --> 19:03.224 hanging fruit being picked off from 19:03.224 --> 19:07.100 divestiture decisions . Thanks , I 19:07.100 --> 19:09.322 think , you know , first of all , we're 19:09.322 --> 19:11.378 going to want to see frankly how the 19:11.378 --> 19:13.544 budget picture shakes shakes out . You 19:13.544 --> 19:15.600 know , we haven't seen obviously the 19:15.600 --> 19:17.656 final number that we're going to get 19:17.656 --> 19:19.600 this year from Congress . Uh , and 19:19.600 --> 19:21.711 again , you know , every year we sort 19:21.711 --> 19:23.878 of have another chance to sort of look 19:23.878 --> 19:25.933 at these kinds of issues . But but I 19:25.933 --> 19:28.211 think certainly we would be looking at , 19:28.211 --> 19:30.100 you know , the possibility of the 19:30.100 --> 19:32.322 schedule of different programs as a way 19:32.322 --> 19:34.544 that that might be something that gives 19:34.544 --> 19:36.322 us flexibility . I also want to 19:36.322 --> 19:38.211 emphasize that , you know , we're 19:38.211 --> 19:40.267 looking at everything and we have to 19:40.267 --> 19:42.378 look at everything . So it's not just 19:42.378 --> 19:44.600 the modernization , but we have to look 19:44.600 --> 19:46.656 at our infrastructure and you know , 19:46.656 --> 19:48.600 where can we generate efficiencies 19:48.600 --> 19:50.767 there ? We have to look at things like 19:50.767 --> 19:52.933 readiness . You know , how are we um , 19:52.933 --> 19:55.156 how are we defining what readiness is , 19:55.156 --> 19:57.211 How are we executing our readiness ? 19:57.211 --> 19:59.267 You know , a good example of the way 19:59.267 --> 20:01.100 that we're able to generate some 20:01.100 --> 20:03.322 efficiencies on readiness has been with 20:03.322 --> 20:05.850 our exportable training rotations . You 20:05.850 --> 20:07.961 know , the ones that will be doing in 20:07.961 --> 20:10.128 Alaska and Hawaii , for example , that 20:10.128 --> 20:12.072 that offers some savings for us in 20:12.072 --> 20:14.810 addition to allowing the units to train 20:14.810 --> 20:16.977 in the environment where they would be 20:16.977 --> 20:18.977 operating . You know , whether it's 20:18.977 --> 20:21.199 more of a jungle kind of environment in 20:21.199 --> 20:23.310 Hawaii or to be able to test the cold 20:23.310 --> 20:25.643 weather equipment in Alaska for example . 20:27.040 --> 20:27.460 Helen 20:31.040 --> 20:33.800 Hi , Ellen Malaysia's synopsis as you 20:33.810 --> 20:37.380 look at reorganizing the army , army 20:37.380 --> 20:40.790 medicine has had leased the lion share 20:40.800 --> 20:43.290 of the military's medical research and 20:43.290 --> 20:46.330 it's now been moved into um futures 20:46.330 --> 20:48.770 command and Congress once it moved over 20:48.770 --> 20:50.826 to the defense health Agency and the 20:50.826 --> 20:52.381 army has been fighting that 20:52.381 --> 20:54.381 traditionally . Do you see the army 20:54.381 --> 20:56.603 going ahead and giving military medical 20:56.603 --> 20:58.960 research as part of this reorganization ? 21:01.640 --> 21:03.696 Well , we certainly think that there 21:03.696 --> 21:07.680 are some that some of what we're doing , 21:07.680 --> 21:09.902 you know , in terms of medical research 21:09.902 --> 21:12.069 is really important to us from sort of 21:12.069 --> 21:14.620 a combat perspective . Um And that has 21:14.620 --> 21:16.731 been part of our argument for keeping 21:16.731 --> 21:18.898 some of those capabilities in the army 21:18.898 --> 21:21.050 in futures command , if I'm not 21:21.050 --> 21:24.190 mistaken . I think there is um language 21:24.190 --> 21:26.520 I believe that was in the House bill 21:26.530 --> 21:29.450 that allows this issue to be uh an item 21:29.460 --> 21:31.730 in conference and so we'll see again 21:31.730 --> 21:34.020 where that comes out . But certainly 21:34.020 --> 21:36.630 our perspective is that there are some 21:36.640 --> 21:38.807 some things in our medical domain that 21:38.807 --> 21:41.640 would be we think preferable to keep 21:41.650 --> 21:45.260 with the army , Davis , 21:49.240 --> 21:51.960 Davis winky army times . So you know , 21:51.960 --> 21:54.460 we see a lot of talk about creating a 21:54.470 --> 21:56.637 multi domain fighting force to include 21:56.637 --> 21:58.803 the cyber domain but we're seeing some 21:58.803 --> 22:00.803 of the army's I . T . Modernization 22:00.803 --> 22:03.080 projects falter . We saw the failed 22:03.080 --> 22:06.740 rollout of army ignited . We've seen a 22:06.740 --> 22:09.650 new delay in the ifs a launch and 22:09.650 --> 22:12.810 there's been issues with the fast where 22:12.810 --> 22:15.032 you know , soldiers don't know how much 22:15.032 --> 22:17.340 user lose leave they have and so what 22:17.340 --> 22:19.396 kind of oversight and accountability 22:19.396 --> 22:22.130 are there for these projects And um , 22:22.140 --> 22:24.880 you know , how can you help soldiers 22:24.880 --> 22:26.991 have faith that they're going to be , 22:26.991 --> 22:29.213 have , you know , the cyber domain have 22:29.213 --> 22:31.269 their back when they're out there in 22:31.269 --> 22:33.213 the field , when say they can even 22:33.213 --> 22:35.540 foolproof get their tuition assistance 22:35.540 --> 22:39.160 that many of them joined for . Yeah , 22:40.140 --> 22:42.418 it's nice to see you in person , Davis . 22:42.418 --> 22:44.650 Um , it's always nice to put a face 22:44.650 --> 22:47.790 with a voice . Um , so we have had some 22:47.790 --> 22:49.457 challenges . We did have some 22:49.457 --> 22:51.623 challenges with the online tuition and 22:51.623 --> 22:54.410 the ignite . Uh , and frankly it's in 22:54.410 --> 22:56.930 part because of that experience and the 22:56.930 --> 22:58.986 lessons learned from that experience 22:58.986 --> 23:01.770 that when we looked at where it's a was 23:01.940 --> 23:04.162 we made the decision that it was better 23:04.162 --> 23:06.380 to delay the roll out of that so that 23:06.380 --> 23:09.630 we could make absolutely sure that the 23:09.630 --> 23:11.463 system was going to work when it 23:11.463 --> 23:13.620 actually does go live . And this is 23:13.620 --> 23:15.787 something , you know , we're trying to 23:15.787 --> 23:17.620 have a lot of oversight of these 23:17.620 --> 23:19.910 efforts . We have senior leaders in 23:19.910 --> 23:22.330 both army commands and in the 23:22.330 --> 23:24.360 secretariat who are responsible for 23:24.360 --> 23:26.471 these programs and who are looking at 23:26.471 --> 23:29.260 these programs . So we really want to 23:29.260 --> 23:32.060 make sure that when it's a goes out 23:32.070 --> 23:34.750 that it will work well . But I think we 23:34.750 --> 23:37.040 are also trying , you know , like with 23:37.040 --> 23:39.220 the situation that we had with tuition 23:39.230 --> 23:42.130 to try to develop some workarounds in 23:42.130 --> 23:44.320 real time so that soldiers can get 23:44.320 --> 23:46.170 assistance and more able to get 23:46.170 --> 23:48.440 reimbursement . And so we're certainly 23:48.440 --> 23:50.551 always gonna want to try to make sure 23:50.551 --> 23:52.607 if there's a problem with one of our 23:52.607 --> 23:54.496 systems that we find ways to give 23:54.496 --> 23:56.718 soldiers , you know , some mitigation . 23:56.718 --> 23:58.940 Yeah , the , the integrated personality 23:58.940 --> 24:01.162 pay system , Army or IPSA as we like to 24:01.162 --> 24:03.218 call it , That is a transformational 24:03.218 --> 24:05.384 system that we absolutely have to have 24:05.384 --> 24:07.440 the army if we're gonna move from an 24:07.440 --> 24:09.662 industrial age system to a 21st century 24:09.662 --> 24:11.662 talent management system , which we 24:11.662 --> 24:13.829 need as , you know , it's in the guard 24:13.829 --> 24:15.940 right now and it's functioning very , 24:15.940 --> 24:15.710 very well in the garden . As the 24:15.710 --> 24:17.766 secretary said , we took the lessons 24:17.766 --> 24:20.040 learned and made sure that this system 24:20.050 --> 24:23.320 is absolutely ready to go . It's being 24:23.320 --> 24:24.980 overseen by the , the acting 24:24.980 --> 24:27.090 undersecretary and the vice chief , 24:27.090 --> 24:29.312 it's got the highest levels by self and 24:29.312 --> 24:31.750 the secretary routinely take briefs on 24:31.760 --> 24:33.982 the integrated personnel and pay system 24:33.982 --> 24:36.038 and , and we're gonna make sure that 24:36.038 --> 24:38.860 that that is done uh , successfully . 24:39.040 --> 24:41.230 And even as we start to feel that 24:41.230 --> 24:43.560 system , we're going to have , um , 24:45.040 --> 24:47.207 pauses along the way to make sure it's 24:47.207 --> 24:49.318 absolutely working where , which is a 24:49.318 --> 24:51.429 little different than we did with the 24:51.429 --> 24:53.762 tuition assistance system is , you know , 24:53.762 --> 24:53.330 we go to a new system , we wanna make 24:53.330 --> 24:55.552 sure that , you know , the system fully 24:55.552 --> 24:57.774 works before we give it to the soldiers 24:57.774 --> 24:59.886 like you said . So I made you want to 24:59.886 --> 25:02.052 talk about that . Yeah , we definitely 25:02.052 --> 25:04.163 had a lot of learns from army ignited 25:04.163 --> 25:06.052 and but we do want to highlight a 25:06.052 --> 25:07.941 couple of things that we have our 25:07.941 --> 25:07.910 soldiers . We talked a little bit about 25:07.910 --> 25:10.610 it , but the things we're doing now 25:10.610 --> 25:12.832 look at what we're having with software 25:12.832 --> 25:14.999 factory . We talk about innovation all 25:14.999 --> 25:17.166 the way so that the software factory , 25:17.166 --> 25:19.054 we have soldiers that already are 25:19.054 --> 25:21.166 experts at coding . And when you look 25:21.166 --> 25:23.054 at systems , if we don't have the 25:23.054 --> 25:25.054 experts and a soldier touch point , 25:25.054 --> 25:27.277 when you get to the coding , you know , 25:27.277 --> 25:29.332 we need to know what we look . Do we 25:29.332 --> 25:31.554 know what we're looking at when we look 25:31.554 --> 25:33.610 at that coating . So it's actually a 25:33.610 --> 25:35.777 good news , um , that we are trying to 25:35.777 --> 25:37.777 have when we have the soldier touch 25:37.777 --> 25:39.832 points ? We have the soldiers in our 25:39.832 --> 25:41.943 formations and the software factories 25:41.943 --> 25:43.999 building those soldiers so that they 25:43.999 --> 25:46.166 can go in when you get these high tech 25:46.166 --> 25:48.277 situations that we have soldiers that 25:48.277 --> 25:50.610 are in the formations that we could say , 25:50.610 --> 25:52.666 hey , here's the soldiers test point 25:52.666 --> 25:52.290 and their credentials and they can go 25:52.290 --> 25:54.401 look at those things from a soldier's 25:54.401 --> 25:56.401 perspective and make sure we get it 25:56.401 --> 25:58.470 right . You have time for one last 25:58.470 --> 25:59.470 question . 26:06.040 --> 26:07.929 I'm MEREDITH rotten from National 26:07.929 --> 26:10.090 Defence Magazine and I wanted to ask 26:10.090 --> 26:12.870 about the appropriations process and 26:12.880 --> 26:15.940 it's clear that a continuing resolution 26:15.940 --> 26:17.718 would be problematic across the 26:17.718 --> 26:19.940 pentagon . Would it be possible for you 26:19.940 --> 26:22.051 to touch on how that would impact the 26:22.051 --> 26:24.162 army and if there are any programs in 26:24.162 --> 26:26.329 particular that you would be concerned 26:26.329 --> 26:30.320 about ? Sure . Uh sadly we've 26:30.320 --> 26:32.900 become all too familiar with continuing 26:32.900 --> 26:35.130 resolutions and then the necessity of 26:35.130 --> 26:37.241 operating in that kind of a budgetary 26:37.241 --> 26:39.463 environment but it's definitely not our 26:39.463 --> 26:41.686 preference , I think , you know , where 26:41.686 --> 26:44.570 CRS are problematic for a few reasons , 26:44.580 --> 26:46.691 um , you know , fundamentally they're 26:46.691 --> 26:48.740 disruptive and inefficient . And I 26:48.740 --> 26:50.907 think one of the biggest problems with 26:50.907 --> 26:52.907 the CRS is that , you know , we are 26:52.907 --> 26:56.230 prohibited from having new starts in 26:56.230 --> 26:58.780 our in our budget now , you know , we 26:58.780 --> 27:01.860 can through anomalies seek relief in 27:01.860 --> 27:04.082 certain very targeted areas and we will 27:04.082 --> 27:06.700 do that if necessary . But it also is 27:06.700 --> 27:08.811 problem for us in terms of recruiting 27:08.811 --> 27:10.978 and retention , uh some of the special 27:10.978 --> 27:14.010 pays and bonuses and other kinds of 27:14.010 --> 27:17.500 incentives can be disrupted by a 27:17.500 --> 27:20.130 continuing resolution . So you know , 27:20.130 --> 27:22.074 those are just , I would say a few 27:22.074 --> 27:24.074 examples of the kinds of challenges 27:24.074 --> 27:26.297 that we could have and , and um we have 27:26.297 --> 27:28.241 looked at , you know , there are , 27:28.241 --> 27:30.352 there are a few different programs in 27:30.352 --> 27:32.463 our modernization portfolio that that 27:32.463 --> 27:34.241 you know , could potentially be 27:34.241 --> 27:36.463 disrupted but like I said , we can seek 27:36.463 --> 27:38.408 some target or relief through that 27:38.408 --> 27:40.408 through an anomaly request . Okay , 27:40.408 --> 27:42.990 thank you very much for coming , do the 27:43.000 --> 27:46.720 panel have any closing comments or Okay , 27:46.730 --> 27:48.841 just thanks everyone for being here , 27:48.841 --> 27:50.897 appreciate it . Just on the , on the 27:50.897 --> 27:52.674 budget side . Timely adequate , 27:52.674 --> 27:54.841 predictable and sustainable funding is 27:54.841 --> 27:56.730 is really important for the whole 27:56.730 --> 28:00.260 enterprise , uh , to be able to meet 28:00.260 --> 28:02.482 his priorities as we go forward . And , 28:02.482 --> 28:04.482 and , and that's what we've learned 28:04.482 --> 28:06.427 over the last couple of years . So 28:06.427 --> 28:08.593 thank you . Thank you all for coming . 28:08.593 --> 28:10.649 And , um , if you have any questions 28:10.649 --> 28:10.330 for in room one or three next door to 28:10.330 --> 28:14.070 you , uh , we appreciate it and have 28:14.070 --> 28:17.670 a good rest of your day paul kelly .