AUSA: Providing Support
To Soldiers and Families
By Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan
U.S. Army retired
AUSA President
“Private First Class Brown displayed great courage in treating
two wounded soldiers while under intense small-arms and mortar
fire. Private First Class Brown’s heroic actions are in keeping with
the finest traditions of military service, reflecting great credit
upon herself, the 82nd Airborne Division and the U.S. Army.”
—Silver Star citation
he tenacity, bravery and professionalism of then-PFC Monica
L. Brown while serving as a
combat medic in Afghanistan in
2007 mirror the high quality and
commitment of today’s soldiers all
across our Army. Such acts of heroism
and dedication are now commonplace for our troops in theater. Silver
Stars have also been awarded to SSgt.
Chad Malmberg for “gallantry in action” while deployed with the 1st
Brigade Combat Team of the Minnesota Army National Guard’s
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
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October 2008 ■ ARMY 7
34th Infantry Division and to then-PFC Jeremy Church for
valor while deployed with the Army Reserve’s 724th Transportation Company. The actions of these soldiers and others reflect a total Army commitment to the global war on
terrorism.
As I have mentioned frequently this past year, land forces
will be the critical, strategic elements of our national defense
strategy for the next decade or so. Our ability to control land
and influence people is absolutely essential in the defense of
our global interests; in our operations in Afghanistan, Iraq
and the Balkans; in our U.S. border operations; in our peacekeeping operations; and in the growing commitment to capacity-building efforts worldwide. In such an environment
and era of persistent conflict, land forces—the Army, Marine
Corps and special operations forces—are clearly the primary
military component of a successful national security strategy.
The growing spectrum of missions and tasks that our nation is demanding of its land forces requires simultaneous
growth of those forces. The inadequacy of the size of our
land forces is noticeable in Iraq: Although the surge has successfully reduced violence and set conditions for long-term
political stability, in the near future we may be required to
draw down our forces in Iraq for recommitment elsewhere.
We cannot sustain indefinitely any surge-level commitment
without implications for long-term readiness and negative
effects on our troops. The United States’ ability to respond to
threats to critical national interests elsewhere or to advance
SSgt. Mary McLean—an explosives ordnance disposal (EOD)
noncommissioned officer with the 749th EOD Company, 242nd
EOD Battalion, 20th Support Command—trains at NTC.
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ARMY ■ October 2008
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
Soldiers from the
2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT),
4th Infantry Division (Mechanized),
cover a group of
role players while
training for deployment to Iraq at the
National Training
Center (NTC), Fort
Irwin, Calif.
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
other U.S. objectives is compromised.
The ongoing conflict between Russia
and Georgia is one such example.
We face the challenge of the unknown future. We must begin building
the land forces required to meet the
nation’s challenges and ensure those
land forces are sustained by the new
administration and the next Congress.
Our national political leaders should:
■ Begin an accelerated, bipartisan
development of a new national security strategy based on the realities of
the global environment and the potency of the available instruments of national power.
■ Commit our nation to an expansion of active duty land
forces end strength far beyond the growth already announced and build an active duty land force that approaches one million men and women.
■ Commit to making the hard resource decisions. The
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
A soldier from the 3rd BCT, 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault), makes a radio
check while preparing for patrol in Iraq.
aggregate defense budget must grow, and the proportion
allocated to the land forces must increase substantially.
In future years, the demands on our land forces will continue to grow in scope and magnitude as our nation deals
with the national security implications of new threats such as
climate change and pandemic disease. We must act immediately if we are to recruit, prepare and deploy land forces to
meet this dynamic set of challenges. Growing today’s capable land forces by 25 percent will allow elected and appointed leaders to make strategic decisions unconstrained by
an outdated force. For our Army, this means growth and the
requisite funding for an active duty force of 700,000.
As I view AUSA’s commitment to fulfilling its mission of
Voice for the Army—Support for the Soldier, I am pleased
with all the great work and efforts by our members and
staff. Our 122 chapters have been more innovative and energetic than ever before in support of units, soldiers and
families. Welcome-home and send-off events top the list;
other efforts include “we care” packages and chapter financial support and volunteer leadership to family readiness groups. In 2007, our chapters provided $241,000 in
scholarships. AUSA awarded five $2,000 scholarships from
the Cribbins Scholarship fund in 2007, helping enlisted or
honorably discharged enlisted soldiers pursue degrees in
engineering or related fields. Our members’ outreach to
the Army’s wounded warriors in the new warrior transition units is remarkable. Our corporate members in particular deserve a big “thank you” for their support of soldiers
and families.
Capitalizing on the energy of our chapter volunteers and
leaders, our Family Programs directorate has grown this
past year in both scope and activity level.
Sgt. Cole West, 2nd BCT, 4th Infantry Division,
pulls perimeter security while training at NTC.
October 2008 ■ ARMY 9
Hill has paid off in legislative successes. Continued success—
in conjunction with other members of the Military Coalition—in preventing a TRICARE co-pay increase will remain
one of our targets for next year. There is still work to do.
As I look ahead to 2009, I see opportunities and challenges for the Army and AUSA. The new year will bring a
new administration, the new 111th Congress and new national security challenges—at home and overseas. We will
still be at war. At AUSA, we must maintain our focus on
our mission in all of our activities and programs. Our
drumbeat for our messages must remain constant in the
coming year. In this ongoing presidential campaign, there
have been few, if any, debates focusing on national defense
issues. Our 2008 and 2009 resolutions will continue to focus on readiness, people and Army transformation.
Our resolutions concerning readiness include urging the
administration and Congress to increase base defense budget funding to at least five percent of
GDP, with the Army’s share at least 28
percent; fund operations and maintenance, individual and unit training,
and Army recruiting and retention
programs; support the rebalance of the
force between the active and reserve
components; fund timely supplemental appropriation support for resetting
the force; and authorize and fund an
active duty Army of 700,000.
For soldiers, families and Army
civilians, among other issues we will
urge Congress to close the pay gap for
both soldiers and Army civilians; bar
any TRICARE fee increases; continue
to fund high-quality health care; protect the full value of retiree and annuitant income; and enact legislation to
repeal the VA offset on retirees’ military entitlement (concurrent receipt).
Resolutions on force transformation
SFC David McMorris, an observer-controller at NTC, initiates an ambush
include
pushing for support and fundscenario in one of NTC’s military operations in urban terrain training villages.
ing of advanced technology developoverall program for the Army, has kept up its pace of ex- ment focused on such technology as Future Combat Syscellence in our industry symposia. I am encouraged that tems and countermeasures for improvised explosive
our latest Army-industry program, the Army Fires Sympo- devices; provision of stable and sufficient research, develsium for the new and evolving Army Fires Center of Excel- opment, test and evaluation funding and funding for modlence, had a great start in Dallas with participation by Fort ernization and enhancement programs; and acceleration of
Sill, Fort Bliss and our industry partners and will prove to funding for high-pay-off weapon systems that support the
be increasingly exciting and dynamic in the coming years. Army’s modernization requirements for current and Future
The upcoming 54th AUSA Annual Meeting will be as excit- Forces.
As we approach a new year in an era of persistent coning as those in previous years, and we anticipate setting
records once again. Our Winter Symposium in Ft. Laud- flict, AUSA remains committed to supporting soldiers and
erdale, Fla., retains its high value for industry participants; families and serving as a source of information about the
I receive from our 561 sustaining members such comments Army. The future security and well-being of our country
as: “worthwhile,” “access to Army leadership superb” and depend on our nation’s ability to meet the changing
threats of the 21st century. It is our mission to ensure that
“great business-to-business opportunities.”
This past legislative year, our strategic outreach to Con- timely and adequate resourcing of the Army is a national
gress through the resolutions process and our work on the priority.
✭
Dennis Steele/ARMY Magazine
Caring for Army families is clearly one of AUSA’s hallmarks now and is enhanced by our chapters’ activities.
Our Institute of Land Warfare Torchbearer program lights
the way in bringing focus and essential messages to our
members, the media and national-level decision makers.
Our AUSA book program educates, celebrates and informs
on critical issues of our Army. This year, book-program publication Airborne Forces at War, by Robert K. Wright Jr. and
John T. Greenwood, won a national award for excellence.
ARMY Magazine and AUSA News continue to provide
timely and relevant information of value to our grassroots
chapter programs, informing readers about the Army, its
activities and programs and keeping readers cognizant of
Army issues. Our web site, www.ausa.org, and its features,
especially Leader Links, have proven their worth in our effective grassroots efforts.
Our Army-industry team, a very important part of our
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ARMY ■ October 2008