good morning and welcome today . Three
of a Yusa . Now , we're really glad
that you've joined us today for what
will be another great Army day . I'd
especially like to thank Boeing for
being our sponsor . For all of today's
sessions , we've had a great two days
together so far . Hearing from
Secretary McCarthy , General McConville
and Sergeant Major of the Army .
Kristen , plus many , many others . We
got to meet the non commissioned
officer and soldier of the year , plus
many other Army and a Yusa National
Award winners . If you weren't able to
attend all those sessions from Tuesday
or Wednesday , or if you just wanna
watch any of those events again , just
go to the on demand button on your
agenda on demand . Videos will be
posted as soon as possible after each
event occurs , and then you say now
sessions will remain on demand after we
end the program tomorrow . So keep your
log in information handy . We kick off
today with the presentation by the
secretary of Defense . We're truly
honored that he chose to participate ,
but I'll confess that I'm not very
surprised . Mark Esper is a soldier for
life , a graduate of West point class
of 1986 . He has served in the regular
Army , the Army National Guard and in
the Army Reserve . He's a combat
veteran , having served in Iraq with
101st Airborne Division . He served on
the OSD staff as a congressional
staffer and with defense industry . In
other words , he's seen America's Army
from just about every angle before
being selected by the president to
serve as secretary of defense . He was ,
of course , the 23rd secretary of the
Army . It is my distinct honor and
privilege to introduce the honorable
mark ts spurt 27th Secretary of
Defense . Thank you ,
General Ham for that kind introduction .
It's great to speak with all of you
during this year's annual meeting , and
I want to thank the team , but they use
a for the hard work that went into this
conference . Despite a global pandemic ,
you adapted and once again provide this
important form for leaders across the
Defense Department industry ,
government and academia toe openly and
candidly discuss the future of the army .
In 2018 I spoke to this conference
about the Renaissance . We were driving
within the army as we began to
implement the national defense strategy
to adapt and lead in this era of great
power competition . The army launched a
wholesale transformation to dominate a
21st century high end fight , whether
on the plains of Europe or the laterals
of the Indo Pacific . Today , I'd like
to highlight the Army's progress to
date and lay out the many ways in which
the Renaissance has already become
reality . With each generation come new
technologies that fundamentally alter
the character of warfare . Throughout
our history , the army has often stood
on the leading edge . In the early 19th
century , the Army Springfield Armory
helped pioneer the mass production a
small arms . In World War two , the
army's M one became the first semi
automatic rifle to enter widespread
service , and roughly a decade later ,
the army deployed the first operational
US guided ballistic missile . Today ,
emerging technologies are again
expanding the geometry of the
battlefield and transforming how we
think about prepare and plan for war
are near . Pier rivals China and Russia
seek to erode our longstanding
advantages through cutting edge
military innovation such as precision ,
long range fires , anti access aerial
denial systems and other asymmetric
capabilities designed to counter our
strengths . Moreover , in space ,
Moscow and Beijing have weaponized a
once peaceful domain through killer
satellites , directed energy weapons
and MAWR in an effort to seize the
ultimate high ground and chip away at
our military edge . Furthermore , our
competitors and adversaries exploit
cyberspace as it means to undermine our
advantages without confronting our
conventional strengths . In the face of
these threats , we must harness the
next generation of technologies and
stay ahead of the competition , thanks
to the Army's efforts to ruthlessly
redirect time , money and manpower to
our highest priorities , were
positioned to do just that ,
particularly along the Army's six
modernization priorities . At the top
of that list is hypersonic weapons , as
our competitors developed long range
fires to inhibit our freedom of
maneuver . We're increasing our
investments in hyper sonics over the
next five years so we can ramp up
testing and deliver these capabilities
to the warfighter as quickly as
possible . In March , the Army and Navy
reached an important milestone by
jointly executing the successful test
of a hypersonic glide body . We end
integrate this technology into an army
battery by 2023 . At the same time the
army is investing in the interim
maneuver short range Air Defense
platform to provide soldiers with 360
degree protection from unmanned
aircraft systems and other low altitude
aerial threats . We can expect to see
this system integrated into four
battalions in Europe in 2023 .
Furthermore , to bolster our advantage
and land based competition , the
armored multipurpose vehicle , the
replacement for the Vietnam era and 113
is rolling off the production line . As
we speak , this 21st century personnel
carrier will play an integral and verse
to roll in the Armored Brigade Combat
Team . These and other modernization
efforts are building combat credible
capabilities , allowing us to target
anti access area denial complexes and
enabled joint maneuvers across all
domains . None of this would be
possible without our industry partners
who have persevered through a global
pandemic to keep supply chains
functioning and deliver these projects
on time . Thank you for your unwavering
commitment and support tow our service
members and their missions . In
addition to developing next generation
technologies , we are also modernizing
the way we fight through enhanced
readiness concepts such as dynamic
force employment . During Defender 2020
for example , the army applied D F E to
build rapid power projection through
dispersed prepositioned equipment .
This and other novel concepts will help
us become more nimble , less
predictable and better capable of
rapidly shifting to combat operations
when needed . In order to integrate
these concepts with state of the art
technology , we must be able to
exchange and synchronized information
across systems , services and platforms ,
and we must do so seamlessly across all
domains . At the crossroads of these
efforts stands Army Futures Command ,
and it's project conversions on Lee . A
few years ago , Features Command was
nothing more than a concept . Today .
General Mike Murray and his team at
Austin , Texas , are pioneering the
development of emerging technologies
from multi domain operations . Project
Convergence is designed to increase the
speed of platform integration in real
time and provide the best response to
the right shooter by computing at the
edge . The Command recently conducted a
live fire simulation with unmanned
unmanned teeming with drones and
satellites relaying target coordinates
to ground artillery and other A I
enabled weapons systems . I understand
plans are already underway for Project
Convergence 2021 which intends to
incorporate joint partners and even
international allies to integrate
additional air and ground weapons ,
including the F 35 precision strike
missile . The future of warfare is
being shaped right now before our eyes
and the Army proudly stands at the
forefront . Project conversions will
play an integral role in the
department's development of joint all
the main command and control , which
will truly modernize how we fight and
enable the development of a joint
warfighting concept and ultimately ,
doctrine for the 21st century . While
these efforts are paramount to a future
high and fight , we know that our
military strongest and most enduring
advantage is America's unmatched
network of allies and partners in our
priority theater , the Indo Pacific .
The army is playing a leading role in
our efforts to strengthen alliances and
build partnerships by re balancing
force posture throughout the region .
The army is increasing access ,
presence and influence while also
bolstering returns and by expanding
training and exercises across the
region as part of Pacific pathways and
defender Pacific , we are enhancing
interoperability and strengthening
lasting relationships in the region .
This year , for example , the army of
stationing a company sized striker
training set in Thailand to support the
Royal Thai Army as they build their own
striker program . The Army also plans
to expand the international military
education and training program and
increased military school slots in
support of their striker program . In
addition , the army stood up the Multi
domain task force in 2018 to further
synchronized modernization efforts with
joint assets and partners in the region .
Next year . It aims to add a second
standalone MDT F in Europe while we
move forward with other initiatives to
optimize force posture on the continent .
In July announced our plans to
reposition our forces in Europe to meet
the demands of great power competition .
The army will play a critical role in
these deterrence efforts as striking
units begin continuous rotations
farther east on the continent .
Furthermore , we also plan to rotate
for the lead element of the army's new
fifth Corps into Poland . Once the
appropriate agreements are finalized .
Through these and other actions are ,
soldiers will be at the forefront as we
continue to enhance deterrence of
Russia , strengthen NATO and reassure
our allies in the region . All told ,
these efforts prepare us for our high
end fight that we must hope we never
have , but must be prepared to win .
Maintaining our overmatched depends on
the Army's next generation command
control , long range precision fires ,
integrated air defense and operational
maneuver at strategic distances . And
it hinges on ensuring the right
capabilities are in the right
formations commanded and controlled at
the right echelon and four position at
the right points to support the joint
force alongside key allies and partners .
I'm incredibly proud of the work the
Army is doing on these fronts as we
implement the national defense strategy
and sustain our superiority across all
domains now and into the future .
Moreover , you've accomplished all this
in spite of a pandemic . In June , I
visited Portland would in Missouri to
see first hand how the Army is
modifying basic training in the time of
Cove it . I was impressed by how our
soldiers continue to adapt and lead ,
no matter the challenge before them .
And I was inspired by the enthusiasm of
the newest members of our ranks who
remain undeterred in the face of a
global health crisis . In closing , I
want to thank your leadership ,
starting with Secretary McCarthy and
General McConville for their vision and
foresight as they make the hard choices
and take the risks needed . Toe
outpaced are near pier rivals . And I
want to express my gratitude to the men
and women of the Department of the Army
for all you do toe uphold our
Constitution , defend our people and
protect our way of life . Thanks to
your selfless sacrifice rooted in the
army's core values , our military will
remain the finest fighting force
history has ever seen . Thank you .