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Everett Ward was MLK observance guest speaker.
January 23, 2020
Chief of Staff: Army needs biggest tech change since Vietnam
By Paul Lara Belvoir Eagle
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s part of the Association of the U.S. Army’s breakfast series, the January event was held at the National Museum of the U.S. Army on Belvoir, Tuesday, with guest speaker Gen. James McConville, Army chief of staff. McConville laid out the vision that incremental changes are no longer sufficient to equip warfighters, and it is an inflection point for the Army not seen since Vietnam. McConville said that we built our modern army more than 40 years ago and that equipment is at its limits. “We are reaching our limits of technology and design that we developed back in the 1970s,” McConville said. “We can only add so much weight to our mechanized vehicles; we can only make our current helicopters fly so fast and so far; and conditions have changed. We recognize that we will be tested in all five domains: on land; in the air; on the sea; and in space and cyber, in the future. “We are taking a tactical pause in solicitation, we’re going to reset the requirements and the acquisition strategy and timeline; and then aggressively pursue the critical weapons systems we need in the future,” he said, noting the Army wants to fly and drive prototype systems before investing a large amount of money in buying them.
“Much of this change is happening right now. An example of transformational change is Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems. It’s like putting on a slightly larger pair of Oakley sunglasses with both nightvision and heads-up display,” he said. “In this device, our Soldiers can see a 3-D battle; they receive video from drones and other sources as they’re on the battlefield; they see their weapons sight for faster aiming and can shoot around corners or behind cover. “But, what I view as the most transformational concepts about this system is that you can use this to train in virtual reality. Think about it: you’re on your way to a real-world mission, and you can train with your team or squad, with simulated terrain with less time and fewer resources,” McConville said. “ … it’s an exciting time to be in the Army,” he said. “We aren’t looking for faster horses for our cavalry. We aren’t trying to fight the last fight better. We want to win the next fight. It’s going to take transformational change to get there, and it won’t happen with incremental improvements,” he said.
Photo by Paul Lara
Gen. James McConville, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, speaks at the AUSA breakfast at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Tuesday. McConville said the Army is at an inflection point and must adopt transformational change to maintain combat superiority over the next 40 years.
Chapel community serves homeless, in honor of MLK By Paul Lara Belvoir Eagle
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Sara Astrow, from the Fort Belvoir Jewish Community, slices meatloaf at the Eleanor Kennedy homeless shelter. A2
Housing
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artin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” And, that is just what four Fort Belvoir chapel communities did Sunday. On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr., Day, about a dozen volunteers from the Fort Belvoir Jewish community; the 8
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o’clock Protestant service; the Gospel service; and Chapel Next; gathered at the Eleanor U. Kennedy Shelter for the Homeless, to prepare and serve meals for more than 70 homeless men and women seeking refuge from a dangerously cold night. Sara Astrow, coordinator, Fort Belvoir Jewish Community, said the time was right. “Here it is, Martin Luther King weekend, and I thought, wouldn’t it be great to have the Jewish community and the gospel community work together to serve the homeless at the shelter that’s on Fort Belvoir? What a great community – in time of strife in the country – to come together as these two groups,” Astrow said. The group broke into teams to cook 30 pounds of meatloaf; prepare salads and roast 30 pounds of potatoes. See Chapel, page A3
Firefighter Leadership
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Civilian Fitness Program