ARMY AL&T
S&T is an integral part of everything we do, all the programs we’re working on. It is critical for increasing knowledge, and we must have the right S&T investments to link to program outcomes better than we have in the past.
— LTG Michael A. Vane,
Deputy Commanding General, Futures, and Director, Army Capabilities Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
the Army Capstone Concept (http://
www.tradoc.army.mil/tpubs/pams/ tp525-3-0.pdf) in December 2009, describing what the Army needs to do. The Army Operating Concept (http://
www.tradoc.army.mil/tpubs/pams/ tp525-3-1.pdf), released in August 2010, describes Army forces from 2016 to 2028, emphasizing the operational and tactical levels of war.
“The key to realizing this concept includes decentralized operations through mission command and devel- oping situations through action, not just passively or trying to sense through technology,” Vane explained. “We must do that to act faster than the enemy.”
Competitive Education One of the biggest challenges is understanding human activity and performance, Vane said. Proficiency in S&T areas among the Nation’s youth is necessary for future development of the Nation’s S&T scientists and engineers.
“According to 2006 data from the U.S. Department of Education, the math literacy scores of 15-year-olds in the United States are lower than aver- age scores in 23 of 29 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] countries,” Vane said. Science literacy is lower than the average scores in 16 of 29 OECD countries. “With a decline in student scores in math and science, does that give us a weak signal we should be tracking? Is that a leading or lagging
6 APRIL –JUNE 2011
indicator or metric ... and how that might be directed at S&T?”
Vane also said that while the United States is making progress in S&T developments, “we are not necessar- ily keeping pace with the leaders in the international community.” Between 1989 and 2001, patent applications in the United States grew by 116 per- cent, but in East Asia (including China, India, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan), they grew by 750 percent, he said. The U.S. high-tech sector also doubled during that time, growing from $423 billion to $940 billion, but that of China grew more than eight times, from $30 billion to $257 billion, according to a February 2005 report from the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, titled “The Knowledge Economy: Is the United States Losing Its Competitive Edge?” (available at http://www.futureof
innovation.org/PDF/Benchmarks.pdf).
Conclusion Global trends for S&T include increas- ingly mobile networks, declining education levels, secure energy sources, and continuous information flow, 24/7. To adapt to these trends, Army S&T must produce integrated products, not stovepipe solutions, by focusing on the five warfighter outcomes, Vane said:
• Training • Mission command • Countering improvised explosive devices
• Power and energy • The human dimension
Vane stressed the importance of making a critical shift in the S&T development process to keep technology relevant and get it into Soldiers’ hands when they need it. “S&T is an integral part of everything we do, all the programs we’re working on,” he said. “It is critical for increasing knowledge, and we must have the right S&T investments to link to program out- comes better than we have in the past.”
Presentations from the Army Science Conference are available at http://
www.armyscienceconference.com. Audio speeches are available at
http://www.youtube.com/view_ play_list?p=2398CDA824AC2470.
JACLYN PITTS provided contract support to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center through BRTRC Strategy and Communications Group. She holds a B.S. in journalism from West Virginia University and a B.S. in criminal justice from Kaplan University.
KELLYN D. RITTER provides contract support to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center through BRTRC Strategy and Communications Group. She holds a B.A. in English from Dickinson College.
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