BATTLEFIELD ENABLER


Soldiers assigned to the Arkansas National Guard conduct exercises in August 2015, during Decisive Action Rotation 15-09 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA. As the battlespace continues to evolve, small businesses will continue to play an essential role in addressing the Army’s future defense needs. (U.S. Army photo by SPC Ashley Marble)


GROUNDBREAKING CHANGE In America’s Army, we seek to harness these innovative talents for the benefit of our warfighters. Today, small business firms are critical enablers in the work we do. Take, for example, the Pack- Bot by iRobot that deployed with our Soldiers to Afghanistan in 2002. First used to clear caves, it later performed a multitude of tasks to enhance situational awareness, reduce risk and increase the mission success of our men and women in uniform. Today, a great deal of groundbreaking technological change in the area of robotics comes from the commercial sector. We are constantly assessing which commercial innovations have military potential so that we can continue to achieve successes like the ones we’ve seen in robotics.


Tere are more than 29 million small businesses in the United States, creating seven of every 10 new jobs and employing just over half of the country’s private-sector workforce. According to the latest SBA figures, small business accounted for 64 percent of new jobs in the 15 years from 1993 to 2012. In the post- recession period of 2009 to 2011, that figure was even higher, at 67 percent. Tese figures illustrate the strength of small businesses.


We are dedicated to increasing opportunities for small businesses to compete successfully for Army contracts, and to maintaining the Army’s reputation as a premier organization for promoting and assisting small businesses.


Troughout the years, the Army has usually met or exceeded small business goals in every category, as assigned to it by DOD. Despite declining budgets, we have increased the percentage of contracts awarded to small businesses: in FY15, 31.6 percent of our procurements, equating to approximately $17.5 billion, went to small businesses. It is important that we maintain this level of support in the future.


INHERENT INNOVATION Evidence abounds that small business expertise and innovation help give our military its technological edge. Let me provide a few examples:


In the area of medical innovation, combat medics have one mission: keep the injured alive until they can be treated safely elsewhere. While survival rates have improved dramatically in


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COMMENTARY


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