From the Editor-in-Chief
“Whenever we envision the future, we should recognize the difficulty of accurate prediction and the likeli- hood of getting it wrong.”
—Gen. Robert W. Cone (Ret.), former commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
I
never had the pleasure of meeting Gen. Cone, but I admire anyone who can admit they are not a prognosticator. Te future of warfare is fairly impossible to predict because, like the butterfly effect, small changes now in tactics, techniques
and what we equip our Soldiers with can lead to unpredictable variations in future combat. For a glimmer of what future combat might look like, some, like Lt. Gen. Paul A. Ostrowski, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisi- tion, logistics and technology, suggest we look toward visionaries in Hollywood. “Tink about it,” Ostrowski said, speaking at a July breakfast hosted by the Association of the United States Army. “How many things do we have in our hands today, or just right around the corner, that you saw on the movies when you were growing up?”
Tat’s good news for all you Trekkies out there, but I’ll leave determining what the future holds to the new Army Futures Command; good luck!
Undoubtedly you have seen numerous articles from Army leaders, such as Army Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper, about the urgent need to speed acquisition, accelerate fielding and establish a culture in which acquisition is inherently fast. Tat all starts with having well-defined requirements that tell us what needs to be developed, a job the Army Futures Command is taking on.
One way that we in the Army acquisition community can meet Esper’s vision and overcome our inability to determine the future is to get critical enabling technologies (equipment, technology or methodology that provides increases in performance and capa- bilities of the user) in place and products to our Soldiers as soon as possible. Tey are the foundation for the weapons and other gear that Soldiers will need in five, 10 or 15 years—and for devel- oping them in a timely manner instead of taking 20 or 30 years.
Inherent in having the critical enabling technologies to get the solutions to Soldiers that they need, when they need them, is speeding up acquisition. Exactly how we are doing that is the focus of this issue.
Learn how the Army is increas- ing the lethality of our long-range precision fires while decreasing the acquisition timeline from Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, commander of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). Wins will provide us with insight into how RDECOM is supporting each of the Army’s modernization priorities over the next several issues.
@
Email Nelson McCouch III
ArmyALT@gmail.com
But acquisition is only the start. Sustainment is for life. Does equipment really need servicing at the currently prescribed time or mileage intervals, or is there a better way? Te Army G-4 is working to answer that question and bring vehicle maintenance into the 21st century through an extended service strategy, includ- ing condition-based maintenance, whereby sensors report when equipment really needs service.
Perhaps the most difficult of the critical enabling technologies to understand for anyone without an advanced degree in math is quantum mechanics. It’s slowly transforming from science fiction to science fact. Tat’s why our very smart friends at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology are providing a “Quantum 101,” so that the rest of us can grasp just what as-yet unknown capabilities might actually emerge to enable “technological surprise.”
Tese articles are just a few of those in this issue that explore how the Army is working hard to translate critical enabling technol- ogies into actual warfighting capabilities. Enjoy!
If you have an idea for how to speed up acquisition or insight into some aspect of acquisition, or just want to comment, drop us a line at
ArmyALT@gmail.com. Anyone with a great idea for Army acquisition, logistics and technology can submit an article for this magazine. We look forward to hearing from you.
Nelson McCouch III Editor-in-Chief
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