The Delaware National Guard announced that on May 1, 2017, Chelsea Schellinger will be the new Military One Source consultant on the Family Program Team. She is the MDAY Commander of the 126th Aviation Unit. She will be taking over the reins from the former State Command Chief and Military One Source consultant, Dan Young, who is retiring. We wish him all the best for a well-earned retirement.
Author: Kat Lehman
Communicator, designer, artist, photographer, friend.
Force is about to get bigger
[From AUSA National] March 22, 2017
By the end of September, the Army’s end strength will receive a boost of 28,000 soldiers above the original troop levels authorized for the current fiscal year.
The increase was authorized as part of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act and leaders say it is expected to markedly improve readiness. Leaders were informed of the increase in December.
“The No. 1 problem we have right now is that formations are manned at 95 percent,” Lt. Gen. Joe Anderson, deputy chief of staff for operations, told the House Armed Services Committee. Compounding that problem, he explained, are other variables in soldiers’ availability such as those who are nondeployable, retired, on permanent change of station or attending school, which bring formation levels down as low as 78 percent.
Across the force, the Regular Army will grow by 16,000 soldiers to an end strength of 476,000; National Guard levels will jump by 8,000 to 343,000 soldiers; and the Army Reserve will end the fiscal year with 199,000 soldiers, a bump of 4,000 troops.
To achieve the higher end strength by Sept. 30, the Army will raise its accession mission to 68,500 and boost training resources. Enlisted retention is set to increase with incentives, and officer accessions and retention is expected to increase officer strength by 1,000.
Soldiers will go to undermanned tactical units and fill other gaps following recommendations of ongoing Army analysis.
Preparing for Increasing Cyber Attacks
Feb. 28, 2017 (From AUSA National)
Cyber warfare will only intensify in the future, with a strong possibility that the U.S. Army will not be able to completely defend itself from attacks, a new report warns.
The Army Cyber Institute report says the U.S. Army and the rest of the military “cannot defend all of the digital, individual, social, physical and kinetic domains.” Called “A Widening Attack Plain,” the report was written in collaboration with Arizona State University and represents the work of more than two dozen experts from the military, government, academia and industry. The Army Cyber Institute is located at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
Cyber threats over the past decade have been limited mainly to “data only” threats like espionage, leaks and hacks but threats are changing as attacks become more targeted and aggressive.
The report suggests the Army should work on improving encryption of crucial infrastructure, identifying vulnerabilities and should also champion closer bonds with industry and academia to share ideas.
The Army has been working on new leadership doctrine to prepare officers to operate if communication and data feeds are attacked, while also stepping up defenses.
“In the next decade, we will see a continuing widening of the attack plain,” the report says “The attack surface in the future broadens out, including more people, increasing targets, and changing the very nature of security and threat.”
The complete report is online at http://www.usma.edu/acc/SitePages/Threatcasting.aspxcvc.
National Guard (and Army Reserve) Essential in Europe
[Editor’s Note: Excerpt below From AUSA National]
For those of us who served in the National Guard or Army Reserve on training or on deployment in Europe or Asia, we know the value of the partnership with active duty units. It helps them with training, alleviates burdens when there are personnel shortages, and provides a level of comfort to leadership when regular rotations include known National Guard and Army Reserve units. The National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers often provide continuity on scheduled training exercises. –Editor.
To make the fewer than 30,000 soldiers assigned to Europe look more like 300,000, U.S. Army Europe needs the Army National Guard and Army Reserve to train in the theater on a regular basis, the command’s top Guard leader says.
To that end, Army commanders in Europe are creating every possible training opportunity for Guard and Reserve troops, said Maj. Gen. John M. Gronski, who became U.S. Army Europe’s deputy commanding general for the Army National Guard on May 1.
More Cyber Please
Delaware has a long tradition of signal readiness. With cyber and electronic warfare capabilities being a top priority for the Army’s new cyber directorate, this bodes well for our first state Soldiers.
To that end, BG (P) Patricia Frost who heads the new cyber directorate, spoke recently at the two-day symposium “Mad Scientist 2016: The 2050 Cyber Army” held at the U.S. Military Academy. Her charge is to oversee electronic warfare and cybersecurity and to optimize exploits in the two arenas. The Army has fielded 41 of the 133 defense-wide teams that Congress has mandated be established by 2018. Frost believes, however, there are offensive and defensive gaps that will need to be filled at a tactical level.
For more on the story, check out AUSA’s post “Giving Field Commanders More Cyber Muscle”
Defense Spending Stalled Again
[Editor’s Note: From AUSA National]
It’s a 99.9% probability that Congress will pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running past the Oct. 1 deadline. How they reach their goal is the billion dollar question.
Any optimism the Senate had that they would be able to pass the defense spending bill was dashed Tuesday when the legislation failed to garner the 60 votes needed to proceed. This is the third time Democrats have blocked the measure.
Democrats are not necessarily opposed to the language in the bill, rather it is a tactical maneuver. They believe they will have more leverage over Republicans to secure additional domestic spending in the final FY17 spending package that presumably will be passed after the November elections.
There is nothing to suggest the path to passing a CR will be any easier.
The Senate leadership is in discussions with the minority leaders and the White House to move a continuing resolution to the floor next week. The stop-gap measure would expire Dec. 9.
There is some speculation that if the Senate can actually pass the measure next week, they would adjourn early, thus tying the House’s hands – either pass the Senate’s version or allow the government to shut-down, not a pleasing prospect any time much less in an election year.
House Republicans are divided on the duration of the measure with some agreeing to the shorter CR and, others, namely the House Freedom Caucus who do not favor lame-duck sessions and want the CR to last until March 2017.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus have indicated that they will support the short term continuing resolution if the leadership includes language dealing with Syrian refugees, an idea that will certainly be rejected by Democrats.
Round and round it goes!
AUSA prefers passage of routine spending bills in a timely manner. However, since that is unlikely, we strongly favor a short-term continuing resolution.
There hasn’t been a full year’s appropriation, adopted on time since 2007. While CRs are far better than government shut-downs, they are not a substitute for actual appropriations.
Under CR funding, the Army cannot move money around where it’s actually needed or start new contracts. Budget dollars are placed against needs and priorities of previous years, leaving the priorities and needs of the current year unfunded. The end result of all this is, at a minimum, things cost more and they take longer to get.
Congress is demanding that the Army spend less money but they are making it more difficult to achieve that goal. It’s no way to do business and unfortunately, we don’t see any return to regular order on the horizon.
Stay tuned.
Principles for Revitalizing American Leadership
The following article was published by AUSA.
A group of 29 distinguished defense and foreign policy experts gathered by the Association of the U.S. Army has produced a set of guiding principles intended to renew a sense of American identity in the United States, ensure a safe and prosperous future for its citizens, and provide focus for America’s role in the world.
Called “America’s Purpose: 21st Century Principles to Revitalize the American Identity,” the paper is the result of an effort launched last year by retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, the former Army chief of staff who was AUSA’s president and CEO. Sullivan, who stepped down on June 30 as AUSA’s leader, viewed the project as an effort to create a document that would shape American policy, both domestic and foreign. The principles envisioned by Sullivan are not part of an international agreement, but are aimed at a domestic audience.
Historians, academics, defense and foreign policy experts, former diplomats, retired generals, and high-ranking executive branch leaders took part in discussions over several months that led to the final set of principles.
A preamble explains how the end of the Cold War and the singular focus on the former Soviet Union led to a loss of American identity and global focus.
“Since the end of the Cold War, the United States seems to have lost the centering mechanism that unified the nation. Without a clearly identifiable foe—the Soviet Union—the United States is facing a global landscape of foggy uncertainty, with occasional outbursts of destabilizing violence and dangerous regional instability,” it says. “It should not take a war for the United States to revitalize its sense of purpose and once again embrace its role as a world leader.”
“When America unites, its people win and the world is safer. ‘America’s Purpose’ provides a unifying framework to overcome domestic and foreign challenges, resulting in a safer, stronger America and a more stable and secure world.”
Key principles include a commitment to promoting world peace, advancing freedom and human rights for all people, promoting access to education, supporting legal immigration, and fostering cooperative global security.
Here is a link to the paper:
https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/publications/Americas_Purpose_131400Jul16.pdf
AUSA to host a Family Readiness forum in NJ
The Family Readiness Directorate of the Association of the U.S. Army has planned an event in September aimed at Army National Guard and Reserve families.
On Sept. 22, a forum focusing on National Guard and Army Reserve spouses will be held at the New Jersey National Guard Armory in Bordentown, N.J.
The forum for National Guard and Reserve spouses will look at help that is available for spouses and families when not located in a military community. The discussion will focus on where to find help, how to build a support network and practical tips.
Homefront United Network, an organization founded by Army National Guard spouse Angela Caban, is a co-sponsor of the event. Caban, the New Jersey National Guard Spouse of the Year 2013, and Bianca Strzalkowski, 2011 Military Spouse of the Year, will speak at the event.
Register for the Guard and Reserve spouse event here:
Memorial Day Events 2015 Around Delaware
The Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs is conducting two events to commemorate Memorial Day. On Monday, May 25, 2015 at 11:00 am, they will conduct a Memorial Day Service at the Delaware Veterans Memorial on the parade field of the cemetery grounds at 2465 Chesapeake City Road in Bear, Delaware. On Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 10:30 am, the Commission will conduct a Memorial Day Service at the War Memorial Plaza, Delaware Memorial Bridge, New Castle, Delaware.
Our Community Salutes of Delaware
[Published From Our Community Salutes Web Site, an AUSA Delaware sponsored event]
Wilmington University and the Delaware Chapter, Association of the US Army co-sponsored the fourth annual “Our Community Salutes” ceremony in Delaware on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Wilmington University. We recognized and thanked those high school seniors from Delaware who have chosen a military career after graduation.
Tim Furlong of NBC 10 Philadelphia returned as emcee. We were honored to have Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn and Major General Glenn Lesniak, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Reserve as our speakers. Student enlistees received letters of appreciation signed by U.S. Senators Carper and Coons, and U.S. Representative Carney. Students also received letters from the State of Delaware House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees, and an ‘Our Community Salutes’ challenge coin.
Mr. Justin Null, a high school counselor at St. Georges’ Technical High School, was presented The General Colin L. Powell award in recognition of his help assisting students interested in beginning their career in the military.
Photos of this event can be found at OCSDE.org/2015-photos
Association of the U.S. Army, Delaware Chapter 