As the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) states, the U.S. faces a return
to great power competition in addition to threats from terrorism and region-
al adversaries. Over the last two decades, the Army had to make dicult
choices to defer modernization and instead support the demand for a steady
rotation of forces optimized for counterinsurgency in the Middle East.
Coupled with budgetary instability and several unsuccessful high-prole
acquisition programs, this hampered Army modernization eorts. Simul-
taneously, U.S. adversaries made intellectual, organizational and materiel
investments to gain advantage and increasingly challenge U.S. warghting
dominance. The U.S. Army needs to modernize critical core capabilities
now to regain overmatch for MDO against near-peer adversaries in the
future.
To address this challenge, the Army requires a unied, responsive, ecient
modernization enterprise; a clear modernization strategy; and aggressive
implementation. AFC is the vehicle that the Army will use to break free of
its Industrial Age business model to move at the speed of the Information
Age. Transforming the Army’s approach to modernization will enable it
to adapt, innovate and integrate technology at speed and scale, regaining
assured battleeld dominance.
2
Seizing the High Ground –
United States Army Futures
Command
OctOber 2018
ILW SPOTLIGHT 18-4
PUBLISHED BY THE INSTITUTE OF LAND WARFARE
at the association of the united states army
issue
The U.S. Army needs to modernize critical
core capabilities now to regain overmatch
for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)
against near-peer adversaries.
spotlight scOpe
• Provides strategic context and ratio-
nale for establishment of Army Futures
Command (AFC);
• Describes: mission and structure of
AFC; Army modernization priorities;
supporting Cross-Functional Teams
(CFTs); and
• IdentieskeystosuccessforArmy
Modernization and AFC.
iNsiGHts
• Reemergence of great power competi-
tion is driving the Army to modernize to
increase lethality and achieve over-
match in large-scale combat operations.
• Establishing AFC contributes to unity of
effort across disparate modernization
efforts and increases accountability,
transparency and stewardship of the na
-
tion’s resources. Realignment is not sim-
ply creating a new headquarters; AFC
willadaptcultureandstreamlinework
to overcome organizational inertia.
• Army requires coherent, credible, con-
sistent and compelling narrative with
which to gain and maintain support.
Keeping Congress fully apprised of
modernization efforts—their progress,
pitfalls and potential—is essential.
• Sustained and predictable funding is
keytoensuringfullsupportofArmy’s
industry partners, who are critical in
delivering innovative capabilities.
www.ausa.org
1
General Mark A. Milley, Chief of Sta, Army, and Honorable Mark T. Esper, Secretary of the Army,
“The Army Vision,” June 2018.
2
Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy, Undersecretary of the Army, and General John M. Murray,
Commander, “Army Futures Command,” Statement to House Armed Services Committee (HASC),
13 September 2018.
by COL Daniel S. Roper, USA, Ret., and LTC Jessica Grassetti, USA
The Army of 2028 will be ready to deploy, ght, and win decisively against any
adversary, anytime and anywhere, in a joint, multi-domain, high-intensity conict,
while simultaneously deterring others and maintaining its ability to conduct irregular
warfare. The Army will do this though the employment of modern manned and
unmanned ground combat vehicles, aircraft, sustainment systems, and weapons, cou-
pled with robust combined arms formations and tactics based on a modern warght-
ing doctrine and centered in exceptional Leaders and Soldiers of unmatched lethality.
1
The Army Vision, June 2018
