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Archive for the ‘Army’ Category

Half-Mast Sends: PS Magazine Will End Historic Run Effective Sep 30

Saturday, January 13th, 2024

Troops…

Due to Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA)-directed reductions of DA Civilian authorizations, PS Magazine will cease operations effective Sep 30, 2024. These reductions, among others across the Army, are necessary to right-size the total force, as well as support modernization.

PS Magazine’s transition to end of mission has already begun, and mission execution is reducing as its writing staff is reassigned or retires. Any residual support will cease operations no later than Sep 30. In the near term, this will affect the magazine’s ability to respond to Reader Inquiries, depending on the commodity or end item being inquired about. It will also mean a reduction in new content being posted to the website, with new articles all but ending this spring.

Efforts are being made to ensure the website remains available for reference for up to three years past end-of-mission. Once this website is fully retired, readers can continue to access the PS Magazine archive on the publicly available Radio Nerds website HERE.

On behalf of Connie, Bonnie, SFC Blade, Cloe and the other staff now retired, it’s been our distinct honor to serve Warfighters across all services for going on 73 years. You never know; perhaps someday we’ll be recalled to service. We’ll stand ready just in case.

For now, be safe, follow your TMs and always treat your vehicles and equipment as if your life depends on them. For surely, it will.


Connie & Bonnie (upper left and right); SFC Blade & Cloe (lower left and right)

The Transformative Power of Wearable Health and Performance Devices

Friday, January 12th, 2024

AUSTIN, Texas — In an immersive display of military innovation, the 2023 U.S. Army Best Squad Competition, held from September to October across several locations in the southern U.S., showcased the transformative power of wearable health and performance monitoring devices, positioning them as a crucial component of the Soldier’s readiness arsenal.

The competition not only underscored the capabilities of the new technologies, which included a ring device for sleep and recovery monitoring, and a sports watch for daytime exertion monitoring, but also highlighted their role as health and wellness sport technologies that can integrate seamlessly into squad proficiency tests of warrior tasks and battle drills.

Sgt. Maj. Matthew Dolsen of Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3 Special Operations Division served as lead coordinator of the competition and discussed the decision to introduce wearable technologies within military competitions.

“These competitors are our elite overachievers, mentally and physically — our future leaders. We know they have the aptitude to integrate the technology on site but will then also carry their experiences back to their units and daily missions,” Dolsen said.

Joseph Patterson, a Soldier performance strategist with U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, emphasized the significance of these wearables, which are a singular aspect of the health and human performance ecosystem. Patterson labeled the devices an “integral part” of Optimizing the Human Weapon System (OHWS), an initiative supported by Army Futures Command; U.S. Southern Command; U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa; and the Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Program Executive Office Soldier.

The wearable devices employed during the competition proved to be invaluable tools, sensing anticipatory stress, exertion levels and levels of recovery through each event. Providing a discrete snapshot of health data, the wearables empowered squads to enhance their performance in real time, fostering both accountability and improvement.

The incorporation of instantaneous feedback allowed for intelligent pacing adjustments in the Army Combat Fitness Test and 12-mile foot march, showcasing the Soldier’s utilization of wearable technology in optimizing outcomes and ensuring safety. Patterson compared this use case to baseball, saying, “No matter how good the bat, uniform, cleats, helmet are, it’s the player that has to be good in order to make contact with the fastball and put it in play.”

Wearables provided continuous monitoring across a myriad of physiological parameters, offering insights into warfighter responses, and contributing to formational readiness. One user voiced after the event, “I got great insight with the wearables. I felt safe to push myself hard knowing if I started to break a safe limit, I would be attended to, which is great.”

Competitors expressed the most impactful and shocking dataset to be their sleep feedback, which is measured for recovery data, and was collected over multiple days during the two-month competition. Patterson emphasized this as a notable blind spot to acknowledge.

“Sleep universally touches every service member yet seems to be the least known or understood data point in Soldiers’ lives,” he said.

Downtime was capitalized by attentive squad leaders, employing deliberate recovery when alerted by member biofeedback. Teams that showed data set indicators of faster recovery had associated positive performance during the competitive events.

“Seeing what you’re doing on a biological level lets Soldiers make better choices,” Dolsen said.

The devices are not immune to human behavior, however. Some Soldiers worried about losing the rings during the high-demand tactical events had them safely stored in their pockets, and some would forget to sync data each morning.

“It just takes some education and familiarity with the technology … I think the program is outstanding and can lead to a healthier force,” Dolsen said.

Beyond the immediate competition, the longitudinal data generated by wearable devices offers a broad application, informing both personal and command decisions and supporting the Army’s greatest asymmetric advantage: People. The adoption of wearable technology also aligns with the 2022 National Defense Strategy and Authorization Act, emphasizing the need to invest in technology for individual effectiveness and longevity. This transformative technology is designed for adaptability and has been primed to seamlessly integrate into the existing Army ecosystem of authoritative databases in the coming year, enabling even more powerful and predictive analyses in direct support of integrated prevention.

The wearables program has extended its reach across various Army units, from infantry to military intelligence, exemplifying versatility beyond the Close Combat Force. Now any Soldier can participate in the new paradigm under the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ program for wearables. All OHWS-enabled units have the option to link their own personal smart watch as part of the effort.

“OHWS recognizes the best performance wearable is one that provides the Soldier with insights into their behavior habits and choices, which may very well be the one they bought themselves,” Patterson said.

Integration of wearables accelerates transformation of human potential and survivability within the military landscape. The successful employment of wearables in the diverse and realistic environments of the Best Squad Competition illustrated their adaptability and effectiveness. By enhancing Soldiers’ physical and mental well-being, these wearables have the potential to contribute to a more resilient and effective force.

By MSG Katie Smith, Army Futures Command

DEVCOM Soldier Center Grants Non-exclusive Commercial Patent License to Down East Innovation for Issue Modular Handgun System Holster

Monday, January 8th, 2024

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center, Natick, Mass., has granted a non-exclusive commercial patent license to Down East Innovation, based in Bridgton, Maine, for the manufacture of ambidextrous holsters that can accommodate the Army’s new M17/M18 modular handgun systems.

The handgun systems, fielded and adopted across the U.S. military in the last five years, require holsters that can do more than carry the firearms. The Holster must accommodate an attached aiming light, and red dot, integrate safety features to prevent unauthorized or accidental removal of the firearm from the holster, permit left or right side placement, enable faster draw capability, and allow for a tight enough fit for stability.

DEVCOM Soldier Center, with its mission of providing the Army with innovative science and technology solutions to optimize the performance of soldiers, was the ideal laboratory to address the warfighters’ requests and develop the design for this small, but crucial, piece of equipment.

John Kirk, the DEVCOM Soldier Center lead engineer for the holster, headed the development team tasked with researching and testing materials and design modifications. The result was an injection molded holster that would not be negatively affected by sand and ice, and attach to a belt or standard MOLLE webbing on either the left or right side of the body. The holster could also be incrementally adjusted for a desired angle by the user.

With several designs in hand, Kirk and team began working with Down East Innovation to manufacture and test holster prototypes. Down East Innovation is a manufacturer of injection molded tactical gear, primarily in the field of load carriage. The company typically manufacturers products of its own design, but has also built tooling, prototypes, and parts to government specifications.

The DEVCOM Soldier Center Technology Transfer Office, led by Technology Transfer Manager Sheri Mennillo, engaged with Kirk early in the research and development process to facilitate the filing of a patent application for the innovative holster design. Down East Innovation expressed interest in a license to the patent application for commercial purposes, so that the dual-use technology could be sold within the commercial marketplace. As the Department of Defense is currently in the process of fielding the M17/M18 modular handgun systems, this may result in commercial interest in a compatible holster from law enforcement organizations and foreign militaries.

“The technology transfer partnership between DEVCOM Soldier Center and Down East Innovation is a great example of how the Army meets warfighter and national security needs, while at the same time contributing to American economic development,” Mennillo said. “When businesses license government technologies, all sectors of the economy benefit, from the military to the industrial base to individual households.”

Justin Kiger, Research and Development Manager at Down East Innovation, added “Down East Innovation has developed and produced packframes, packs and other equipment for the U.S. military for over thirty years. We are looking forward to adding the M17/M18 compatible holster to our product line.”

Leading the Way to Soldier Readiness

Sunday, January 7th, 2024

AUSTIN, Texas — As the senior ranking non-commissioned officer at U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC), Command Sgt. Maj. Brian A. Hester has dedicated his career to being people-focused and people-motivated.

“People matter, and our Army has the best people,” Hester asserted.

Responsible for advising the AFC commanding general and other senior leaders on the activities, needs and support requirements of Soldiers and their families, Hester often applies his informed experiences and personal insights to his work for the command.

“My responsibility is to take my experiences as a Soldier over the last 33 years and make sure we’re looking through that lens as we’re trying to modernize and transform the Army,” he said.

His day-to-day tasks include assessing how to best solidify systems, processes, interactions and relationships inside and outside of the organization – efforts that benefit from his disposition as a “people person.”

Hester is also an integral member of a broader AFC team that is continuously evaluating whether new equipment and approaches will “make Soldiers more lethal and more protected on the battlefield” from “both a deterrence perspective and a combat operations perspective.”

“Our responsibility is to transform the Army so that we have future war-winning readiness.” Hester said.

He highlighted how AFC activities help ensure that the Army has “the right equipment, the right training, the right organizations to be able to maintain that land force dominance” and that new materiel and methods are “effective, safe, reliable, efficient and hardened against the threat.”

“I know that the Army of the future is going to continue to be the best Army in the world. It’s going to continue to be able to take care of its people, be absolutely proficient at warfighting. It’s going to be ready when the nation needs it.”

Hester’s skill in analyzing and influencing Soldier-centric planning efforts stems not only from his own career as a Soldier, but also from a deep appreciation for the value of teamwork and hard work.

“People often talk about luck. I think that luck is the intersection of preparation and seizing opportunity,” Hester said.

When he decided to enlist in the Army in 1990, shortly after graduating high school, he began a journey that embodied that mantra.

“I grew up in a little town, Mt. Sterling, Illinois, on the Midwest side of the state, in the farm belt,” Hester said.

His community of 1,500 people offered limited opportunities beyond farming and construction, and he was eager to find a way to continue fueling his passion for teamwork, which he discovered while playing high school football, basketball and baseball.

“I wanted to be able to continue to be part of a team, which is one of the things I learned as an athlete, and also do something that I thought was meaningful for me and my family and my country,” Hester explained.

He opted to join the infantry specifically because he was inspired by the unique opportunities it offered, like learning how to jump out of an airplane.

“The infantry platoon is really like an athletic team, and if each person plays their position well, then the whole team is successful,” Hester said.

Once in the Army, Hester enjoyed the camaraderie and taking on leadership roles. He remembers thinking to himself, “wow, this is something I could do for 20 years.”

“It just kept getting better,” he said. “It kept being more meaningful to me, and it provided a good opportunity for my family.”

To date, Hester’s Army career has taken him to domestic assignments in Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas, as well as international posts in Afghanistan Iraq, Kosovo and South Korea.

His service has additionally afforded him time and support to obtain a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and complete several military education courses, including Ranger School and the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy.

More than three decades later, Hester still enjoys “being around Soldiers, having something really meaningful to do each and every day.”

“That has given me a lot of personal purpose and personal satisfaction,” he said.

The chance to solve complex problems and inspire others is also a great motivator.

“I don’t think that there’s anything better than the opportunity to figure out how to inspire other people around you to get after a common challenge, a common goal, and I think that’s one of the things the Army does best.”

Hester’s service has enabled his wife of 28 years and their two sons to live in locations around the country, making multiple friendships, encountering new experiences and building resilience along the way.

“For my family, it’s been a good thing,” Hester said of Army life.

His son decided to pursue military service as well, joining the generations of his family – including Hester’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather – who served before him.

“I am super proud of my family heritage, and super proud of my son for serving also,” Hester said.

Hester encourages individuals who may just be starting out in their careers to consider “serving something larger than yourself – as a service member or as a teacher or as a doctor or as a youth coach or a pastor – or finding a way to give back to your community in a meaningful way.”

He sees the Army as an ideal path for many, given the multitude of opportunities, career pathways and experiences it offers.

“I think it’s a great way to start as a young person; even if you’re 30 years old, I consider that to be a young person,” Hester said. “I think that there’s also those folks out there that are looking for a change in their life; the Army’s a great place to make a change, to find something new.”

“If you come into the Army with the thought that ‘I’m going to make this opportunity for me the best that I can make it,’ I am 100% sure that your time serving in the Army will be meaningful to you and your family.”

“If you don’t know if the Army is the right place for you, you should talk to a recruiter,” he added.

“I’d almost guarantee you that there’s going to be a fantastic opportunity, should you choose to join the Army and be part of our team.”

By Maureena Thompson, Army Futures Command

U.S. Soldier Conquers French Desert Commando Course

Saturday, January 6th, 2024

For nearly 50 years, French soldiers stationed in Djibouti have made their way to Arta Mountains for the French Desert Commando course, a grueling five-day course designed to test soldiers’ physical, emotional and mental limits. This year 40 U.S. service members signed up for the challenge, among them was U.S. Army Sgt. Liliana Munday.

Growing up, Munday, a Soldier with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Carolina National Guard, gravitated toward physical activities that kept her outdoors as often as possible. She was immediately interested in the French Desert Commando Course but hearing about the physical demands of the course brought on feelings of doubt.

“I didn’t think I was ready for it,” she said. “But Staff Sgt. (Samuel) Perez kept pushing me to try out because he saw that I wanted to do it and he had faith in me that I could do it.”

The FDCC has two phases, the pre-assessment and commando phase. The first phase ensured service members met the basic physical requirements and evolved into a preparation program over several weeks. During this period service members consistently trained to earn a spot in the commando phase. The second phase took them out to the field where they faced numerous courses including a night obstacle course, a ropes course and a swimming course incorporated with various combative and desert survival skills.

With the paperwork submitted the next step was to prepare. Her training regimen began in September and included rucks and runs around the installation before dawn, weight lifting, and dynamic, high-intensity exercises nearly every day. At the peak of her training, she fit in three workouts each day while balancing her regular work schedule.

After three months of training Munday remembers the nerves she felt on the drive out to Arta Mountains where her hard work was put to the test immediately.

“I almost had an aneurysm, I was so scared,” she said. “On the way out there I kept thinking, ‘Am I ready? Am I gonna do this? These guys are gonna smoke me, I’m just gonna be out here stranded and be sent home on day one’.”

Day one consisted of a five kilometer ruck-run with a full kit, followed by a PT test and rope climbs.

“I was nervous because rope climbs are very hard for me and in training, I could only do one,” she recalled.

Her training partner, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Samuel Perez, was there to support and encourage her, watching as she steadily made her way to the top.

“I could see she was nervous because we saw the other competitors struggling with this climb,” Perez said. “I was there telling her she could do it; I knew she could. She got up there and when she came back down she had a big smile beaming from her face she was so excited and she ran over and gave me a big hug.”

With the first big hurdle behind her, Munday moved forward in the course with a newfound confidence.

“For some reason, after completing that first day I was good. I started to feel like I could do this thing and I proved to my squad that I was here to work and I deserved to be here,” she said.

Each day and night Munday and her squad faced a new obstacle, the most difficult for her she says was the mountain obstacle course.

Positioned 200 meters above the ground, participants were required to jump across five platforms spaced several meters apart, jump and grab on to a steel pole and slide down to the ground.

“When you’re doing that mountain obstacle course you don’t realize how far each platform is from one another and there are points when you’re not clipped in,” she explained. “I thought, if I missed even a little bit, I’m going down.”

On day three, after pushing herself through numerous challenges and rucking non-stop from one training location to another, she thought she had reached her breaking point and seriously considered quitting.

“Your joints just start to scream. It’s painful,” she confessed. “I kept thinking I cannot take this pain anymore. I’m almost done but I cannot do it anymore.”

Through the dirt, mud, sweat and pain, it was Munday’s spirit and drive within her that helped her push through. That spirit and drive, she said, comes from two of the strongest people she knows.

“My mom and my grandma—they’re such strong women and they never let me quit when I was younger. They have strong personalities and it’s within me,” she said. “It was very nice to tell them that I did this. They were like, ‘No way, that’s awesome!’ and when I told them I was the only female they said, ‘You’re kicking ass!’.”

At the end of it all, the feeling of accomplishment came when she received the French Desert Commando pin at graduation. Black and gold in color, the pin prominently features a scorpion resting on the outline of the country of Djibouti. Along the rim are the words “Aguerrissement Zone Desertique” which translates to “Desert Zone Hardening”.

“I’m now able to look back and say, I did that. We did that,” she said with a smile. “Completing something and not giving up even though you may want to … it sticks with you forever. I use this as fuel to my fire when I feel like I can’t do something. I think to myself, ‘You can, because you have already’.”

Beyond the support she received from her family and teammates, Munday’s success is a testament to the old adage ‘preparation is the key to success.’ It’s a message she’s taken to heart and shared with her fellow soldiers since completing the course.

“Someone I work with said he wanted to do the FDCC but he didn’t think he was ready,” she said. “I said, ‘Sir, you’re never going to be ready.’ I didn’t think I was ready. But I got ready. So if you truly think or know that you want to do something no matter the current status that you’re in, if you want to pursue it you’re just gonna have to train and do what it takes to get to that point. There is no other way.”

By MSG Jerilyn Quintanilla

Soldiers Conduct First Touch Point for Long Range Assault Aircraft

Friday, January 5th, 2024

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Program Executive Office, Aviation conducted a Future Long Range Assault Aircraft Soldier touch point the last week of November at the Bell Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas.

Led by the FLRAA Project Office, the touch point was the first of up to twelve events the Army plans to conduct to optimize both human and system performance while ensuring mission ready capabilities are delivered to the warfighter. Soldier touch points involve gathering data and feedback early in the design and development process to shape future prototypes and fielded capabilities. The events are part of an iterative process to identify, refine and verify system hardware and software designs and functional capability requirements.

“Soldier touch points are key to FLRAA’s program strategy. In the past, this has included Army pilots flying both demonstrator aircraft,” said Col. Jeffrey Poquette, FLRAA project manager. “Today, the focus is on crewmembers and combat Soldiers who are representative of the FLRAA’s passengers. These interactive events provide our team with crucial feedback to build transformational capabilities for FLRAA.”

An infantry squad and two Black Hawk crews from the 1st Cavalry Division supported the event. During the STP they practiced embarking and disembarking from a FLRAA fuselage mockup in a variety of simulations and scenarios. The squad began their practice sessions without any equipment and added tactical and squad level equipment as the STP progressed.

“The STP was incredibly valuable and is paramount to the successful development of the FLRAA,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tylor Enright, an aviator with 1st Cav. “It’s great that they are willing to hear about what Soldiers and crewmembers actually need for future missions in these aircraft to be successful.”

As the infantry squad members completed their exercises, the aircraft crew members practiced entering and exiting the mockup cockpit and stowing equipment, as required, in a series of tests that added more equipment and tasks for each iteration.

Representatives supporting the STP included the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, the Redstone Test Center and Special Operations Command.

“These Soldier touch points are a criticality important way to ensure we get the requirements right and inform design decisions early,” Maj. Jeremiah Webb, FVL CFT Future Long Range Assault Aircraft lead.

The data gathered from the STP will directly inform FLRAA preliminary design as well as the development and delivery of virtual prototypes of the aircraft.

A tiltrotor aircraft, FLRAA will have the hybrid capabilities of planes and helicopters. When fielded, it will expand the depth of the battlefield by extending the reach of air assault missions and enable ground forces to converge through decentralized operations at extended distances. FLRAA’s inherent reach and standoff capabilities will ensure mission success through tactical maneuver at operational and strategic distances while the aircraft’s speed and range will nearly double the Army’s patient evacuation capability during the “Golden Hour.”

The FLRAA is intended to eventually replace part of the U.S. Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk fleet, which has been in service for more than four decades.

-US Army

Rainey: C2, Defensive Measures Key to Next-Generation Warfighting

Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024

ARLINGTON, Va. — On Dec. 13, Army Futures Command Commanding General Gen. James E. Rainey spoke to Army stakeholders, supporters and media about Army transformation activities as part of an Association of the United States Army featured speaker coffee series in Arlington.

Reflecting on how modernization efforts have evolved in the five years since AFC’s founding, Rainey shared that the command’s scope has grown to encompass “overall responsibility for the entire transformation portfolio.”

“I remain convinced that it was a bold move and it was the right move for the Army to stand up Army Futures Command,” Rainey said.

He emphasized that the command works hand-in-hand with Army Training and Doctrine Command, Army Materiel Command, Army Forces Command and the Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology to create, evaluate and develop new concepts, systems and equipment for the Army and Joint Force, with essential support from Congress.

In looking ahead to priorities for 2024 and beyond, Rainey highlighted the need to continue investing strategically in command and control and defensive measures, given their weighty importance in shaping tomorrow’s warfighting landscape.

“We’ve got to keep getting better, get lighter,” Rainey said of current network capabilities.

AFC is also looking at ways to make data more available and user-friendly as part of next-generation C2 efforts, and Rainey acknowledged that the future force will require commanders, Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians alike to be data literate or data fluent.

“We have the potential to reinvent and really develop a data-centric command and control system,” he said, stressing the need for a more “complex, adaptive, systems-to-systems approach to warfare.”

“I believe that if we move to a truly data-centric approach to fighting, it’ll revolutionize most of warfare, primarily deterrent value. Somebody being willing to attack into the face of a lethal, data-driven capability, it would be pretty foolish.”

According to Rainey, future deterrence and defense measures will include advanced air and missile defense technologies and integrated offensive and defensive fires, along with measures that improve adaptability and endurance of formations.

“We’ve got to preserve our people and our ability to do maneuver warfare,” he said.

Rainey underscored the criticality of maintaining and strengthening Soldier lethality, in part by leveraging human machine integrated formations, or HMIF, to optimize battlefield outcomes.

“Our best weapon system we have is still the Soldier; best formation we have is still the rifle squad.”

Protecting Soldiers in combat and further enabling them to do what only humans can do will require smart investments in transformational machine capabilities, particularly those that capitalize on mobility and can increase lethality and survivability, Rainey explained.

“Autonomous and robotic systems are going to disrupt the land domain, starting now,” Rainey said, detailing how technology available today can help mitigate risks to Soldiers by placing robots in traditionally higher risk positions.

“We have the ability and I think the moral responsibility to not trade blood for first contact with the enemy,” he asserted.

Rainey shared that the Army has already started to prototype an HMIF light infantry platoon at Fort Moore, Georgia, as well as a heavy infantry version at the National Training Center, California. The formations will incorporate robots and configurable payloads designed to augment human capabilities in modern but realistic ways.

“If you take robots and try and replace humans or combat vehicles, you’re on a vision quest, and it’s going to take a long time. If you take humans and robots and put them together in a coherent formation, you start solving all the problems in both directions,” Rainey said.

With continuous transformation as a chief Army priority, AFC has increased its experimentation and analytic efforts by approximately 20 percent in 2023, Rainey reported. Upcoming experiments include the joint, multinational Project Convergence Capstone 4, which will take place at Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin, California, in early spring 2024.

The command is also developing the Army’s next warfighting concept that will inform future planning actions and address institutional challenges. The draft concept has drawn insights from future study initiatives and current conflicts like those taking place in Ukraine and Gaza. This includes honing the Army’s ability to “look at things that are happening in the world and move into a rapid acquisition of capability,” Rainey said.

In addition, AFC is conducting a tactical fires study and recently reached full operational capability of its Contested Logistics Cross-Functional Team, which is focused on predictive logistics, alternative power, demand reduction and autonomous and robotic resupply.

The command continues to support enduring priorities as well, such as the Army’ signature modernization efforts, which fall under the categories of long-range precision fires, next generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, network, air and missile defense, and Soldier lethality.

During the coffee series conversation, Rainey spoke to audience members, including industry representatives, about the importance of supporting support rapid acquisition – “the need to transform, be agile, be adaptive inside the next two years” — as part of the Army’s overall transformation effort, noting that technologies such as loitering munitions and company-level unmanned aircraft systems could provide pivotal effects. He explained that the Army is working to incorporate such capabilities within a doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy framework, to ensure appropriate training, sustainment and leader development. At the same time, the Army is also eyeing frameworks for 2025-2030 and leap-ahead capabilities for 2030-2040.

“That’s the real opportunity, where things are fundamentally going to change,” Rainey said of the latter.

By Maureena Thompson, Army Futures Command

Army Stands Up Special Trial Counsel with Independent Authority for 13 UCMJ Offenses

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

WASHINGTON — The Congressionally mandated Office of Special Trial Counsel officially stands up today with independent prosecution and referral authority for 13 UCMJ offenses known as “covered offenses.”

“Today marks a historic day for the Army as the Office of Special Trial Counsel begins exercising its independent decision-making and prosecution authority for sexual assault, domestic violence and other serious offenses,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. “The Office of Special Trial Counsel will execute its mission to seek justice in the best interests of the Army community and build trust in the military justice system by employing a worldwide team of highly skilled and specially trained attorneys and legal professionals.”

Col. Rob Rodrigues, acting lead special trial counsel, will bring 22 years of courtroom experience, serving as a prosecutor, defense counsel and supervisor of military justice practitioners.

“The creation of our office has been years in the making and was born out of the recognition that the Army needs to improve the way it processes and prosecutes serious crimes,” he said. “We have taken the lessons learned of the past 20 years and built an organization at the direction of Congress designed to improve decision-making and the handling of cases at every phase of the military justice process.”

The Office of Special Trial Counsel is headquartered on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and operates 28 field offices across the Army.

Beginning today, the office will become responsible for making independent decisions about serious offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence and murder. This includes the authority to send a case to a court martial. This authority was traditionally held by commanders.

“This change will ensure that each case is evaluated by an independent and objective legal expert,” he said. “If we determine a case should go to trial, the attorneys who work in our office, known as Special Trial Counsel, will be responsible for prosecuting the case.”

Maj. Amanda P. Beckham is a Special Trial Counsel attorney at the Fort Jackson field office.

“This independence means that the attorneys, much like in a civilian district attorney office, are deciding which cases go forward to trial based upon the case’s evidence,” she said.

Rodrigues said the most important feature of this initiative is the exercise of independent decision-making regarding the disposition and prosecution of cases by the OSTC.

“Our office has been empowered to independently evaluate and prosecute cases based on the facts and evidence, free from outside influence,” he said. “Our goal is to seek justice in every case. We will evaluate cases based on the evidence and apply an expert legal review to determine which cases should go forward to trial. We will ensure this process is fair for all involved in the military justice process.”

The Secretary of the Army said it will be a collaborative approach among the commanders and the special trial counsel.

“While the Office of Special Trial Counsel assumes some of the authority previously held by commanders with regards to the disposition of allegations, commanders still retain the overall responsibility for the well-being of Soldiers and mitigating the impact of these incidents within their units,” she said.

Rodrigues said the OSTC has two main goals. The first is to seek justice in every case.

“We will evaluate each case on the merits and apply a rigorous review to determine which cases should go forward to trial,” he said. “We will make disposition decisions in light of the evidence, the interests of the Army, which includes the alleged victim, all while respecting the due process rights of Soldiers accused of misconduct.”

His team’s second goal is to restore and promote trust for the military justice system.

“We will accomplish this by employing a team of highly trained and qualified expert prosecutors, paralegals and support personnel who are the best at what they do in the Army,” he said. “We will treat victims with respect and care. Throughout every phase of the case, we will communicate with victims and ensure they are informed and have the opportunity to provide input into our decisions. We will hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and ensure the rights of accused Solders are always respected.”

Beckham said the Special Trial Counsel will provide victims with honest, clear communications.

“A victim may be more willing to come forward if he or she knows that the Special Trial Counsel may exercise authority over potential misconduct,” she said. “One of our goals is to have a personal meeting with each victim to inform them of case progress or case disposition.”

“I want victims to know that our office is fully committed to seeking justice and earning back trust in the system,” Rodrigues said. “If you report a crime, it will be thoroughly investigated, and our office will make the best decision we can based on the evidence. You will have the opportunity to provide input about your case directly to our prosecutors. You will be treated fairly and with compassion throughout the entire process, regardless of the final outcome of your case.”

Rodrigues said his office is the largest, best trained, most experienced group of prosecutors the Army has assembled into one organization in the 22 years he has served.

“Each Special Trial Counsel prosecutor has been hand-selected and certified to serve in our office,” he said. “Supporting them are our NCO paralegals and Special Victim liaisons, who will provide compassionate support to victim throughout each case. I’m in awe of the talent we have in this organization that truly represents the best of Army legal professionals.”

By Shannon Collins