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May 26th, 2020Talent Management Key to Filling Future Specialized Multi Domain Operations Units for Army
May 26th, 2020
POINT MUGU, Calif. — The Army is hunting for top talent to fill the ranks of specialized units for multi-domain operations, following the first one standing up last year in Washington state.
In 2019, a mixture of the Army’s space, cyber, and electronic warfare capabilities was activated as a cohesive unit called the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare, and Space Battalion — or simply I2CEWS.
The battalion has become “the centerpiece of the Multi-Domain Task Force,” Gen. John M. Murray, commander of U.S. Army Futures Command, said Tuesday during the Association of Old Crows virtual EMS Summit.
Located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the battalion combines non-lethal Army capabilities with kinetic capabilities, such as missile defense. The I2CEWS operates in support of U.S. Army Pacific, and AFC has “plans to stand up more as we begin to experiment with this formation,” Murray said.
The Multi-Domain Task Force is a model of how the Army envisions joint-warfighting on future battlefields against near-peer competitors, like Russia and China. Before the Army activates additional formations, though, Murray said it will first need the right talent to fill the ranks.
“The No. 1 thing is finding talent, and I’m convinced we have some of that talent already in our ranks,” Murray said. “And we’re going to have to go into our recruiting pools to find some of that talent. The Army is already beginning to explore innovative ways in talent management.”
Some innovative talent management programs include the Assignment Interactive Module 2.0, or AIM 2.0. The information system is a way for officers to build detailed resumes and take part in a market-style hiring system for their next assignments as organizations post specific positions they are looking to fill.
Talent management will also be part of the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, or IPPS-A, a web-based human resources system already adopted by the National Guard, that will soon integrate the Army’s personnel, pay and talent management functions into one secure web-based application.
Much like how traditional battlefields will change under the information age, the Army will also recruit talent differently. For example, Murray explained, “Thirty-eight years ago, when I was offered a four-year Army ROTC scholarship, they couldn’t care less what I majored in.
“So, I picked the easiest major I could find,” he admitted. But today “we’re offering [cadets] a six-year scholarship to come out with a degree the Army needs, and if they can’t meet our requirements, then they’re not going to join the Army.”
The Army has taken other steps to attract and keep cyber talent, such as hosting cyber hackathons, boosting pay and incentives, and direct commissioning.
But “the most attractive way to retain our cyber warriors is the thrill of the mission. To be honest, [cyber warriors] are doing things they could not do outside the Army without spending time in jail,” Murray said, regarding cyber warfare missions.
Cyber warriors direct and conduct integrated electronic warfare, information, and cyberspace actions. They are responsible for the aggressive defense of Army networks, data infrastructure, and cyber weapons systems.
For Murray, who is responsible for leading a team of more than 24,000 Soldiers and civilians in the Army’s modernization enterprise, helping shape the Army’s future force is personal.
The four-star talked about his eight grandchildren, especially one granddaughter who, he believes, will one day be “an infantry commander wearing airborne and Ranger tabs.” It’s her generation he’s working for, he said, not “old Soldiers like me.”
Murray wasn’t the only one with that mindset.
“I use some of the same equipment my father used, and my nephews are now flying some of the same equipment that I flew,” said Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space, and rapid acquisition.
“We need our grandchildren to fly new and modernized equipment as we continue to go forward,” Thurgood added. “So to those of us that have aged a little bit in the process of our careers, it is personal, because we spent that time with our Soldiers, and we spent that time with our families.”
In the end, that’s really what AFC and “the whole team, to include our acquisition partners, brings to our Army, delivering solutions that our Soldiers need when they need it,” Murray said.
“This is about our kids and our grandkids that will defend this great nation going into the future,” he added. “That’s really what personalizes this mission for me, and that’s a heavy rucksack to carry.”
By Thomas Brading, Army News Service
You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up
May 26th, 2020
Longtime reader JK was recently instructing the TCCC portion of an advanced skills course at MJCTC at Camp Blanding. He took this photo at the memorial and it’s a great tribute to those who’ve gone before. Thanks!
SOFWERX – Suicide Prevention Event
May 25th, 2020
In what may be their most important project yet, SOFWERX is hosting a virtual Suicide Prevention Assessment Event on 14-15 July. They’re soliciting your help in keeping SOF Operators safe and healthy by using your tools, techniques, processes, or concepts to detect suicidal behavior from our Nation’s heroes.
Submit your solutions, by 10 June, at events.sofwerx.org/prevention.
Frogman Down – Memorial Toast to Fallen Frogmen
May 25th, 2020Yesterday, Navy SEALs Fund – Brotherhood Beyond Battlefield presented Frogman Down, an extension of program support provided by Navy SEALs Fund to all generations of UDT/SEALs. Strengthening the bonds between Brothers builds strong families and strong communities.
This National Toast to Remember their Brothers who we have lost is held every Memorial Day weekend at select locations across the United States and via live broadcast on the internet.
This year’s co-hosting partners are:
MATBOCK Monday: LIFT System
May 25th, 2020As we wrap up Medical March we will be showcasing our full line of ultra lightweight, durable and multifunctional litters. All of our litters can be used in conjunction with our ultra lightweight Carbon Combat Poles. The Carbon Combat Poles weigh in at 1.3 pounds per pole and have a max carrying capacity of 400 pounds! The poles when fully extended are 7′ 6 3/4″ and can be easily collapsed into 5 – 1′ 9 1/4″ sections that can be packed into any pack.
www.matbock.com/collections/medical/products/combat-carbon-poles
At 6.5 feet long, the stretcher is long enough to accommodate all operators and has a maximum carrying capacity of 400 lbs for both the operator and his/her gear. The stretcher has 5 handles per side to give each team a multitude of configurations for carrying a downed man. Additionally, the litter collapses and zips together to form a multipurpose, lightweight, Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE) bag. The bag is augmented with a single adjustable strap for easy carry when loaded, a drawstring to secure the bag contents and is small enough to fold up and be stored in a cargo pocket. The S-LIFT is compatible with the Combat Carbon Poles.
www.matbock.com/collections/medical/products/s-lift
Made from Ultra High-Density Polyethylene, it will not absorb water, biological or chemical hazards and can handle decontamination in all standard chemicals without degradation in strength or abrasion resistance. Additionally, the stretcher is constructed with Kevlar stitching to ensure even the stitching won’t absorb those hazards. The J-LIFT is compatible with the Combat Carbon Poles.
www.matbock.com/collections/medical/products/j-lift-gen-2
The R-LIFT is a fully rigid litter that deploys in seconds, weighs only 6 lbs on its own and only 6.5 lbs with the carrying pack. It boasts a maximum load carrying capacity of 400 lbs. The litter is constructed from Ultra High-Density Polyethylene and Kevlar stitching, offering extremely high abrasion resistance and strength, inability to absorb blood, pathogens, chemical or biological hazards, and still decrease weight and size. Additionally, The R-LIFT comes with a built-in inflatable air bladder designed to support the head and align the spine. The R-LIFT comes with a replaceable integrated emergency blanket that can be deployed quickly to prevent hypothermia. The R-LIFT is compatible with the Combat Carbon Poles.
Entire LIFT System can be found here: www.matbock.com/collections/medical/LIFT-System
Register for their Weekly Webinar: zoom.us
A Solemn and Introsprective Memorial Day to You
May 25th, 2020Memorial Day traces its roots to the post Civil War period. Originally known as Decoration Day, Veterans chose 30 May because it was not the anniversary of any battle.
Over time the holiday transformed to the last Monday in May and changed names, but it wasn’t recognized as an official national holiday until 1967. While the implementation of the holiday has changed somewhat as well, its intent has not; it’s about the fallen.
Please remember, earlier generations sacrificed in other ways, and those members of your family who didn’t fight the Axis on the battlefield probably served in their own fashion.
And as we’ve leaned, some wounds take years to kill you. So take some time today and consider what you and yours have done for America. This is a solemn occasion, I just don’t feel that “Happy Memorial Day” is a proper term.
Army Research Shows Connection Between Stress, Stomach Ulcers
May 25th, 2020
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — New U.S. Army-funded research demonstrates a connection between stress and stomach ulcers.
The research, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute and funded by the Army Research Office traced neural pathways that connect the brain to the stomach, providing a biological mechanism that explains the connection.
ARO is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory.
“The bidirectional connections between brain and gut are important conduits for communication within the mind-body axis,” said Dr. Frederick Gregory, ARO program manager. “The biological mechanisms into how stress might influence cognitive performance plays a central role in future strategies to mitigate Soldier stress through diet or other new gut-centric interventions. Not only is this important for combat missions but for the overall health and well-being of the entire Army.”
The findings, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, build a scientific basis for the brain’s influence over organ function and emphasize the importance of the brain-body connection.
Until now, research exploring the gut-brain interaction has largely focused on the influence of the gut and its microbiome on the brain and neurological disorders. But it’s not a one-way street – the brain also influences stomach function.
“Pavlov demonstrated many years ago that the central nervous system uses environmental signals and past experience to generate anticipatory responses that promote efficient digestion,” said Peter Strick, Ph.D., Brain Institute scientific director and chair of neurobiology at Pitt. “And we have long known that every increase in unemployment and its associated stress is accompanied by an increase in death rates from stomach ulcers.”
To find brain regions that control the gut, Strick and his coauthor David Levinthal, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Pitt, used a strain of rabies virus to track connections from the brain to the stomach.
After being injected into the stomach of a rat, the viral tracer made its way back to the brain by hopping from neuron to neuron – using the same trick that rabies virus uses to infiltrate the brain after entering the body through a bite or scratch – to reveal the brain areas that exert control over the stomach.
The researchers found that the parasympathetic – rest and digest – nervous system pathways trace back from the stomach mostly to a brain region known as the rostral insula, which is responsible for visceral sensation and emotion regulation.
“The stomach sends sensory information to the cortex, which sends instructions back to the gut,” Strick said. “That means our ‘gut feelings’ are constructed not only from signals derived from the stomach, but also from all the other influences on the rostral insula, such as past experiences and contextual knowledge.”
In contrast, the sympathetic – fight or flight – pathways of the central nervous system, which kick in when we’re stressed, predominantly trace back from the stomach to the primary motor cortex, which is the seat of voluntary control over the skeletal muscles that move the body around.
Identifying these neural pathways that connect the brain and stomach could provide new insights into common gut disorders.
For example, Helicobacter pylori infection typically triggers ulcer formation, but descending signals from the cerebral cortex could influence the bacteria’s growth by adjusting gastric secretions to make the stomach more or less hospitable to invaders.
These insights could also change clinical gastroenterology practice. Knowing that the brain exerts physical control over the gut gives doctors a new way to approach bowel problems.
“Several common gut disorders, such as dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome, might not get better with current treatments,” said Levinthal, who is also a gastroenterologist at UPMC. “Our results provide cortical targets that will be critical for developing new brain-based therapies that might be helpful for our patients.”
Gregory said that this is particularly relevant to combat casualty care where there are often bowel problems such as traveler’s diarrhea that can affect the overall health and performance of the military.
In addition to the U.S. Army, the National Institutes of Health and the DSF Charitable Foundation supported this work.
By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs
