Jump to content

US Army selects Austin as home of new Futures Command


Smax

Recommended Posts

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/report-army-selects-austin-as-home-of-new-futures-command-1.537441

 

Quote

 

AUSTIN, Texas – The Army has selected the capital of Texas as the site for its new Futures Command headquarters to focus on how to modernize the service and prepare for future wars, according to news reports.

The Army’s decision to choose Austin was first reported Thursday afternoon by Bloomberg News. The official announcement from the Army is scheduled for Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Austin was selected because it has a favorable business, academic and technology climate that will mesh well with the Army's needs, said the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the selection before it was made public.

"We're looking at the best of what America has to offer when it comes to technology and industry and education," Army Col. Patrick Seiber, spokesman for the Army Futures Command Task Force, said last month. "That means we need to get to where these folks are."

 

The command headquarters is expected to have a staff of about 500 people, led by a four-star general. The Futures Command, announced in October, is part of the most significant Army reorganization effort since 1973, according to the service. It is expected to help the Army modernize equipment at a faster pace. That process will need private-sector innovation, cutting-edge science and technology, prototyping and demonstrations, and warfighter testing and feedback, according to the Army.

Aside from Austin, other finalists were Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Raleigh, N.C.

Phil Wilson, chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, met with the Army to showcase Austin.

“The Austin mega-region can be a suitable home well outside the D.C. beltway for our Army’s new fourth command,” he wrote in an email during the selection. “Our quality of life and cost of living for families is also very attractive, including for the 140,000 veterans who live in the Austin region.”

Wilson also boasted the city is home to 36 companies specifically designed to assist start-ups, 450,000 college students, 24,000 reservists, proximity to Camp Mabry, Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, medical research and development operations at Brooke Army Medical Center and Joint Base San Antonio.

For nearly 17 years, the U.S. military has been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is also strained by escalating cybersecurity threats, the rising powers of China and Russia, challenges in North Korea and Iran, and insurgencies in Yemen, Somalia and Syria. Stretched around the world, the military has struggled to keep pace with evolving technologies while still meeting the immediate combat, equipment and staffing needs for the current global fights.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has made it clear that military readiness and lethality are key priorities for the department and the services must be prepared for an ever-changing enemy.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Any word on where this will be located? Is Camp Mabry viable for 500 new military staff members or will this be a new building (obviously very secure)?

Officially up for bid, but the Request for Proposals seemed unusually one-sided:

Quote

Hey we just formed

And this is crazy

But here's our numbers

Call me Camp Mabry

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fuck it, ban user.  Right there in the article.

Quote

Among its initial objectives, Futures Command will be responsible for replacing its dated, Cold War-era “Big Five” weapons platforms -- the M1 Abrams tank, M2 Bradley fighting vehicle, UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the Patriot missile air defense system, Esper said.

It will also work to find new forms of technology that Army officials believe will be needed in future wars fought in multiple domains including space and cyberspace, the Army’s top civilian said. Those platforms include hypersonic weapons that travel at speeds of Mach 5 and faster, directed energy weapons such as lasers and other focused energy beams, as well as artificial intelligence and robots.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aggy had nothing whatsoever to do with the decision to locate this facility in Austin yet still felt compelled to issue this press release.

News release from the Texas A&M system:

The Texas A&M University System will join a consortium of higher education institutions and state agencies that will offer expertise, research and innovations in support of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) in Austin, the U.S. Army announced Friday from the Pentagon.

During a press conference, Army officials said the effort leverages higher education offerings in Texas with private sector innovation, cutting-edge science and technology, prototyping and demonstrations and warfighter testing and feedback.

“The Texas A&M System is ready to support Army Futures Command,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said. “This is a great day for the state of Texas. Government and academic leaders came together to offer an unbeatable combination of talent and resources.”

Chancellor Sharp added that The Texas A&M System campuses in the region – including College Station, RELLIS, San Antonio and Central Texas – as well as the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service will bolster the core mission of the Army Futures Command. The A&M contribution will give American soldiers a technological advantage to bolster national security.

“We are honored to support the U.S. Army in this exciting next chapter,” said Michael K. Young, President of Texas A&M University. “With more than 15,000 graduates per year – nearly half of whom are in STEM fields – and nearly $1 billion per year in research, as well as more than 1,000 current veteran students, Texas A&M University is well equipped to deliver on expertise and innovation for future success.”

The U.S. Army Futures Command — which was announced in October 2017 and informally referred to as “modernization command” — has eight cross-functional teams working toward reducing prototype development, demonstration and testing, and the evaluation process from 60 months down to approximately 12.

“The state has a wealth of capabilities to bear between its military resources and broad academic and research base,” said Steve Cambone, Director, Texas A&M System Institute for National-Security and Cyber-Security Education and Research. “We have the breadth of resources and testing and evaluation facilities within the Texas A&M System to help the Army ‘fail early and succeed quickly’ in support of the Army’s mission to modernize.”

Among the areas the Army is aiming to modernize include development of improved long-range precision fires, a next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift platforms, a mobile and expeditionary Army network, air and missile defense capabilities and soldier lethality.

The Texas A&M University System’s offerings include producing graduates with bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees in high-need fields including biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials and materials engineering.

The establishment of the command marks the most significant reorganization of the institutional Army since 1973, according to Army officials. It is being headquartered in Austin to best partner with academia, industry and innovators in the private sector, while providing a good and affordable quality of life for command personnel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GD aggy sux.

WeWork might make an interest partner on this.  They claimed their mission statement can't allow them to directly house military operations that serve to hurt people.


Is this the same group that just announced that no meat will be allowed at any facilities or events? They seem like they suck too.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...