{"id":16300,"date":"2018-01-17T18:22:47","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T18:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/17\/chief-the-army-has-to-start-preparing-for-the-big-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:48:20","slug":"chief-the-army-has-to-start-preparing-for-the-big-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2018\/01\/17\/chief-the-army-has-to-start-preparing-for-the-big-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief: The Army has to start preparing for &#8216;the big war&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is in the midst of a transition that could take up to 30 years, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday, as the force shifts from focusing on counterinsurgency to sustained ground wars against enemies that are closer in size and capability.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to meet the threat, the service is going to have to revamp its equipment, from ground vehicles and helicopters to communications systems and individual soldier gear, he told an audience at an AUSA event outside Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are in that change, literally in that fundamental change, in the character of war, right this minute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s recently launched modernization command is tasked with quickly and efficiently acquiring those pieces of the puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2017\/11\/06\/armys-modernization-command-taking-shape-under-freshly-picked-leaders\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/McCarthyPoland.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army\u2019s modernization command taking shape under freshly picked leaders<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army\u2019s new modernization command is beginning to take shape under freshly selected team leaders.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd none of that\u2019s going to matter if you\u2019re dead,\u201d Milley added, emphasizing the need to upgrade the Army\u2019s long-range missile defense systems.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond the big ticket items, he said, the Army has to prioritize preparing its No. 1 asset for war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe owe our soldiers the absolute best equipment, training, leader development that is humanly possible, that the largest and most competent economy in the world can produce,\u201d he said. \u201cThe best everything, all the way down to the boot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Extreme demands<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The so-called \u201cBig War,\u201d against powerful militaries with comparable equipment and training to the U.S., will require long stints under austere conditions, Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis environment, this future war, this operational environment that we\u2019re talking about, is going to be extremely demanding on the individual soldier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Developing exoskeletan-like body armor is one way the Army is trying to prepare soldiers for drawn-out ground wars. Another is cognitive training, Milley said, to help keep their wits about them in extreme environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then there\u2019s synthetic training, which could allow units to get the repetition they need before deployment, in a more cost-effective way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can\u2019t really, truly replicate fear in any simulation. So there\u2019s some limits to all the simulations,\u201d he said. \u201cBut having said that, for leaders, I would argue that decision-making is fundamental to what leaders do in combat.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And with the ability in virtual training to change terrain, weather and other variables, units can get more diverse preparation than spending days at a traditional training center under whichever conditions happen to be the case that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe technology exists for every leader in the Army to practice tactics and decision-making under all kinds of different conditions and environments and terrains, and you can do it all day long,\u201d Milley said. \u201cAnd you can do it again the next day and the next day and the next day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And in a perfect world, he said, every company would have their own suite, to optimize their training schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThree, three-and-a-half hours of really intense PT \u2014 to get in top physical condition,\u201d Milley suggested to start the day, followed by a meal, several repetitions in the trainer, another meal and another training session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd at the end of the day, do your Article 15s,\u201d he joked. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a good training day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2018\/01\/17\/army-chief-future-of-us-troops-in-iraq-tbd-as-isis-crumbles\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MilleyIraq.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army chief: Future of US troops in Iraq TBD as ISIS crumbles<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Army chief of staff says U.S. troops in Iraq will continue to help its security forces root out ISIS. But what comes after that for the service in the war-torn country remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Funding the future<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To illustrate the need for a budget that supports modernization, Milley told the story of retired Gen. Dick Cody, a former Army vice chief of staff, who flew an AH-64 Apache helicopter in one of the opening attacks against Saddam Hussein during Operation Desert Storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was able to do that because of years of training, and because there were people in the \u201870s who said, \u2018I want a new attack helicopter. I want to replace the [AH-1] Cobra,\u2019 \u201c Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A similar push is needed now to get decades ahead of threats, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf all you do is focus on the present, and you mortgage the future, then you\u2019re going to be in a world of hurt 10, 15 years from now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa-digital-show-dailies\/2017\/10\/09\/chief-the-army-needs-to-get-bigger\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-AUSA-Milley.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Chief: &#8216;The Army needs to get bigger&#8217;<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army must get bigger so that it can better balance today\u2019s missions with training for a future battlefield that promises to be increasingly lethal and complex, the service\u2019s top officer said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the near-term, he hinted, a decision about an appropriations bill \u2014 or another continuing resolution \u2014 is due Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the long-term, the Army needs the right number of troops to stay prepared to do both counterinsurgency and wage high-end war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo do that, what we\u2019ve said is we want 66 percent of the ground force at the highest levels of combat readiness at a moment in time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re building toward that level of readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Milley hesitated to say how many troops the Army will need, ahead of an official goal forthcoming in Defense Secretary Jim Mattis\u2019 National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re moving in the right direction, I\u2019ll put it at that,\u201d he told Army Times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army is in the midst of a transition that could take up to 30 years, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said, as the force shifts from focusing on counterinsurgency to sustained ground wars against enemies that are closer in size and capability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,14,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3356],"class_list":["post-16300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-land","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"75OVPXZITNAMBFJTQFMZJYGYFI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2018\/01\/17\/chief-the-army-has-to-start-preparing-for-the-big-war\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chief: The Army has to start preparing for &#039;the big war&#039; - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Army is in the midst of a transition that could take up to 30 years, Chief of Staff Gen. 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