Marching Forward: Reined-In Army Futures Command Moves Out Under New Leadership.

• Author: Carberry, Sean

In early 2022, the future of Army Futures Command was uncertain. Launched in 2018 at the urging of then Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the new organization was intended to be a one-stop shop for all things modernization.

The initial priority areas were: long-range precision fires; the next-generation combat vehicle; future vertical lift; network command, control, communication and intelligence; assured position, navigation and timing; air and missile defense; soldier lethality; and the synthetic training environment.

While the command drove progress on those initiatives--many are in the process of fielding in fiscal year 2023--there was plenty of friction, especially with the acquisition community that felt the new four-star command had too much power of the purse. The retirement of its commander in December 2021 and the search for a new leader created an opportunity to reassess.

This spring, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth issued a memo intended to clarify the pecking order in Army modernization. The May 3 directive said while the creation of AFC "was an essential step in accelerating our modernization efforts," the directives issued when it was established "created ambiguity regarding the primacy of acquisition authorities."

The new directive stated that the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology is responsible for the supervision of acquisition, logistics, sustainment and technology matters, including oversight of research and development and the acquisition workforce.

Under the new guidance, Futures Command "is responsible for force design and force development and is the capabilities developer and operational architect for the Army." Furthermore, the memo rescinded the previous designation of the commanding general as the leader of the Army modernization enterprise and the authority for "aligning resources to priorities."

Some in Congress were still not satisfied by the revised guidance. Both the House and Senate added language to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Army to submit a "plan that comprehensively defines the roles and responsibilities of officials and organizations of the Army with respect to the force modernization efforts of the Army."

As Congress has yet to finalize the 2023 NDAA, it is unclear whether matter of the command's authorities, responsibilities and relationships with the other offices and commands is settled.

In the meantime, the organization is...