AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast

Colonel (Retired) Daniel Roper, host of this special edition of Army Matters, interviews LTG Eric Wesley, Deputy Commanding General, Futures and Concepts Center (FCC), United States Army Futures Command (AFC). They discuss how the Army is undergoing its most fundamental change in 40 years in response to the re-emergence of long-term strategic competition with Russia and China. The Army’s December 2018 operations concept, “The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028,” describes how the U.S. Army, with its Joint and Allied partners, will compete with and if necessary fight and defeat its adversaries. LTG Wesley describes how the US military and its allies will overcome the problem of layered standoff and anti-access area denial (A2AD) capabilities by: competing below the threshold of armed conflict; penetrating and dis-integrating enemy stand-off; exploiting the resultant freedom of maneuver; and returning to competition on favorable terms.  He also discusses the U.S. Army’s expectations of its joint and allied partners with respect to MDO, particularly focusing on how to best leverage unique allied capabilities both in competition and conflict.  
 
Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources mentioned:
Army Futures and Concepts Center: https://futuresconcepts.army.mil/
Social Media:
@EricWesleyArmy
@AdaptingtheArmy
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Colonel (Retired) Daniel Roper, host of Thought Leaders, interviews MG JP McGee, Director of the Army Talent Management Task Force. Their discussion addresses the security environment characterized by the 2018 U.S. National Defense Strategy and its implications for how the Army must manage its most important asset – its people. MG McGee describes the profound changes the Army is making to its industrial-age personnel system to best leverage the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and preferences of its officers and its noncommissioned officers. This initiative is foundational to the everything that the Army is doing in terms of modernization including Multi-Domain Operations, Army Futures Command, and Talent Management. Ultimately, Talent Management will give the U.S. Army a decisive advantage against near-peer adversaries by maximizing the potential of its people. 
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources mentioned:
Army Talent Management: https://talent.army.mil/
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness at AUSA, speaks with George W., a retired U.S. Army officer and A.A. member. He serves on the Alcoholics Anonymous trustees' Committee for Cooperation with the Professional Community, where he works to carry the A.A. message to the armed forces and veterans communities. George shares his personal story, explains the steps to help a loved one dealing with alcohol addiction and specifically focuses on how service members can find help with A.A.
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
 
Resources mentioned:
Alcoholics Anonymous: https://www.aa.org/
Al-Anon – Support For Family and Friends
Web: https://al-anon.org/
Facebook: @AlAnonFamilyGroupsWSO
Twitter: @AlAnon_WSO
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/al-anon-wso/
 
Check out our other AUSA podcast, Membership Matters: http://memberpodcast.ausa.org/

Host Nzinga A. Curry, Director of the Institute of Land Warfare at AUSA, along with guest co-host Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness at AUSA, sat down at Fort Hood with a few members of the Black Jack Brigade to discuss their upcoming deployment to Poland in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR). Our guests were COL Jeremy Wilson, 2nd Armor Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, CSM Kevin Schuller, 1st Battalion 5th Calvary Regiment Command Sergeant Major, and Mrs. Amie Yazzie, spouse of the Brigade Command Sergeant Major. They provided insight on the brigade’s #1 priority – Readiness – which includes four pillars: Personnel, Training, Sustainment and Soldiers & Family. AUSA’s visit to Fort Hood is the result of AUSA adopting the 2nd Armor Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division with the goal of providing a supporting relationship before, during and after their deployment.
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Black Jack Brigade Social Media
Facebook @black.jack.brigade.1cdTwitter: @1stCav2bct 

Co-hosts Sergeant Major of the Army (Retired) Ken Preston and Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Troy Welch, both of AUSA’s NCO & Soldier Programs, tackle how standards inform discipline to make the U.S. Army the world’s premiere fighting force. To grow leaders in the Army, we first teach them with standards – what to think – and later introduce discipline – how to think. Commanders decide the standards, and NCOs enforce them, showing a commitment to policies and procedures that keeps Soldiers alive and mission-focused.
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

Host Joe Craig, Director of AUSA’s Book Program, speaks with author Jon Mikolashek about his new book Blood, Guts, and Grease: George S. Patton in World War I. This early-career biography illuminates how Patton organized and trained the US Army’s first tank brigade, then led it into battle in the Great War. It also shows how his early experiences as a tank commander laid the groundwork for the success of the entire US Army armored forces in World War II.
Thought Leaders, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, brings in-depth conversations with authors of military books and senior leaders. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
13 NOV 2019: ILW Lemnitzer Lecture & Book Signing with Jon Mikolashek
https://www.ausa.org/events/ilw-lemnitzer-lecture-mikolashek

Host Patty Barron, Director of Family Readiness at AUSA, speaks with Kelly Skala, LPC, Model Supervisor from FOCUS (Families OverComing Under Stress). The FOCUS program provides resilience training designed to assist military families and couples with transitions by building upon their existing strengths to enhance the family unit as a whole. Free to all active duty, reserve and guard military families, this preventative service includes 6-8 sessions that are fun, interactive and personalized. Sessions can be held in person or using a hybrid option to overcome geographical hurdles.
Family Voices, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to connect Army families to speakers and issues that are important to their everyday lives. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources mentioned:
FOCUS (Families OverComing Under Stress)
Social: @focusresiliencytraining
Email: telefocus@focusproject.org or info@focusproject.org
Web: https://www.focusproject.org/
FOCUS on the Go! (App): https://focusproject.org/mobile-app
FOCUS World (Online Game): https://focusproject.org/focus-world

Soldiers are always ready for battle, but their daily jobs are not always combat oriented. Co-hosts Nzinga Curry, Director, AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare, and MAJ Brad Cooper, Army Fellow, interview three Soldiers with out-of-the-box Army jobs. CPT Allison Brager serves as a neuroscientist researching sleep and is also a member of the elite Army Warrior Fitness Team. SGT Joseph Hampton dives as part of the Army’s select Dive Program which, among other missions, searches for Soldiers killed in action (KIA) or missing in action (MIA) from previous wars. SFC Christopher Jones recruits gamers to join the Army esports team, emphasizing that yes, Soldiers can stream internet in their barracks room. The common thread is their heart for selfless service combined with fulfilling careers.
Army Real Talk, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, aims to help AUSA and the Army better connect with the younger generation. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Resources mentioned:
Try out for Army esportsdiscord.gg/usarmyesports

During this highly anticipated follow-up episode, the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Daniel A. Dailey answers listener questions about the new centralized NCO evaluation system as it moves from time-based to merit-based promotions, with host SMA (Retired) Ken Preston, Vice President, NCO & Soldier Programs, AUSA. Emphasizing respect and fairness built into the new system, the SMA responds to questions such as: Does advance training provide an advantage in the selection process? Can a Soldier be disadvantaged by being in a particular job already? What if raters show favoritism to their buddies?
Listen to Part 1 here: 6 May Soldier Today: New Centralized NCO Evaluation System
Soldier Today, a segment of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, focuses on what is important to Soldiers and NCOs. Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.

To combat some of the “invisible wounds” of the current war, LTG Nadja West, 44th Surgeon General of the U.S. Army and Commanding General of Army Medical Command, joins podcast host Nzinga Curry, Director, Institute of Land Warfare, AUSA, to talk about Soldiers and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). LTG West brings along two esteemed subject matter experts from the Office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General: LTC Dennis Sarmiento, Director Behavioral Health, and Dr. Charles Hoge, Psychiatrist and Senior Scientist. Together, they define PTSD, describe the Army’s system of care, and share industry standards and empirical research the Army developed. The Army is committed to reducing the negative effects of PTSD by addressing mental health and working to help Soldiers seek, and receive, the care they need.
Recommendations for future special editions of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
Twitter@ArmyMedicine @LTGWest @CSMMEDCOM @USArmy @USArmyReserve @NationalGuard @MilHealth
Facebook@OfficialArmyMedicine
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialArmyMedicine/