In a recent speech, Secretary Gates emphasized, “We must not be so preoccupied with preparing for future conventional and strategic conflicts that we neglect to provide, both short-term and long-term, all the capabilities necessary to fight and win conflicts such as we are in today.” There are marvelous examples of how the government-industry team is supplying networking, multilevel security solutions and other technologies to help the services dominate future battlefields. But, I sense the secretary also wants the training community to stay focused on helping service men and women succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team’s portfolio of language courses, simulator scenarios to counter brown-outs in landing zones and other products to defeat theatre-unique challenges must continue to improve and expand.

The secretary also supports the conventional force. Indeed, Gates recently emphasized, “Support for conventional modernization programs is deeply embedded in our budget, in our bureaucracy, in the defense industry and in Congress. My fundamental concern is that there is not commensurate institutional support—including in the Pentagon—for the capabilities needed to win the wars we are in, and of the kinds of missions we are most likely to undertake in the future.” And, so, the community must continue to look downstream to provide innovative training readiness solutions for the legacy force, while it considers how to train units for future missions.

I look forward to seeing you on the conference floor at I/ITSEC. Be prepared to tell me about your products and programs and what’s on your mind as far as training is concerned.

 
Marty Kauchak
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