According to U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, a 2023 Wash100 Award winner, the service branch must “continue to embrace innovation and transformation” to combat future threats.
In a keynote address at the 2023 Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. last week, Wormuth highlighted data centricity and technology-driven approaches as key considerations in the Army’s journey forward, the Army said on Friday.
Laying the foundation for data centricity, said Army Chief Information Officer Leonel Garciga, is a “big piece” of the service branch’s current direction. What this entails is the implementation of policy, guidance and resourcing.
“I don’t care how good an algorithm is. If you don’t trust the platform, or you don’t trust the network, do you trust the output of that algorithm?” he said during a panel discussion at the event.
Steering the Army’s shift toward a data-driven force is its Digital Transformation Strategy. Released in 2021, the plan is designed to accelerate the process of bringing data to the forefront of Army operations. Its three major focus areas are modernization and readiness, optimized digital investments and a technically savvy, operationally effective digital workforce.
A core part of the strategy’s foundation is ensuring that data is properly collected and labeled throughout the Department of Defense.
Gabe Camarillo, under secretary of the Army, said the service branch must make sure that there is a routine way of tagging, governing and ensuring data accuracy across all functional Army components. Once a common method is established, he expects the service branch to “be able to really start humming.”
He noted that many of the service branch’s technical challenges have already been “figured out” in the private sector.
“The real question is how quickly can we adopt and change our processes to make the most advantageous use of capabilities that are already in the market,” said Camarillo.
Wormuth emphasized the “close partnership” the Army has maintained with industry as it has stayed on course with its “most ambitious modernization effort in 40 years.”
Since data and software will “impact the entire range and spectrum of military operations in the future,” the Army has to get these technologies right to sustain a technological advantage, Camarillo said.
Interested in learning more about the Army’s modernization journey? ExecutiveBiz’s Army Acquisition Priorities: Balancing Readiness and Modernization Forum will bring together top Army officials and industry experts to discuss how the service branch is transforming its approach to acquisition. Click here to learn more, and click here to register for the event.