 Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the U.S. Army Futures Command activation ceremony Please stand for the arrival of the official party a remain standing for the National Anthem sung by Staff Sergeant Nikita Fox an invocation delivered by Chaplain Colonel Mitch A. Butterworth Now entering the room is the official party The Honorable Mark T. Esper Secretary of the Army the Honorable Greg Abbott Governor of Texas General Mark A. Milley Chief of Staff of the Army The Honorable John Cornyn U.S. Senator Texas The Honorable Steve Adler Mayor of Austin and General John M Murray commanding General U.S. Army Futures Command What's so proud at the twilight's last gleaming Whose bright stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched for the center enterprise designed to posh for the success of this enterprise and building a new construct for the U.S. Army May this enterprise and the people who serve deliver modern and critical capabilities To the soldier on the battlefield Today we pray you would bless this partnership between the U.S. Army the state of Texas and the city of Austin and the University of Texas I pray these things in your powerful name. Amen Please be seated ladies and gentlemen Secretary Esper Good morning Austin and good morning ladies and gentlemen gentlemen Governor Abbott senator Cornyn Members of the tech Texas congressional delegation mayor Adler members of the UT system Board of Regents industry leaders members of the Chamber of Commerce and all other distinguished guests Welcome Thank you for joining us this morning as we mark the establishment of Army Futures Command here in Austin, Texas Army Futures Command represents our commitment to modernize the army to ensure we are prepared to fight and win every future conflict And locating it here in Austin Demonstrates the type of bold change needed to excel in today's complex environment This would not have been possible without the leadership and direction provided certainly by the chief of staff of the army And I would say our two-point men the undersecretary of the army And the vice chief of staff mcconnell. I want to thank you all for your excellent work And I would be remiss if I didn't mention and thank general ed cardone and his futures command task force for all the great work They have done to put this organization together This is an historic day for our army as we make the most significant reorganization since 1973 45 years ago The last time our army underwent such reforms. We were at a strategic inflection point in history Back then our army was emerging from what was then the largest The longest conflict in our history the vietnam war And we had to reorient ourselves Against the strategic conventional threat called the soviet union In the following years the army's leadership instituted a series of bold initiatives that transformed the army That's when we Learned of the big five weapons systems that are with us today the national training center and airland battle doctrine Today we are at a similar point in history Strategic competition against our near peer competitors is once again the number one threat facing our nation's security In june the chief of staff and I published the army vision Which characterizes the future army we need to contend with these threats And today we are taking a significant step to ensure we achieve that vision Here is that vision a two page document And not far above our signatures on the back page Was one of the key objectives and that objective says with regard to equipping the force Quote modernize the force by first reforming the current acquisition system and unifying the modernization enterprise under a single command Maintaining the army's overmatch requires a major shakeup of how we prepare for future combat To ensure our readiness for the next war. We are bringing the army's entire modernization enterprise Under one roof army futures command AFC as we call it will provide unity of effort and unity of command to our entire modernization process It will synchronize the disparate elements And sets of entities to achieve a common purpose. It will develop the army's future war fighting concepts It will generate innovative solutions to research and development And it will fill the next generation of combat systems in accordance with our six modernization priorities AFC will ensure that we get our soldiers the weapons and equipment they need when they need it to fight and win We are excited to establish the army futures command headquarters outside a traditional military base We knew that to do this right. We needed to immerse ourselves in an environment Where innovation occurs at speeds far faster than our current process allows We searched for a location that had the right combination of top tier academic talent cutting edge industry and an innovative private sector And we chose austin to headquarter AFC Because it not only possesses the talent the entrepreneurial spirit and access to key partners we are seeking But also because it offers the quality of life our people desire And a cost of living they can afford The establishment of this headquarters represents an incredible partnership between the military government academic and the private sector And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the incredible community Support we have and expect to receive by locating our headquarters here We are extremely grateful to the texas congressional delegation for all the support they have provided To the army to help us turn this command from a concept to a reality To governor abbott sir. Thank you for all of your efforts With this as well as the continued support you provide our soldiers throughout the state of texas To mayor adler sir. Thank you for fostering the partnership between the city of austin and the united states army To chancellor falkner. We are excited to get to work here in austin And we are grateful to the university of texas system for allocating us the office space needed to get a fc up and running We are eager eager to begin interfacing with entrepreneurs and private industry at incubator hubs Like the capital factory as we begin developing solutions to meet our modernization needs Like all things We put our best people against the problem So we have general mike murray and command sergeant major michael crossby Are two extremely talented leaders that will guide this command and be the point men for the army's future I know they will deliver for us as they have many times before over the course of their great and storied careers Now while we cannot predict the future with certainty We certainly can prepare for the future and that's what army futures command will do Our soldiers deserve nothing less than the best weapons and equipment possible when we ask them to fight our nation's wars I am confident that army futures command is the right organization established at the right time Here in the right location to ensure that united states army remains the world's Premier ground combat force for generations to come. Thank you Thank you secretary espar Ladies and gentlemen governor abbott. Well, thank you all and thank you secretary espar for Your kind of words. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for making this come to fruition here Also, want to thank under secretary mccarty who I had the opportunity to work with In collaboration along the way general milley. Thank you for what you're doing and your leadership as well as Lieutenant general murray. Thank you so much. I had the honor to host you at the governor's mansion yesterday And get to know you a whole lot better look forward to working with you going forward From a broader perspective I want to thank all of you all For your service to the mightiest military in the history of the world And I also want to thank you for your commitment to make sure we keep it that way By locating your army futures command right here in the heart of texas I also want to thank our federal partners led by senator john cornan With the aid of senator cruz as well as the entire congressional delegation I want to thank you for your leadership at the national level to help land this transformative command operation And I also want to thank mayor adler for your leadership I think that we all know that today would not be happening without what you have done at the local level partnering with The premier and highest caliber economic development professionals right here in the greater austin region Also, I want to thank the assistance on the state side. The only one I see where we got several We we have The state senator donna cambell who's in charge of veterans affairs as well as military operations We have a former member of the united states army tony deal right by our side a state representative State representative paul workman Thank you all for your service. I'm sure there's some others. I don't see right now But we appreciate what you do and helping texas lead the way in what we are so proud of And that is our connection to our united states military And I want to thank our host today and a cornerstone partner in this endeavor And that is the university of texas system I want to thank chancellor enter chancellor falkner. I want to thank president finvez For what you have done in this Many here are getting to see a fantastic view for those who are not familiar with austin Most of what you see in the vista behind you Is one of the premier universities in the entire world, which is the university of texas If you see a building with an orange roof on it That is a university of texas building I notice that there is a lot of people here today who were not from texas So i'm going to find it fascinating as we see the evolution of your Let's say involvement in the local community To see if anyone over the past year their senator cruz right there See if there's anyone over the coming year who learns the phrase hook them horns Or maybe there is some people know it already Maybe next time you come back you said you're from pittsburgh We'll come back maybe texas needs to play pittsburgh or something like that to really get if we can get you back I can arrange that we'll work with president finvez to make sure we get that on the agenda But let me just say this so on behalf of the people instead of texas Let me express how incredibly proud we are that the united states army chose our state And chose this city To launch the army's most significant reorganization effort in more than four decades But as you might imagine this candidly is a very natural partnership That's because this has been a long and enduring bond between the state of texas as well as with the united states military and austin Texas and the university of texas Have become the epicenter of innovation and transformative technology This headquarters takes the next step In the shared mission that we all have been working towards Now as the world transitions from an industrial age to an information age The threats that our nation confront Continue to evolve One thing that we all do is we all grasp the gravity That is simply not enough for america to simply adapt To these challenges Instead the united states must lead the world in innovation and technology advancements Just as we have for decades And there was no better place For the united states army to embark on this mission Then right here in austin texas During the selection process for this headquarters I had the opportunity to work with under secretary ryan mccarthy One thing that he talked about was the need For a talented pool of brain power He talked about innovators who can disrupt the status quo and usher in a new era of technological advancement That Is precisely what has been happening here in austin and in texas This entire region offers a unique opportunity for the army To work with some of the very best in academia as well as in the private sector With large technology companies already based here With new innovative startups emerging every single day Austin and the surrounding areas continuously attract The best and brightest minds In fact this transformation is happening so rapidly as you look out across the horizon here You see the reason why we have chosen a new name for the state bird The new name for the state bird is now the crane Because we have so many cranes building so many new buildings across the entire region because the region is growing so rapidly With those innovators focused on technology and information sectors Additionally texas is the proud home To world-class universities that produce the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs These factors combined with our state's unwavering commitment to our military Make texas the premier location for the futures command headquarters We cherish this partnership And we look forward to the many innovations that it will produce Together we will ensure that the men and women Of our armed forces have the very best tools to defend our freedoms And to promote security across the entire globe I want to thank secretary espar Under secretary macarthur and all of those involved in bringing this futures command headquarters right here to austin texas Let me say Welcome to the lone star state Thank you governor abit Ladies and gentlemen senator of texas cornan. Well, good morning. This is a great day for austin It's a great day for texas. This is a great day for the united states army and for the united states of america I just have to add here at the beginning of my comments. My mind is On some of the news we've seen that today our friend john mccain Who has been suffering from a terrible disease is I wish he could be here because I know from talking to general milley He was key as chairman of the arm services committee in the senate work on this project And I know he would love to be here and be pleased so our thoughts are with him and his family Of course, i'm honored to be here with uh my friend governor abit and my friend mayor adler and to welcome the army futures And here to austin texas Secretary espar is great to have you here secretary macarthur general milley Used to be just up the street at ford hood where we first met general mccanville and general murray congratulations on your promotion and this Important assignment on behalf of all of my friends and colleagues in the texas congressional delegation Including senator cruz. I wanted to make sure that you knew how welcome you are here and how glad I am to be here with you together with those of the texas Delegation a few months ago. I joined ted and others in sending secretary espar a letter encouraging and bring the command To texas. I know you got a lot of letters mr. Secretary But we sent it because we care deeply about the army and we knew that austin would be the perfect place for these headquarters and once the List of cities had narrowed i followed up with another note To the secretary and i appreciate your being So responsive and i am just could not be happier about the outcome I want to thank the leadership at the university of texas system And i see admiral macraven here somewhere. I know he had to be involved in all of this I can only guess But it's great to see him and his wife and thank him for his great service to our country and to The university of course the austin chamber and all the regional chambers here in central texas Along with the capital factory for their work in bringing this command to austin We wouldn't have achieved this critical win without this teamwork And let's give everybody who contributed to that effort a round of applause right now So as you've heard the establishment of the army futures command is the most significant army reorganization since 1973 And makes austin the epicenter for army technology investment Maybe the answer is obvious, but some are saying well, why austin why didn't one of the other Four cities that were on the short list. Why didn't they get the this great honor? We know the army had plenty of excellent places to choose from but I like to think of austin as a city of the future Look no further than the construction cranes that my friend governor abbott pointed to There's a lot going on here and I think the interface between the army and the private sector and academia Is the right formula for the command The army of course wanted to be close to a hub of innovation which austin certainly is with Roughly 6500 high tech companies in events like south by each year It's also the city of the future because of the talent being produced here Major academic institutions like the university of texas houston tellison St. Edward's texas state texas a and m and thousands of students graduating every year with degrees and stem fields And the last reason i believe austin was chosen was because it's inside of an important regional corridor with historic ties to the military Not only camp mayberry right here in austin, but Not far up the street for hood And down a few miles south from here joint base san antonio These military installations will now be joined by the army futures command It's not just about texas football Or barbeque or music festivals or the tech scene anymore austin is now the home to military innovation as well If my hometown san antonio is known as military city usa I think austin could be called military innovation city usa mayor And as somebody who now is a transplant here to austin and someone who grew up as an air force brat I couldn't be any prouder The army expects this command to be the home to About a hundred soldiers and 400 civilians to start with and over time perhaps even more These men and women will be led by general john murray who was confirmed earlier this week by the senate and promoted just this morning General murray, I think your experience and commitment to public service makes you well suited to head this incredible undertaking Being a little bit of a technology junkie myself I can't wait to check in with you periodically to learn about the new things That you develop as a result of this enterprise and i'm glad this new assignment means you'll be back here in texas with your family for a while general murray and his staff will create Cross-functional teams focused on specific things that the army wants to build or improve or just simply to discover Like next gen combat vehicles Improving soldier lethality and survival cloud and network capabilities And that brings me to my last point Which is why the army futures command and its mission are so Necessary The reason is plain and simple our military readiness and our national security depend on it New operational concepts will be transformed from the abstract into real world technology that the army can acquire Then war fighters will benefit from these new tools in the battlefield In a dangerous world strained by escalating cyber threats And threatened by the rising power of china and russia The u.s. Military must continue to lead with evolving technologies in order to maintain our strategic advantage This is our only option There is no plan b We have no choice, but to constantly modernize our military It's a national imperative and we can't afford to take that responsibility lightly In closing, I'll just say that I think the army futures command is aptly named When it comes to our national defense, we should always be looking toward the future It's incredible to think that starting in just a few weeks young people born In the immediate aftermath of 9 11 Will now be eligible to enlist in the united states military These young people have grown up in a world rife with new conflicts and dangers The likes of which our founders could never have imagined It's critical that as brave men and women continue to answer the call to serve our country We do our part to give them the tools they need in order to carry out that mission The army's future commands future command therefore is most definitely a step in the right direction Thank you for allowing me on behalf of the entire texas delegation here to welcome you to austin May god bless you as you embark on this new mission And may continue to bless the great state of texas and the united states of america Thank you senator cornan Ladies and gentlemen mayor adler mr. Secretary governor Senator cornan senator cruz general milley general murray I'm not sure i've ever addressed a room full of so many Distinguished leaders. I'm not sure where etiquette says i'm supposed to stop But it is honored To have you all here On behalf of the city of austin texas. We say to the u.s. army futures command Welcome home Austinites are our proud americans and we are fiercely proud texas And we recognize that what we love about our country and our state Our freedoms our quality of life Are not guaranteed But must be defended and actively preserved Austin is proud and excited to be a part of that defense in our small way Now we know that you were considering multiple cities Before you chose austin And we know you chose austin because of some pretty serious advocacy On the part of our senators and our governor We know that you chose austin because it's in texas And state leadership and policies helped make austin a more attractive choice We know you chose austin because of the university of texas Because what happens here changes the world But we also know that you chose austin because of what you described as austin's culture Austin is innovative. It is creative. It is entrepreneurial. It's a city of early adopters It's beautiful. It's friendly. It's welcoming and supportive And bottom line It's weird You know if you haven't already picked up a t-shirt or a coffee mug that says keep austin weird to our out-of-town guests You need to make sure you do and take it back home with you Now keep austin weird means to me that in this city It's okay to take risks It's okay to fail in this city so long as you do it quickly And then you innovate and you iterate and you keep trying until you succeed It is okay to be different in this city You know, it's uh We support new ideas and new ways of thinking That's why you can walk down our streets and sometimes see people with red hair Or riding by on their bicycle in a thong But it is that risk-taking affirmance That makes austin the incubator of innovation that it is General murray my my wife and I Enjoyed the opportunity to have dinner with you and you and jane Uh, and and we talked about how austin could best welcome you and the army's future And you told me that the mission of the command needs austin to share our culture with you And general we want to do our part Just as we are an incubator of innovation for our state. We are signing up To help and assist you in this mission as well We are proud and excited to do our duty too You know, I welcome open my talks by welcoming the the command and and I Want you to call on me and the city Uh for for anything that we can do to support you But to general murray And to your wife jane We know that that you served just up the road in forth hood for almost 10 years So to the two of you we say welcome back home Thank you Thank you mayor adler Ladies and gentlemen general milley Thanks mayor for those words, uh I have to confess. I just had a really weird mental image of mike murray driving down the road in the thong so I don't know. I know we're being live streamed. I hope that doesn't destroy everybody's day Might have a few nightmares about that, but um, hey look at thanks and welcome to everybody This is an exciting day for the army Exciting day for austin exciting day really For the nation and it and it wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be here today and This event wouldn't be happening. This command wouldn't be opening Mike murray wouldn't have been promoted from three star general to four star general this morning. None of this would be happening Without someone who's not here today and that's senator john mccain an american hero It was uh, he who we recently or the congress recently named the ndaa after It was he and I that met in his office and i'm getting ready for confirmation And those of you who know senator mccain would appreciate That he talked to me candidly And said how hosed up the united states army was in the world of acquisition and and procurement Futures and modernization and so on and we're lucky here to have at least two witnesses to those conversations chris bros And jim hickey who are from senator mccain's office and representing him here And he said general you gotta you got to dig into this you got to get this fixed And oh by the way you got a hearing coming up. So you better have some answers And I was like well roger that I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. So I figured okay I better be paying attention. So i'm back to the office And I got that guy right there Mike murray and a couple of others a guy named ed curtone who's not here today Jim richardson who is and a few others and we sat in the office. We said, okay you know here's the guidance from The chair the senate arm services committee and and we looked at ourselves held the mirror up and we realized that We did have a whole series of issues and challenges Within the army So we got the whiteboards out and we decided to put pen to paper and Went through multiple year two years really of organizational design and reflection and and so on and then luckily A couple of guys came on to the scene A guy named ryan mccarty sitting right over here A guy named mark asper sitting here as a secretary And now we had civilian support In the office of the secretary of the army in the office of the under secretary army And that provided enormous energy and momentum Because in the military in the bureaucracy of the pentagon in the dc area and in american politics as it should be You can't get anything done without civilian authorities So secretary mccarty took the ball. I I think of him as the tom brady of the team and And I think a secretary asper is sort of the bellichick, right? Sorry the wrong state governor, but But the analogy works. So they they provided the energy And and took the idea And turned it into reality And they took what mike murray and ed cardone and jim richison and several others and they took senator mccain's idea And they turned it into reality and that's what we're seeing today An attempt at significant And deep Reform of the united states as we approach the future So that's the the short version of the history of this thing But you ask yourself, what's this all about? What is it? What is this futures command thing all about? It's about a three letter word called war War is something a human behavior that you and I and all of us who've been there Mike mary's got 48 months in combat Many of us have been shot at blown up sniped at None of us liked it. My father hit the beach at iwo jima Nobody wants war But war is a human behavior that unfortunately has not been purged yet From the humankind And the possibility or probability of war in the future is not small And we need to do everything we can to prevent it And one of the ways you prevent war is you prepare for war And you establish what is a bumper sticker sort of a piece through strength, but it's a very true bumper sticker And this command is our scout into the future This command is the command of the army that's going to look over the hill Most of the army is involved in current operations today's fight fight tonight I just came from afghanistan and iraq and In jordan and syria and israel and most of us for the last 16 17 years have been wrapped up in today But we need to think About tomorrow Today's dangerous enough Tomorrow could be very very dangerous And the only thing that Is more expensive Than preventing a war Is fighting a war And the only thing more expensive than fighting a war Is fighting and losing a war So this command is all about Setting the united states army up To be not only winning on a battlefield, but to be decisive and absolutely dominant on a battlefield So that we inflict punishment and destroy the enemy At least cost to ourselves if your enemy and your adversary knows that You might have a shot at deterrence, but if deterrence fails, you will have prepared And then you will win and win decisively this command is charged with looking over the hill Determining what economic political sociological Technological and other trends out there in the future are going to impact directly in the conduct of war We are living today Right this minute as we sit here in austin texas We are living through a fundamental change In the character of warfare the nature of war is unlikely to change that has to do with human behavior and luck risk chance And all of that it's it and what is war war is really the Human act of imposing your political will and your opponent through the use of violence So the nature of war is probably not going to change as long as humans are involved in it But the character of war changes frequently It's based upon doctorate and organization leader development and technology and we are living Through that right now Right this minute and have been for some 20 25 years Right now many of you Have iphones in your pocket. We have cameras all over the place. We have sensors Out there throughout the world today militaries can see As like at no time in 10,000 years of human history We can hit Strike the enemy Like no time in human history with a degree of precision that has never Before existed So we can see and we can strike We know that robots Are coming on very very quickly in the commercial sector and they're likely to have significant military application We know artificial intelligence is here. We know there's a multitude of emerging technologies That are going to have whether we like it or not Impact in the conduct of military operations. It is this command. It is that man right there. Mike Murray It is deputy commander Jim Richardson and Eric Wesley and paul astrauski and all of the folks that will inhabit this building Right in the heart of austin that are going to determine victory defeat in a future battlefield for the united states of america That's how important This command is To our country so governor abbott. Thank you so much for your support senator corn and senator cruz Mayor adler and the entire chamber commerce ut and everybody in this room Thanks to every single one of you for supporting your nation Supporting your army On some future battlefield and thereby saving american soldiers sailors airmen and marines lives So thank you very much texas strong secretary espar General murray and command sergeant major crossby will now join general milley for the activation of us army futures command Ladies and gentlemen, united states army futures command will now be activated Command sergeant major michael crossby will present the colors Of the u.s. Army futures command to be uncased and unfurled effective 24 august 2018 the united states army futures command is hereby established Thank you secretary espar general milley and command sergeant major crossby ladies and gentlemen Sergeant major crossby will now pass the colors to the chief of staff of the army general milley will now pass to general murray And general murray will now pass to command sergeant major crossby Who will post the colors Thank you secretary espar general milley and command serge major crossby Ladies and gentlemen on the occasion of general murray taking command of the us army futures command Mrs. Jane murray is being presented with the bouquet of texas wildflowers to welcome her to the command Ladies and gentlemen general murray. First of all, thank you very much and going fifth or sixth I've lost count. All the good stuff has been taken. So And i'm not going to ad lib and uh general carter ham sitting right here taught me a long time ago I got no experience in africa, sir But apparently there's an old tradition in africa when you have a gathering like this that you say something like All honors observed and it covers you for everybody you miss an introduction. So, uh, i'm i'm happy that you taught me that sir And let me say right in front. It's great to be back in texas. It's been said several times We've got about jane and i and my family about 10 years in texas two of my daughters graduated here Five the seven grandchildren were born in texas We were recently Property owners in seledo and we were determined we were never coming back to texas. So a year and a half ago We sold it and here we are And i can't tell you how incredibly honored i am To be standing here in front of you today as the very first commander of army futures command And as the chief said these things go on or come off as easy as they go on So hopefully the second won't be here very quickly chief And i'm going to keep this fairly short because it has already been an exciting day and there's a long way to go I'd also like to recognize our national political leaders senator cornyn senator cruz Judge carter's good to see you again, sir. Judge carter and i go way back to forehead days And but i want to provide a special thanks to the local leaders Governor it was great sitting down with you yesterday Mayor it was great sitting down for you at dinner a couple of nights ago very close to where you live I appreciate the invitation to do that And you have my absolute Promise that i will do all i can to help you keep austin weird minus minus the bicycle and thongs And then the army leadership in general milley really talked about this already this without the political backing That the senate provided and to be honest with you I really thought we were going to be on a red eye last night to get down here Four days ago. I was sitting in my office doing yeoman's work as the as the army g8 And I think it was about 6 30 that evening When senator mccunner got up and read and he kind of went through very quickly 33 through 2333 through 2038 and I said I think that's it And my phone I sent to secretary mccarthy. I said secretary sure. I think that's it and I didn't hear anything back It's like well, maybe that wasn't it But it was it so jane and I were on a plane the next morning and we're thrilled to be here in austin texas with you So secretary asked for general milley secretary mccarthy and general mcconville Thank you for the faith and confidence you've shown in me by trusting me with this command And the awesome responsibilities that go along with it And it was almost as generally said three years ago When he introduced the idea and the one person he continually has forgotten is eric westley It was also a part of that very small group as we worked through this Um, and I really thought that it was dead Because we worked very hard for about a year on it and then general milley just quit matching it Um, and I really think sir and you can tell me if I was wrong You were really waiting for the right political leadership and I believe the right political leadership arrived You very quickly gained the backing of secretary espar And then really the muscle and the horsepower of the dynamic duo over here of the the under secretary and general mcconville They really drove this home and none of it would have been possible without of course senator mccain and entire congressional support And my pledge to you because of all that is to do all I can to make sure that history looks back on all four of you Kindly And that a future soldiers on a future battlefield are very thankful for the courage you have shown By making this fundamental but significant change to how the army equips and modernizes our units and our soldiers I'd also like to right here. Thank general ham and for a usa for sponsoring The reception that we'll all be at this afternoon and the I've already got a lot of pledges of future support Sir from your staff And we look forward to hosting a huntsville-like event down here at some point in the future focused on innovation and modernization And for the family no soldier makes this journey alone and today like every other day over the past 36 years I have been incredibly blessed to have the support of my parents My in-laws my siblings my wife and my children And although most could not make it because of the long distances and short notice I know that all of them are out there watching this via live stream So I want them all to know how much their love and support has meant to me over the years and how much it means to me today Although geographically dispersed across the united states army futures command will have a singular focus To make soldiers and units more effective and more lethal today and into the future From this location, we will provide the unit of command and the unit of effort that will bring the concepts requirements science and technology Research development testing and engineering and acquisition communities together To ensure that the united states army remains the preeminent ground combat force in the world forever This must be a team sport. It's it's not about the success of a single organization or individual It's about working together to ensure our soldiers have the capabilities they need When they need them to deploy fight and win on a modern battlefield against an incredibly lethal enemy That must be the unifying theme for the sake of our soldiers. We simply have no other choice We will bring the best talent we can Inside and outside the government to address the army's most pressing problems And we intend to develop and deliver solutions at the speed of relevance At the speed our soldiers deserve For too long, we have focused only on cost schedule and performance. We must now also focus on value Value to the young men and women that will be operating the equipment we build and utilizing the concepts we develop We owe that not only to soldiers of today, but also the soldiers of future generations In fact the generations of soldiers that have yet to be born Finally, I'm absolutely convinced that the single most important key to our success will be our ability to tap into the talent The entrepreneurial spirit and the access to key partners that are present today in austin And to those that will move here to join us in this critically important endeavor And although i've only been on the ground for a couple days I have absolutely felt the excitement inside and outside this building and it is absolutely electric For we very much look forward to being productive members of your communities And we've made in making you proud of what we will accomplish together Thank you again for attending today and in advance Thank you for helping us make sure that no united states army soldier ever goes into harm's way Wishing they had the very best technology and very best capability that this great country can deliver And we owe them nothing less Thank you very much Thank you general Murray Ladies and gentlemen, please feel free to sing along with deep in the heart of texas The words can be found in your program ladies and gentlemen Please remain standing for the playing of the army song includes today's ceremony Please join us for refreshments in the back of the room