 Warriors corner people partners and innovation winning in the cent com AOR with presenter lieutenant general Patrick D Frank our cent CG Well, thanks team for the introduction I am gonna call out one of my best friends in the army sitting right up here major general Joel Tyler So he's already beating me up Saying that I got a girth Brooks set up on here. I'm looking like the New York City concert out there with this microphone But even though he's harassing me from the front row We'll still drive on with this as I see many people here in the audience Everybody is familiar with the cent com region and what our cent has really been doing over the past 20 years You really know Afghanistan and Iraq and what our soldiers have been doing in those fights We're gonna provide for you today the posture across the Arsene footprint Hopefully a couple of new things that you were not tracking People's partner and innovation. That's really the strategic theme that is coming from General Corrilla So as he's done his assessment as the cent com commander He's provided that to all the component commanders as well as to OSD and the service chiefs Really focusing in on the people aspect today the army being the service that is driven by our people and we'll talk about that today Winning in the cent com AOR chief staff the army general McConville always tells us as he did this morning As he did at the army 10 mile or the other day winning matters Every our cent soldier whether forward deployed or back to the headquarters at Shaw Attacks each and every day from a winning matters perspective and you see that across the entire cent com AOR Something you may not be familiar with is the patch on the bottom of that screen. So that's the third army patch That's the patch that Patton wore in World War two But the text around it right now is the campaign that is provided by Sir Major Garza. He's sitting right behind me He's our command Sir Major Sir Major came up with that theme that says Strong sergeants make strong soldiers strong sergeants make strong soldiers All of our partners as we engage with them across the cent com AOR Understand that as a US Army strength So what Sir Major is doing on a daily basis is highlighting our non-commissioned officer Corps and the professionalism in that Corps I'll introduce not only Sir Major Garza behind me Our fourth BCD commander Tom Caldwell is behind me ODRP Mike Trotter Colonel Zach Miller third SFAB commander and then Colonel Eric Flesch is behind me to our XO So I recruited these guys from the audience. I should have grabbed Kim fields and put her up here, too Helping us out when it comes to everything US Army Corps of Engineers in theater Next slide, please Many of you have been familiar with the mission of our cent and cent com again over the last 20 years What we've been doing in theater, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq But as you take a look at what General Corrilla is looking at as far as posture of the force We are shifting our focus to our strategic advantage, which is our partnerships. It's our soldiers. It's our units It's our commanders engaging out there in partnerships while maintaining a sufficient and sustainable force throughout that cent com and that are sent footprint We provide the C2 we provide rapid force protection and Most importantly we provide a sustainment footprint. We recently had General Corrilla out at the port of Yambu That's on the Red Sea out in Western Saudi Arabia He looked back to the east and he said I can see the sustainment footprint that our cent provides To him as the combatant commander for all of his operations whether that is a tip-fid feeding the no-plan whether that is a Exercise that we are conducting with partners in theater that sustainment footprint that comes from our cent is critical And that is something we provide on a daily basis For the secretary and the chief we have responsibility for over 11,000 deployed soldiers in theater and then Across that region 550 million people that our soldiers are engaging with out there 18 different languages spoken across that region It's a force that is a total army force. It's not just active duty force 31% active duty 45% guard and 44% reserve forces out there some of our major commanders in OIR Major General Matt McFarland Our task force Spartan commanders 35th ID is Major General Will Blalock out of Kansas and Missouri Leading that formation and then first TSC Major General Michael Russell out of Fort Knox with the forward headquarters forward deployed next please One of those strategic choke points you always hear about in the cent com region Here the Suez canal and that's the ever-given everyone remembers when that ship went sideways on us And we were scrambling down at cent com to provide partners with assistance on something like this when we talk about Strategic choke points and the economic impact they have across this region. We often think Contact with a threat out there. We don't really think about the ever-given going sideways on us So we're calling up Kim and the Corps of Engineers for assistance on stuff like this The same thing is going on on a daily basis in the Strait of Hormuz the Bob of Mandel the other two strategic choke points that are out there 48% of the world's oil in this region 47% of China's oil coming out of this region. So we talk about strategic competition It is right here in the cent com AOR are sent and our other components see it on a daily basis and again 33% of the oil impacts imports going into Europe next slide Abraham Accords so with the addition of Israel into the cent com AOR making the 21st partnered nation in the cent com AOR the Abraham Accords have changed the dynamic of what we see on a daily basis with our partners We see it first in a security and a military Environment, but we've also seen rapidly a change in economics as well as a change in political atmosphere Based on the Abraham Accords again signed two years ago August of 2020 But a dramatic impact especially with the addition of Israel as one of our partners in the cent com region next slide please Strategic competition China and Russia we all know we heard the secretary today talk about China as a pacing threat that we have As you look across that cent com region and you see the threats that are out there with both Russian influence the Chinese influence as well as the Iranian influence Again, these are areas that the components are in a daily dialogue with cent com down in Tampa During that cent com commander's cub that occurs every day next please as We dive into the impact of China across all 21 nations in the cent com region They have an economic impact the upper left-hand corner. That's the Belt and Road initiative all of you're familiar with that and the economic impacts The interaction that is having with our partners across the region is dramatic Yahweh and the 5g network that we see in many of our partner nations and that exchange that is going on with the Chinese You see the port there in Djibouti And the Chinese having influence throughout the area in the Red Sea. We our component partner nav sent all often reporting on Chinese influence there as well as naval exercises with both Iran and Russia as Well as being the largest investor in the Suez Canal development project That influence is something that we see on a daily basis as well as our SDO dates reporting that From embassies across the region as they report into cent com next please Russian influence and specifically here when it comes to our set and cent com We're talking about the Russian influence in Syria Also Russian influence in the in the castle region but on this slide we'll talk about the port of Tartus and Their impact in Syria on current operations Russian forces Mainly located in the northwestern portion of the country We see those forces whether we're conducting patrols with soldiers from 110 mountain out of OIR or whether Afsat and general Grecovitch and his Forces are encountering the Russians as they fly Missions across Syria, but it is something that we encounter on a daily basis again great power competition I'm going throughout the area of Influence here as well as the recent purchase of UAVs by the Russians from the Iranians next please Iran and the influence of Iran across the region Whether it is The Iranian ballistic missile force or whether it is the proxy groups that the Iranians Provide support to and you see multiple groups on this map Hezbollah Hamas and the IMG's that we know are constantly Providing a threat to our forces in Iraq and in Syria next please deterring Iran and as the sent down commanders focused in Tapa as well as the component commanders on the threat that Iran poses to our partners The greatest way that we can assist the region is to ensure that the threat is understood by our partners And that we are working on a daily basis with them on this threat whether that is Integrated air and missile defense or that is working with their land forces each of the components has a piece of Assisting our partner forces throughout the region in the threat that Iran poses through its proxy forces and ballistic missile forces next please our Violent extremist organizations throughout the region Of course everyone is familiar with ISIS in a queue But the vast majority of the violent extremist Organizations tier one organizations are found within the Sankam region So we continue to work with our partners on this It is a topic that comes up on a daily basis across the components and With other partnered special operations elements next please Counter VEO's again the success here as Successes with countering Iran Iranian influence is working through our partners our partner Intel Network providing the critical human on VEO's and What the VEO's may potentially influence the region in as far as attacks Critical to the Sankam mission in being able to address these threats and continue to work with our partners across the region next please innovation Innovation across the Sankam region is something general Krilla has taken with him when he was the 18th airborne commander And now has brought that to Tampa in fact, I recently got a email from Sergeant Mickey Reeves. He's in Task Force America Bravo company first battalion of the 82nd Infantry Massachusetts Army National Guard. He said quote sir. It's an honor That I have and in full confidence I am certain that my innovation will aid the Sankam mission and I will be winning this for our set pretty Note to be getting from a sergeant out there who provided his innovative idea to the Sankam commander This is a sergeant From the Massachusetts Army National Guard that is competing in the Sankam innovation oasis think shark tank So general Krilla asked for innovative ideas from across the entire footprint of Sankam all the components providing them whether you're a soldier Sailor airman marine guardian. You're a DA civilian. You could provide your input to Sankam they're down to five and Sergeant Mickey Reeves is one of those five that'll be going in front of the Sankam team and providing that in a shark tank like Environment with his innovative idea. So we're rooting for the home team The sergeant Reeves comes through on that innovation oasis and provides that out to fellow soldiers in the formation You see on here task force 39. That is the Task force that we have recently stood up at our cent that is going to drive innovation for our formation Each of the components has also stood up a innovation task force Task force 99 for absent and task force 59 for Nav sent that sent is out working with their sail drones across the region a great Ability from our partners to afford that type of technology and place those out in the Arabian Gulf or into the Red Sea What we're attempting to do is work the same type of innovation in the land domain and provide that for border security Many of our partners have stepped forward and said we've got large unsecured borders How could we take innovation? Driven by Sankam and our set and provide that to us and helping to secure our borders some of the other areas on there are aspects of Mission command and digitizing our command posts for our partners next please Increased partnership again Going back to the assessment Developed by General Corrilla and seeing that our strategic advantage is through our partnerships It's through our people and whether that is Third s-fab with Colonel Zach Miller standing behind me Zach is getting daily requests for additional contacts With partners in theater for his formation to come and provide training opportunities The demand tempo is so high That he really can't provide enough forces to get after each one of the training opportunities It's out there for third s-fab Task Force Spartan, which is our division headquarters out of Kansas and Missouri 35th entry division they are partnering at the platoon level so platoon immersion out there Across the theater and then state partnership program another great way for us to partner across the region in fact many of our regional partners are saying that is something that is working very well in a Location like Jordan and I want the same type of state partnership program to be brought to my formation So that is aspects of strategic advantage that we're seeing across the theater next please Another aspect of that would be the Middle East air defense network So as we talk about integrated air and missile defense And our Patriot soldiers are 14 series soldiers that we've had on multiple deployments High deployment op-tempo for those formations and to be able to assist the army from a cent com or an r-cent perspective How do we build capacity throughout the Middle East in their formations so that our Patriot forces Can come back to the United States conduct training and modernization and provide resiliency to that 14 series Soldier that formation, which is so critical for us the 32nd. W. M. D. C Brigadier General Dave Stewart Provides us that subject matter expertise out there when it comes to Providing assistance to a partners in theater and then also providing an army perspective of resiliency to the 14 series soldiers That have been on back-to-back deployments for us next please Counter UAS Probably 20 years ago. We would have seen an IED up on this screen The threat that we face in theater similar to the IED that we face when we had flat bottom Humvees in Iraq and we were taking large number of casualties throughout the region This is the current threat they were facing whether it is one-way attack UAVs whether it is a prop UAV a rotary wing as that soldiers Deploying that is the type of threat that we face throughout the region again on a daily basis our partners See not only the technology that the United States Army brings as the service lead for the joint force But also the tactics techniques and procedures that are being conducted in Iraq and Syria these are on our secure locations and our soldiers have gone to school on the enemy threat They've developed the battle drills They've AAR those and they pulled the lessons learned from those and then repetition repetition repetition to ensure that at a secure location they can execute a layered defense of that location That is really what our partners are looking to get in the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center. This is another initiative by SENTCOM to pull partners together and share counter UAS capabilities Understanding how we conduct a layered defense with our soldiers and provide them the same type of capabilities for their secure locations next please Third SFAB so here's colonel Zach Miller and his team out of Fort Hood, Texas The demand signal for this formation as you heard the secretary today talk about the fourth SFAB Providing assistance in Europe is off the charts Zack and his team are in high demand by our partners in theater And just a tremendous Organization I was a commander at JRTC for two and a half years 24 rotations in the box the only time a unit ever got inside of Geronimo the world-class Op-Force decision cycle was an SFAB The only time they ever got inside Geronimo's decision cycle was an SFAB and that's through a second language That's pretty impressive This Organization is from top to bottom Leaders that have already done that job and they're in a second go-around So brigade commanders battalion commanders company troop battery commanders all have done that job successfully before So you can see from top to bottom the leadership that drives this thing. It's just an absolute engine for training opportunities So Zach and his team you see I'm there Hey, AJ there are across to rack providing assistance there and across Every one of our partner nations throughout the region working collective training Staff training MDMP for battalion and brigade staffs and then collective training with Selected units out there and taking them and building proficiency inside of those formations Next slide, please This is task force grizzly. This is our rapid response force Task force grizzly is out of the Montana Army National Guard Currently, this is first of the 163rd calf incredible formation This is the same formation that helped us when we had the Hasaka prison break and these soldiers were on scene with Bradley's in the ESA in Syria assisting OIR In that ISIS attempt to break out of the Hasaka prison These soldiers have been across Syria with their Bradley's they've been across Kuwait conducting training with Partners across the region and then deployed throughout the region conducting training Recently in Jordan Conducting eager line with their M1s The last rapid response force prior to 163 We had deployed into HGIA. So this formation that the army provides to our sent into Sencom is always in use Based on the demands that are coming out of theater Next please Here is eager line. So those are 163 M1 tanks out there As we talk about strategic competition Russians in the Chinese Observing what the United States military is conducting in theater what they saw an eager lion is six of these M1s showed up by Stradair C-17 The other four came out of Kuwait on HETs came across the trans-Arabian network through Saudi Arabia and entered Jordan by HET So the capability to deploy our assets across the theater Our strategic competitors are watching Exercises like eager lion and seeing how the United States Army as well as the joint force moves our capabilities around the theater next please as I talk about partnerships the Sencom region and the focus on Afghanistan and Iraq for the last two decades Sencom had not Taken units to our training centers the NTC or JRTC Our other combatant commands had done that in fact they do it at volume We were just recently two weeks ago With the deputy commander of the UAE land forces down at JRTC They will go through a rotation with 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain in February of 23 It'll be a company out of their 11th Mountain Battalion. This is a high-speed unit We've gotten great feedback from the Emiratis about this organization as well as the SFAB and US Embassy in theater, so we're excited to have The UAE be the first in the region that comes into a US Army CTC and competes at the company level Again, they'll rotate in in the February or March time frame. So there's a general homemade He's the deputy for the UAE land forces. He's meeting with Geronimo. So he has seen the enemy He's reporting back to the 11th Mountain Battalion company commander. He's telling him He's gonna have a tough fight on his hands Which he when he gets to JRTC and enters the box against Geronimo but when it comes to building partners and talking about the training opportunities that the US Army can afford This is one of those unique opportunities that is out there that with the help of the 3rd SFAB and other Organizations in theater. We were able to bring based on the US Army next slide and That again shows one of our M1s out at the Udari range complex. That's a 163rd CAV out there conducting training recently met with Task Force Gris. They're getting ready to rotate out Here within the next 30 days to Task Force Rattler also coming out of the Montana Army National Guard And our discussion was their training opportunities in theater at the Udari range complex Bravo company commander told me he's an M1 company commander. He and his first sergeant sir Not only have we gone through all of our our tables our tank M1 tables Conducted gunnery. We will go back fully qualified in every one of our tanks But we have shot the next generation of tank gunners. They looked across their formation into each platoon and said alright Specialist Frank step forward. You're gonna be the next gunner. You're not crude yet against this vehicle But you will be the next gunner as we rotate back and our non-commissioned officers rotate through the crews You'll be stepping forward We're gonna take you through tank gunnery right now because we're in Kuwait We're at the Udari range complex and we have the opportunity to conduct more training That is buying readiness for the United States Army and deploying that unit back to the Montana Army National Guard Above full readiness Those are the things that our sent can assist and provide back to the Army We appreciate the opportunity to talk to you today and just give you an executive summary About what our sent is doing for both the US Army and Sancom in theater. Thanks for your time today