 Ladies and gentlemen, the Army leadership. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the colors and the singing of the national anthem by the United States Army Orchestra, conducted this morning by their leader and commander, Colonel Bruce Poulver. Please remain standing for the invocation by Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel William Horton, the U.S. Army Military District of Washington's Deputy Command Chaplain, followed by the retiring of the colors. In light of what's so proud whose broad stripes and bright stars. God of all creation and eternity, the giver of liberty and the sustainer to those who have the courage to fight for freedom and democracy, gathered this week our strong and noble men and women dedicated to serve America's Army. We ask that through collaboration and communication, you would refresh and renew the minds and spirit of our Army's leadership. Facilitate critical and creative thinking and visionary discussions, wisdom and decision making, and a contagious courage to execute the required actions with the highest ethical and moral standards for a strong Army. You've blessed our Army with gifted soldiers and families, our nation's treasures. Protect them, whether serving at home or abroad in peace or in conflict, allow them to experience and know your divine peace, your presence, and your hope. Be close to those who are serving in harm's way, especially those seeking to stabilize global relations considering the attacks in Israel this weekend. May our nation lead with integrity, courage, and tenacity to stand for the right, defend our freedom, and heal the hurting in your precious and holy name I pray. Amen. Please be seated. At dawn on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion, to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs, shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back. The team work and determination displayed on that fateful day in Pointe du Hoc not only demonstrates the best of the United States Army, but it also represents our mission at the association of the United States Army. Soldiers supporting soldiers. For almost 75 years, AUSA has served soldiers providing a voice for the Army and celebrated those who have helped the Army community. We've experienced tremendous growth and are now over one million members strong and growing. We continue to provide essential services to soldiers, civilians, retirees, veterans, and family members. We engage with the Army, Congress, industry partners and communities across the globe. And we work to advance national security and promote greater recognition of the Army's vital role in American life. But we're not stopping there. We're evolving the way we educate, inform, and connect America to the Army. We're developing our Center for Leadership to inspire Army leaders. We're investing in our Army communities with a broader membership reach. And we're building stronger links between generations to support the Army's critical needs. As we charted AUSA's path for the future, we realized we needed a new symbol to represent what we do. A logo inspired by the significance of the soldier experience and the Army story. A logo inspired by our focus on people. Because as General Crete Nebrem said, people aren't in the Army. They are the Army. A logo inspired by the achievements of those brave soldiers at Pointe du Hoc on that fateful day in 1944. This is that symbol. AUSA, it takes a team. Soldiers, families, civilians, retirees, veterans, industry, and you. Ladies and gentlemen, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of the United States Army. General Robert Brown, United States Army, retired. Well, the new logo definitely embodies AUSA's guiding principles, honoring the Army's impressive history, and focusing on support to soldiers. Welcome to the 2023 annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army. Since 1775, before we were a nation, American soldiers have fulfilled their duty in service to our country. Today in our audience, there are many soldiers who have served in harm's way, defending America's freedom. We are honored to have all of these brave men and women with us. We are honored this morning to also welcome several Gold Star families. Your courage inspires us, and we promise you that we will never forget. Welcome to our distinguished guests, our Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army, Sergeant Major of the Army, and all of our Army senior leaders who are here with us today. This room is full of leaders in whose footsteps we follow, former Secretaries of the Army, former Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Sergeant's Major of the Army, and those who went above and beyond the call of duty are Medal of Honor recipients. Would General Bob Foley please stand to be recognized? I also wanna acknowledge the Army representatives from over 92 countries, nine ambassadors, Minister of Defense, 20 Chiefs of Army, and 12 Command Sergeant's Major from our allies and partners. Welcome, thanks for being here. We're really glad to have you. Now let's watch, listen, and learn from the soldiers of the Military District of Washington. Native Americans, the children of immigrants, men and women of all races, all raised their hand and took the oath that propelled them into the greatest adventure and most honorable service of their lives. They faced the risk and overcame the dangers that are a part of being a soldier, and many helped to break down institutional barriers as the Army increasingly provided opportunities for service. American soldiers and the families that so faithfully stand beside you have always represented the best of our nation. You serve for many reasons, ready to sacrifice all if needed, never wavering from the belief that the Army offers limitless possibilities to be all you can be. Today, as we observe Indigenous People's Day, we recognize that Native Americans have a distinguished legacy in the Army. Many thousands have served from the early days of the Revolutionary War to the Lewis and Clark Expedition by scouts in the U.S. Cavalry to Cold Talkers in World War II and not just Cold Talkers. Colonel Van Barfoot here. My grandma was a Choctaw Indian. Growing up in Mississippi, I worked and went to school with all sorts of boys from different backgrounds. I joined the Army in 1940, way before the U.S. at the end of the war, and by 1944, I was with the 45th ID in Italy. You know, I earned the Medal of Honor for my actions over there against the Nazis, but I never considered myself a hero. I fought for my boys, and they fought for me. We all just wanted to make sure we got home safely. You know, I love being in the Army, and I love being a soldier. So I hung around through Korea and Vietnam, just like my fellow soldier here, Chief Mike Novasel. Van Barfoot loved being on the ground, but boy, did I love to fly. My parents came here from Croatia. Little did I know when I joined the Army in 1941 that I would pilot bombers in World War II, transport planes in Korea, and achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. I even had a career as a civilian airline pilot, but I still felt the calling. So in 1963, having finally seen the light, I gave up my Air Force commission to be an Army warren officer and fly helicopters. I flew many dust-off missions in Vietnam, but hadn't realized until someone told me that I had rescued over 5,500 soldiers in my two tours. I received the Medal of Honor for one of those missions, but as any other soldier will tell you, the lives I saved are reward enough. The Army changed a lot in the years we served. Integrated units showed that people from all backgrounds serving together makes for a stronger, more resilient Army. I woke up to the morning sky first, every blue just like we rehearsed. When I get up off this ground, the sugar leaves back down to the ground, ground, ground, ground, till I'm clean. Town, town, in style. Centuries felt a calling to support the Army, as the nation faced the ravages of war. My name is Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, and in my day, a female doctor was a very rare thing. When the Civil War broke out, I felt compelled to serve, but I was unable to join as a surgeon, so I signed up as a volunteer nurse. I treated wounded soldiers and created a relief organization to help their families, but I never gave up on my dream of serving as a doctor. A dream which would finally be realized when I was brought on as a contract surgeon towards the end of the war. I may have been a civilian, but I loved serving with and caring for soldiers. For this, I received the Medal of Honor from President Andrew Johnson, the only woman to receive it to this day. I can tell you this, if you're a soldier next to dry socks and hot chow, the thing you appreciate most is getting mail from home. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams, and as the first Black officer of the Women's Army Corps, I commanded the 6th, Triple-A post of Italian in Europe during World War II. To live up to our unit motto, no male, low morale, we worked day and night to clear a backlog of over 17 million pieces of mail. It was a segregated army back then, but I took every opportunity to insist on equal treatment for my soldiers. At one point, I was asked about trouble at my last assignment, and I said I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I was only standing up for my soldiers. After the army, I'll continue to advocate for opportunities for women to become leaders. Oh, man. With my face turned to the sand. Oh, I got eyes in the back of my head. That's when I'm gonna stand up. Take this salvation with the strength that I got until I die. So I'm gonna stand up. Take my people. Both Dr. Walker and Lieutenant Colonel Adams recognized the importance of family connections for soldiers and the need to provide support for military families. These efforts were strengthened over the years into robust family programs that exist both within the army and through organizations like AUSA. But in 1965, I was Lieutenant Colonel Moore, commanding the 1-7 Calvary in the Idring Valley. Many of you know the story. How 450 soldiers from the 7th Cav held off over 2,000 seasoned North Vietnamese regulars for the better part of three days and nights of intense combat. I watched young soldiers fight through a hornet's nest of zipping bullets, bursting grenades, and hand-to-hand combat. They were well-trained and armed and expertly led by some of the best junior officers and NCOs in the world. They were supported by aircraft and pilots using the new air mobile doctrine we trained so hard on before deploying. The army had us ready for combat. While my men and I were fighting it out in Vietnam, my wife, Julia, along with countless army spouses was working at home to support military families. When I heard about my husband's battle in Idring, I was terrified. And when notices started arriving about the soldiers who weren't coming home, I was heartbroken. The army hadn't designed a system to notify the next of kin, so taxi drivers delivered telegrams with the news. To me, that just wasn't good enough. I believe that how we take care of our army families is just as important as how we take care of our soldiers. So I convinced the Pentagon to create a designated casualty notification unit. Not only that, but I was instrumental in the setup of the Army Community Service programs to help soldiers and their families adapt to military life. The army truly is a family, and we're proud to be a part of it. So smoking fire, I didn't feel certainly I was rising higher. And I felt like I just made the biggest mistake. When I thought about my unborn child, when I thought about my wife, then the answer rang out clear from somewhere up above. No greater gift has man than to lay down his life for love. Don't understand it all myself. But there's a brother on my left in my mind. I'm not trying to be a hero. You don't think twice. Through the Cold War, Deserts stole Afghanistan and Iraq. Whether they are active duty, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, or our veterans who remain soldiers for life, our soldiers and their families continue to be the centerpiece of our army team. The Army's past assuredly informs this future. As members of our profession, we continue to sustain our important traditions and honor those who came before us. Yet we also never cease to transform and adapt with the best tools, the best training, and the best technology in the world. We are America's Army. This will defend. We will continue to deploy and sustain units that are second to none. From providing material and training supports to allies and partners, continuing to respond to terrorist threats or providing rapid response forces at home in the wake of natural disasters, the Army will remain America's ready force of the size of action. And we will always be the team that great Americans choose to join when they want to be all you can be. Those incredible troops, unbelievable job. What's dismissed? It's me who want to sign up for another hitch. Hey, thank you to Major General Trevor Breenkamp, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington, Command Sergeant Major Knapp, the men and women of the Old Guard, our nation's oldest regular Army regiment, and the men and women of the United States Army Band. I'll tell you, you're each incredible and you are collectively inspiring. Great job, thank you. Well, this morning, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth joins us for her third annual conference. She's honored to serve alongside the men and women of the world's premier land fighting force, the United States Army. She served as a special assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Defense at the National Security Council, as well as having served as a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for strategy, plans and forces, and then as Under Secretary of Defense for policy. We are fortunate to have her with us today to launch the 2023 AUSA annual meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the honorable Christine Wormuth, the 25th Secretary of the Army. Thank you so much for that introduction, General Brown. It is great to be back. And I too just wanna give a shout out to our incredible soldiers for that wonderful performance. It was really inspiring, so thank you all so much. It is great to be here and see the Army's best friends and supporters. It's always terrific to have you with us in the audience. I also wanna thank everyone who's been working overtime behind the scenes to make this annual meeting happen. On top of all the usual frenetic preparations, you all had to figure out whether the Army could even be here at this meeting during a possible government shutdown. And I know we're all very grateful that that didn't happen. This is my third year at AUSA, but this year stands out because this morning I'm joined by the recently confirmed 41st Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George. And our new Sergeant Major of the Army, Mike Weimer. It's no surprise that Sergeant Major Weimer hit the ground running, motivating leaders and soldiers to reinvigorate their focus on war fighting. The core skills he mastered as part of the special operations community, working with ingenuity and initiative in high stakes environments will serve him well in his role as our new SMA. And General George and I have already built a close working relationship this past year while he was serving as our Vice Chief. I look forward to building on that foundation and leading our Army together as a united team. I couldn't be happier to get to work with both General George and SMA Weimer every day. Please join me in congratulating them in their new and very well earned roles. Although I was pleased that the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed General George last month, I am keenly aware that there are another 150 Army General Officers whose nominations are stalled because of the blanket hold that's still in place. This hold is hurting our military readiness and causing needless uncertainty for those officers and their families. It's also frankly a discouraging signal for our talented junior and field grade officers as they contemplate their own futures as senior Army leaders. It is long past time for the hold to end and for our exceptional nominees to be confirmed. And just as I hope that the Senate will confirm our nominees, I also hope that our partners in Congress can work together to provide more budget certainty for the Army and the rest of the Department of Defense by passing a full year appropriations bill. Under a short-term continuing resolution, we faced a host of challenges and as you all know, we're confronting the possibility of another government shutdown in mid-November. These issues can be distracting and time consuming for those of us in Washington. But I'm proud to say that through all of this, from Fort Liberty to Poland, from Fort Irwin to Korea, our soldiers across all three components remain focused on mastering their warfighting skills, building relationships with our allies and partners, deterring our adversaries and defending this nation. Over the past year, I've seen firsthand the dedication and focus that our soldiers bring to their work. I saw it at Fort Riley, where I visited a first infantry division command post manned by American and Estonian soldiers who were preparing for a combined division warfighter exercise that will ensure we remain ready to defend NATO's borders. I saw it in Guam, where I visited with our THAAD battery and the air defenders who serve as the first line of homeland defense in the Pacific theater. I saw it at Fort Johnson, where paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division tested their medal against the JRTC Op 4. And I saw it in Northern Australia, where thousands of soldiers participated in exercise talisman saber alongside our Australian allies and 11 other partners and allies in a massive display of shared resolve and commitment to continued stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. That resolve is equally on display in other regions of the world. Earlier this year, soldiers deployed in the SENTCOM AOR participated in Juniper Oak 2023, the largest ever joint exercise between the United States and Israel. These exercises are tangible evidence of our unwavering commitment to Israel's security. And in the wake of this weekend's horrific attacks by Hamas, the entire Department of Defense has made clear that our support for the Israeli defense forces and the Israeli people is ironclad. In Europe and back here at home, our soldiers are providing the Ukrainian armed forces with the training and knowledge to carry on the counteroffensive. We've sent major combat systems and munitions to Ukraine, including 31 Abrams tanks, 186 Bradley fighting vehicles, hundreds of Humvees and MRAPs and other combat vehicles, and 2 million artillery munitions. The work our troops and industry partners are doing to support Ukraine is vital to maintaining deterrence. Our support of Ukraine's national sovereignty is directly in our national interest. It weakens Russia's military, it strengthens deterrence in other regions, and it builds our national industrial base. Our support for Ukraine is also critical to our own military readiness. We need the support of Congress to replenish critical stockpiles of munitions and equipment. We also need the support of Congress as we work hard to improve the quality of life for our soldiers and families. We continue to increase spouse employment options and access to healthcare for our families. We've extended our parental leave policies to include 12 weeks of paid leave for our new parents. We've increased our childcare capacity and we've increased compensation for our childcare workers. And we remain committed to making improvements to living conditions for our soldiers and families. I visited Fort Johnson and Fort Riley and I saw new and improved barracks for our single soldiers. At Fort Leonardwood, I visited families in their homes to see what was working and what still needs improving. At each of these installations, I saw how garrison commands have reduced work order times and are striving to address repairs quickly and efficiently. But even with these improvements, there's still so much that we need to do to address the quality of our aging barracks. We're working to improve barracks oversight at every post and with every garrison commander because this isn't just a quality of life issue, it's a readiness issue for the Army. We spend over a billion dollars annually on barracks, but the reality is that as the service with the largest barracks inventory, we are digging ourselves out of a $6.5 billion maintenance backlog. As we look ahead to next year's budget, General George and I are working on ways to provide for 100% sustainment funding for barracks and to spend more on renovation and construction. But we need Congress to continue to work with us to make this a long-term investment priority. And just as we're investing in quality of life for our soldiers to ensure the readiness of our force, we must also invest in the capabilities our soldiers need to fight and win the nation's wars. This brings me to the challenging and evolving security environment. It's no secret that we've transitioned from an era defined by the global war on terror to one defined by strategic competition. We see how much the landscape is shifting, punctuated by geopolitical, technological, economic and environmental upheaval. An aggressive Russia disregards international laws and violates the sovereign boundaries of Ukraine, destroying lives and displacing millions. China continues to develop and test advanced weapons that threaten our allies and partners in the region, as well as the United States' homeland. Rapid advancements in technologies from artificial intelligence to unmanned platforms have the potential to change the character of war. We're also facing challenges at home. Budgets have been flat and uncertain with continuing resolutions and government shutdowns hurting our ability to plan. The recruiting environment continues to be difficult, putting further stress on our formations. But looking back, the army has faced similar times before in its history. At the beginning of the 20th century, the army was also a volunteer force, struggling to reform in a budget constrained environment with rising tensions between great powers across the globe. As the rest of the world entered World War I, the United States was behind in mobilization, technology, doctrine and structure. American troops actually relied on their French and British allies for both modern equipment like tanks and planes and the techniques to use them. When the war ended, forward-thinking army leaders knew that peacetime demanded continued innovation and investment for the future. And when the nation did find itself at war again 23 years later, these investments would enable the United States Army to play a central role in the liberation of Europe and the Pacific. The things that made a difference back then, the rapid mobilization of industry, the openness to innovation and experimentation, structural transformation and doctrinal overhaul are all things we must focus on today to be successful in future battlefields. We can't afford to wait until the next conflict is clearly visible. So here's the message I wanna share with you today. This is a crucial moment for the army to summon our ingenuity, to innovate and invest in emerging technologies, to test and develop in uncharted areas like artificial intelligence and contested domains like space and cyber, to reshape and transform the force to be more adaptable and flexible. We've got to ask the tough questions and make the hard decisions on what our force needs to fight in the future. We've got to continue to embrace innovation and transformation or risk failing to address future threats. And we should remember a warning from this year's AUSA Marshall Award winner, retired general Eric Shinseki. And what he once said, if you don't like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less. The good news for our army is that across the force, I see us embracing change, looking to the future and becoming the more modern, more lethal and more adaptive force we need to be. In close partnership with industry, the army has pressed ahead and stayed on track to implement our most ambitious modernization effort in 40 years. In the past year, we've moved dozens of systems into advanced prototyping, production or fielding. This steady process shows we can and will succeed on critical modernization programs. With the introduction of each new system, we continue our forces capability to respond to various threats and serve as a credible deterrent against our adversaries. A prime example of this was our introduction of the mid-range capability to units at joint-based Lewis-McCord. We successfully tested this system with both SM6 interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles, giving the army the ability to strike ships from land, a capability well suited for a variety of threats in the Indo-Pacific. We're also continuing to develop our long-range hypersonic capabilities. We've already delivered the first battery of long-range hypersonic weapons ground support equipment and we are aggressively pursuing the testing and fielding of the complete system. This is a top modernization priority for the army and the entire Department of Defense. In the field of emerging technologies, we conducted extensive testing of directed energy M-shore ad, a short-range air defense capability mounted on a striker designed to defeat unmanned aircraft and indirect fires with a 50 kilowatt laser. As small unmanned systems increase in number and decreased in cost, we have got to have this capability to defend our formations against what will soon be one of the most common threats on the battlefield. We continue to research and develop innovative new capabilities that will maintain our asymmetric advantage. Robotics is one example. This year, the army started fielding our first robots outside the EOD community, the small multi-purpose equipment transport. We have an even larger system coming soon, the robotic combat vehicle that's designed to carry weapons, sensors and even other robots. To figure out how robots and soldiers will work together on the battlefield, we are beginning a new human machine integrated formations initiative. These integrated formations will bring robotic systems into units alongside humans with the goal of always having robots, not soldiers, make first contact with the enemy. This will shift some of the work onto robots so that soldiers can do what only humans can, make value-based decisions, accept risk and practice the art of command. This is just one example of innovations our army is exploring as we look ahead to the future. New systems and technologies paired with a robust digital transformation, incorporation of autonomy, AI, machine learning and advanced computing will all contribute to the transformation of today's force into the army of the future. As we pursue the most significant modernization effort in generations, we're building an army that can dominate in large-scale multi-domain operations. Building this army also requires transforming our force structure to ensure that we have the capabilities we need to meet current and future strategic requirements. We need to align our structure with our end strength over the next several years to ensure we can field the right formations and ensure they are properly manned, trained and able to deliver lethal results. This transformation must take place and we look forward to briefing Congress right after AUSA. To man the formations of the future, we need to recruit the right people today, a task unique to an all-volunteer force and one that frankly has grown more difficult in recent years. But this vital mission is yet another area where the army is innovating and transforming. All across the army, from the soldier referral program to the future soldier prep course, we've worked tirelessly over the past year to improve our recruiting and accession process. We worked with local communities to host events. We unveiled the Be All You Can Be campaign across the country. We surged medical personnel to processing stations and streamlined the medical review process. And we did see an improvement. We ended this fiscal year with 55,000 recruiting contracts including 4,600 for our delayed entry program that will ship in FY24. This is a huge testament to the work of our recruiters nationwide, also of USAREC, TRADOC and our army marketing office leadership and thousands of hours of work from army staff and subordinate commands. But we realized several months ago that this alone would not be enough. The competition for talented Americans is fierce and fundamentally different from 50 or even 20 years ago. Understanding this reality is key to transforming how we recruit and demonstrating that the army is a compelling choice for young Americans. To develop that understanding, we established a study team to undertake a clean sheet examination of the army's recruiting enterprise. The mandate from us was straightforward. Identify not just the symptoms of our challenges but their root causes and then come back and recommend solutions. Based on the team's excellent work and after discussion and debate at senior levels, we announced last week a set of decisions that we believe will transform the army recruiting enterprise and position us to start building back our end strength. Simply put, we are changing who we recruit, how we recruit them and who we recruit them with. We're going to broaden our prospect pool to include more of the available labor force. We're going to transition from a borrowed workforce model to a permanent specialized recruiter workforce much like those used by Fortune 500 companies today. We're going to elevate recruiting command to report directly to me and General George. The commanding general will serve a four-year tenure to have the time to lead and deliver results and USREC will be given new capabilities and capacity to experiment, learn and implement change. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the all-volunteer force earlier this year, there's been a lot of talk about declining military propensity, declining eligibility, and declining familiarity with the military as factors behind the current recruiting crisis. There's no doubt that these issues are real and that our broader society should be mobilizing to address them. But the army cannot wait for that to happen. We need to take charge of our own destiny and address those things now that we can do better and differently ourselves to meet our recruiting mission and attract the best possible talent to the army. This is what the decisions we made are all about. We've got to innovate and transform in recruiting but also in our war fighting concepts and modernization or risk irrelevance. And the United States Army cannot and will not be irrelevant. I am confident that what we're doing today and in the years ahead will ensure that we remain the greatest land fighting force in the world. Since we were last here together, our army has accomplished so much. We have been challenged and we have been determined. Our soldiers and civilians have set the bar for technical and tactical competence and expertise. Our officers, warrant officers, and NCOs continue to lead with professionalism and discipline. Our research and development teams continue to explore new technologies and concepts for the future of land warfare. And we continue to adapt to the changing environment from recruiting to hypersonics. We have the experience of two decades of conflict behind us and we are rapidly moving ahead. Mindful that this is a time we can use to either innovate for our future or lose the momentum and edge that we have as the most lethal land force in the world. The investments we make today from improving soldier quality of life to developing new advanced weapons will all contribute to our future success. Alongside General George and SMA Weimer, I'm proud to lead this army, to recognize all of its accomplishments over the last year and all of the work that's being done today to secure the future. I am proud of our soldiers, civilians, families, and soldiers for life for all that they do and will continue to do to keep our army the best in the world. And I'm thankful for the communities and government and industry partners who support us in our mission each and every day. All of these people, all of you are helping us the army to be all we can be, to push the envelope of innovation, to realize each soldier's individual potential, to overcome challenges and to look to the future. Thank you for supporting the army, your army, as we defend this nation. Well, thank you, Madam Secretary, for those inspiring and memorable words. This morning, we will recognize many individuals and organizations for their service to the nation, the army, and the association of the United States Army. To assist in presentation of AUSA's national awards, Brigadier General Jack Haley, United States Army retired, and chair of the annual meeting, will join General Brown on the stage. Would Lieutenant General Foley please join us on the stage? The General Creighton W. Abrams Medal for exceptional service to the U.S. Army is awarded to Lieutenant General Robert Foley, U.S. Army retired. A Medal of Honor recipient who retired in 2000 after 37 years of service. Lieutenant General Foley is a leader of character, competence, commitment, and courage, whose contributions helped build the modern-day all-volunteer army. In grateful recognition, we proudly present the General Creighton W. Abrams Medal to Lieutenant General Robert Foley, United States Army retired, Ms. Jernigan and Lieutenant Colonel Winter. Please join us on stage. The Major General Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Medal is presented to Ms. Mary Jane Jernigan and Lieutenant Colonel Dick Winter, U.S. Army retired, for their outstanding contributions to the association of the United States Army. Mary Jane Jernigan, an Abbott supporter of our troops, contributed to the success of the Aberdeen Chapter and is also a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army for Maryland North, advocating for the Army and serving as a liaison between the community and the Army Secretary. Lieutenant Colonel Winter, a long-time leader, has served in several volunteer leadership roles. His tireless efforts contributed to the growth of the George Washington Chapter and AUSA's vision of being recognized as the Army's premier association. In recognition of their dedication and loyalty to further AUSA and its mission, we proudly present the Major General Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Medal to Ms. Mary Jane Jernigan and Lieutenant Colonel Dick Winter, U.S. Army retired. Colonel Sumner, please join us on stage. The Major General James Earl Rudder Medal is awarded to Colonel L. Gordon Sumner Jr., U.S. Army retired, for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of the association of the United States Army's goal of a seamless multi-component Army. Colonel Sumner, an active member of AUSA since 1975 and a member of AUSA's Potomac Liberty Chapter, is the Army Reserve Ambassador for Virginia, where he connects the component with its local communities and leaders to help tell the Army Reserve story. In appreciation of his outstanding service and dedication to our nation and the Army Reserve, we proudly present the Major General James Earl Rudder Medal to Colonel L. Gordon Sumner Jr., United States Army retired. Would Sergeant Major Leely please join us on stage? The Sergeant Major of the Army, William G. Bainbridge Medal, is presented to Sergeant Major Scott Leely, United States Army retired, for his exceptional service to the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. In every effort he undertakes relating to the Army, he shows dedication, leadership, enthusiasm and a caring attitude in supporting service members, veterans and their spouses. In grateful recognition of his demonstrated leadership, we proudly present the Sergeant Major of the Army, William G. Bainbridge Medal to Sergeant Major Scott Leely, United States Army retired. Would Ms. Wicks Deason please join us on stage? The Joseph P. Kribbins Medal is presented to Ms. Renito Wicks Deason, for her exemplary service to the United States Army. Ms. Wicks Deason, Director of Public Affairs Fort Irwin, California, is also an active volunteer for the National Training Center, where she has worked to strengthen the post-relationship with neighboring communities. In recognition of her commitment to the highest ideals of service as a Department of the Army civilian, we are proud to present the Joseph P. Kribbins Award to Renito Wicks Deason. Would the Shipley family please join us on stage? The Association of the United States Army Volunteer Family of the Year Award for promoting the well-being of soldiers and their family members is presented to the Shipley family. The Shipleys working together as a team have demonstrated an exceptional level of community involvement, making a difference that is truly inspiring. In recognition of their commitment to the Army community, we present our Volunteer Family of the Year Award to this remarkable family. Would you the third please join us on stage? The John W. Dixon Award for Outstanding Contributions to National Defense by a member of the industrial community is awarded to Harold L. You the third, Chairman and CEO of Day and Zimmerman. As Chairman and CEO, Mr. You has led Day and Zimmerman to become the leading provider of munitions to the National Defense and provider of critical infrastructure, construction, security and training support for the U.S. military. In recognition of his support for the men and women of our armed forces and their families, we present the John W. Dixon Award to Harold L. You the third, accepting the award for Veterans United Home Loans. Would Ms. Kelly Frink, CFO for Veterans United Home Loans please join us on stage? The Association of the United States Army National Service Award is presented to Veterans United Home Loans for exemplary service and demonstrated enduring support to the American soldier and the United States Army community. Veterans United with their focus on supporting soldiers, veterans and their families has made extraordinary efforts to educate its current and prospective customers, making a difference in the lives of veterans and service members. In appreciation of their dedicated service to the men and women in uniform and their families, we are honored to present the National Service Award to Veterans United Home Loans. Next, it gives us great pleasure to present AUSA Chapter Awards. Ladies and gentlemen, the AUSA Award for the largest membership for the 2022-2023 operating year goes again to the Fort Liberty Chapter. Accepting the award for the Fort Liberty Chapter our Major General retired Al Acock, Chapter President, Lieutenant General Christopher Donahue, Commanding General, 18th Airborne Corps and Command Sergeant Major Brian Barker, Command Sergeant Major 3 Corps. We would now like to recognize our Army's divisions for their outstanding membership accomplishments this past year. This year, the Active Duty Division Award for the largest active duty membership goes to the First Cavalry Division, Fort Kavosos, Texas. Accepting the award for the First Cavalry Division, Major General Kevin Admiral, Commanding General, First Cavalry Division, Command Sergeant Major LaBoris Jackson, Command Sergeant Major, First Cavalry Division and Major General retired Kendall Cox, Chapter President, Central Texas Chapter. We have two awards to honor reserve components that through their unit readiness has been outstanding in the mission of keeping America's Army strong. The award for the best National Guard Command goes to the Kentucky National Guard. Accepting the award for the Kentucky National Guard, Major General Haldane B. Lamberton, the Adjutant General and Command Sergeant Major Jesse S. Withers, Command Sergeant Major, State Command Sergeant Major. Award for the best US Army Reserve Command goes to the 84th Training Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky. Accepting the award, Major General Edward Merrigan, Commanding General, 84th Training Command and Command Sergeant Major Scott Hinton, Command Sergeant Major, 84th Training Command. And now, presentation of the best chapter awards. These awards recognize those chapters whose outstanding service to their members, their communities and the Army earned them the distinction of best in their class this past year. Their successes represent a team effort by the chapter and their local military and business leaders. We categorize our best chapter competition based upon size. Individuals accepting the award will please do so on the stage. The AUSA Board of Directors Awards that recognize the best chapters overall from all categories go to the following chapters. For first place in the largest category, chapters which began the year with over 1,000 individual, life and community partner members, the winners are the George Washington Chapter and the Redstone Huntsville Chapter. Accepting for the George Washington Chapter, Lieutenant Colonel retired Felix Winter Chapter President accompanied by Major General Trevor J. Brittenkent, Commanding General, USA Military District of Washington, Command Sergeant Major Veronica Knapp, Command Sergeant Major, United States Army Military District of Washington and Mrs. Karen Lowe, Executive Vice President George Washington Chapter. Accepting for the Redstone Huntsville Chapter, Mark Jacobson, Chapter President, accompanied by Rhonda Lee Sutton, Third Region President, General Charles Hamilton, Commanding General, United States Army Materiel Command and Command Sergeant Major Jimmy Sellers, Command Sergeant Major, United States Army Materiel Command. In the category of chapters with between 550 and 999 members, the winner is the North Texas Audie Murphy Chapter, Dallas Texans. Accepting for the North Texas Audie Murphy Chapter, Dr. Patty McCoy, Chapter President, accompanied by Colonel retired J. P. Hogan, Chapter Vice President, leadership and Emma Burchell, Chapter Vice President, Young Professionals. Category of chapters with between 350 and 549 members, the winners are the Fort Leonard Wood Mid-Missouri and the Texas Capital Area Chapter. Accepting for the Fort Leonard Wood Mid-Missouri Chapter, Brennan Willard, Chapter President, accompanied by Major General Christopher Beck, Commanding General Fort Leonard Wood and Command Sergeant Major Jorge Arzabrila, Command Sergeant Major Fort Leonard Wood. Accepting for the Texas Capital Area Chapter, Colonel retired Gary Patterson, Chapter President, accompanied by General James Rainey, Commanding General, Army Futures Command, Brigadier General Money Euless, Deputy Adjutant General, Texas National Guard and Command Sergeant Major Brian Hester, Command Sergeant Major, US Army Futures Command. In the category of chapters starting the year with between 200 and 349 individual, life and community partner members, the winner is the Major Samuel Woodville Chapter. Accepting for the Samuel Woodville Chapter, Command Sergeant Major retired Michael Boy, Chapter President, accompanied by Stephen Lee, Civilian Aid to the Secretary of the Army, Ohio South. Lieutenant Colonel retired Paul Fellinger, Chapter Treasurer and First Sergeant Steve Dyrrador, 478th Engineer Battalion, Chapter Vice President. Our category for chapters with less than 200 members, the winners are the National Training Center, High Desert and the Puerto Rico Chapter. Accepting for the National Training Center, High Desert Chapter is Ms. Brenda Wicks-Deason, Chapter President, accompanied by Command Sergeant Major Carvet Tate, Command Sergeant Major, the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, and Colonel Stephen Chadwick, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commanding General. Accepting for the Puerto Rico Chapter, is CW-4 retired Cristino Lazada Cruz, Chapter President, accompanied by Colonel Carlos E. Godea, Commander First Mission Support Command, Fort Buchanan Puerto Rico. In the best overseas chapter category, the winner is the General Creighton W. Abrams Chapter. Accepting for the Abrams Chapter is Gemma McGowan, Chapter President, accompanied by General Daryl Williams, Commanding General, US Army Europe and Africa, Command Sergeant Major Jeremiah Inman, Command Sergeant Major, US Army Europe and Africa, and Colonel retired Dave Fulton, AUSA European Region President. Would Lieutenant General Greg, General Hamilton, Command Sergeant Major Sellings, and Major Michael McCrory please join us on stage. In 2015, the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, established the Lieutenant General, Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award, to recognize those who have demonstrated lifelong excellence in their logistics craft. First awarded to its namesake in 2016, by then General Villa. Commanding General, Army Materiel Command. The Gregg Award honors contributions to Army sustainment operations, made by leaders across the enterprise, as voted on by a board of senior military and civilian representatives. This year, we are honored to have Lieutenant General Gregg present for this presentation. This award, as well as the newly renamed Fort Gregg Adams, are our tribute to his legacy of service to the United States Army and our nation. This year, the Lieutenant General, Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award, is presented to Major Michael McCrory for exemplary service, for significant and measurable contributions to Army sustainment operations, and for service as a role model, whose success can be emulated by all. This concludes the award presentations. Please give everyone a big hand. General Gregg, what an absolute honor and you're still fast, this can be a snuck off the stage before we could do your standing ovation. But thank you so much, what an honor to have you here for that award, General Gregg. Well yesterday, runners from around the world competed in the 39th annual Army 10 Miler, hosted by the US Army Military District of Washington. We celebrate and recognize the third largest 10 mile foot race in the world known as the Army's Race. And your association, a founding sponsor of this tradition of excellence, proudly celebrates its 39th year as co-lead sponsor along with KBR and AUSA national partner. All race proceeds, by the way, benefit family, morale, welfare, and recreation programs. So for those of you who are not able to attend the race, we have a special video that highlights the Army's premier athletic event. Ladies and gentlemen, the 39th Army 10 Miler. That you all make every day. Have a super race. Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for the Golden Knights Black Demonstration Team. I know there's 28,000 people that are ready to get it on and get running. I want to hear it for all of our soldiers that are out there all over the world, helping to defend our nation and assure our allies that it's here for our troopers. Ladies and gentlemen, as we get ready to run the streets of our nation's capital, Sergeant Major of the Army, Sergeant Major Michael R. Weimer. Couldn't be more proud of what we're doing today and what we represent. Have a great day. Wounded Warriors set. That's in 23 seconds. Michael, on women's category is Elvin Kibbet with a time of 54 minutes and 51 seconds. Great job. The top U.S. military men's team and winner of the Commander's Cup, and this is a surprise here, is the Fort Carson men's team. I think that's a sweep going on there, Fort Carson. And the top U.S. military women's team and winner of the Commander's Cup is the Fort Carson women's team. Got to be that high altitude training. Great job, all the runners, and again, fantastic race. Well, this year's theme, Be All You Can Be, is the perfect focus given the ongoing challenges in our world and the need for a strong army. You'll see superb educational programs throughout the conference. Our contemporary military forums are focused on people, readiness, and transformation. There are over 50 educational and professional development programs available over the three days. We have 755 exhibitors, including nine international pavilions, and these exhibits highlight the latest in technology and showcase innovative ideas to ensure our soldiers have what they need for any contingency worldwide. Make sure you get to the exhibit floor and take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. We're also introducing this year our new mobile app for the 2023 annual meeting. Just a few minutes, we'll be rolling out an update, so check your phones for the pop-up notification and make sure you refresh your updates so you can know exactly what's going on, get the latest information from the annual meeting. Finally, we're committed to moving the annual meeting in the future off the holiday weekend. And we're working closely, yeah, a little applause there. Folks want their holiday. We're working closely with the Army leadership and we'll keep everybody informed on how that goes and we're committed. We're gonna make it happen and we'll let you know as soon as we know when that's possible. So thanks for joining us. I am absolutely certain this will be the best annual meeting ever. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes this morning's opening session. Please enjoy the week.