WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. John Murray has been officially nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to become the first four-star commander for the new Army Futures Command, according to the July 17 congressional record.
The three-star general, who will become a four-star if confirmed, is currently serving as the deputy chief of staff Army G-8, the services programming arm. InsideDefense.com first reported that Murray was headed to the newly formed command in June, but the Army would not confirm his selection, even during an AFC briefing at the Pentagon on July 13.
Murray’s nomination has been referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee. His confirmation hearing date has not been set.
Army Futures Command taking charge of conjuring up new capability
The Army is closing in on choosing a location and a commander for its new Futures Command as it prepares to stand the organization up this coming June.
The official nomination comes just days after the Army announced the command will be based in Austin, Texas.
The AFC was stood up in October at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington. The plan is to realign the Army’s modernization priorities under a new organization that will implement cross-functional teams that correspond with the service’s top six modernization efforts: Long-Range Precision Fires, Next-Generation Combat Vehicle, Future Vertical Lift, the network, air and missile defense, and soldier lethality.
These priorities address gaps the Army found — as it looked toward fighting complex, hybrid wars against near-peer adversaries — as the result of a focus on asymmetric warfare and counterinsurgency operations over the past 15 years.
“We are in the midst of a change in the very character of war,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said at a July 13 Pentagon press briefing. “And we don’t, and didn’t, have the organization solely dedicated to that.”
Why the Army picked Austin for Futures Command
The Army picks Austin, Texas, for its four-star command in the hopes it will help change the service's culture to be more innovative, rapid and technologically disruptive.
The Army believes Austin will provide the new command with the tools to be disruptive, innovative and break the entire service out of the archaic industrial age, allowing it to effectively focus on modernizing and preparing for future, more complex operations.
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