14 May 2021
US Army Secretary nominee defends modernisation portfolio
by Ashley Roque
Christine Wormuth, the Biden administration’s nominee to be the next US Secretary of the Army, vowed to lawmakers that in the role she will push forward with the service’s weapons modernisation portfolio while also examining ways to ease tensions between the Army Futures Command (AFC) and the larger acquisition office.
On 13 May Wormuth appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to field questions about how she would approach the role as the army’s top civilian. If confirmed by the Senate, Wormuth would be the first woman to hold the post. She has also worked inside the Pentagon as the undersecretary of defense for policy under for the Obama administration. Drawing on her experience inside the building as well as in the research world, she discussed how she would execute the role at a time when the service is undergoing a transformation and facing budget cuts.
“We have a window to make needed changes to ensure that the army continues to be the best fighting force in the world, but that window will not be open indefinitely,” Wormuth told lawmakers.
“Seeing these modernisation programmes through successfully, while also maintaining readiness to meet the demands of current operations will be a top priority for me,” she later added.
In 2015 Christine Wormuth, then the US undersecretary of defense for policy, visited Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory, Australia. She is now nominated to be the US Army Secretary. (US Marine Corps)
Under the Trump administration, the service moved forward with a list of six modernisation priorities – Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF), Next-Generation Combat Vehicles, Future Vertical Lift, the network, air and missile defence, and soldier lethality – and stood up the AFC to manage the portfolio’s development.
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Christine Wormuth, the Biden administration’s nominee to be the next US Secretary of the Army, vowed...
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