The Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) on Friday officially transitioned over to the modernization-focused Futures Command, where its leadership is now tasked with developing concepts to implement the service’s new multi-domain operations plan.
ARCIC, now designated the Futures and Concepts Directorate, will shift from Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to Futures Command but remain headquartered at Ft. Eustis in Virginia.
“This is all about the future. It’s all about future concepts. It’s all about future capabilities. It’s ensuring that U.S.soldiers, and in many ways our allies, have the tools, concepts and organizational structure to fight and win on the future battlefield,” Gen. John Murray, the head of Futures Command, told reporters Friday.
Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, director of ARCIC, said his office will now lead the effort to turn the Army’s recently released multi-domain operations concept into a full-fledged 10-year modernization strategy.
“Now that we have a new concept, Multi-Domain Operations, the next step is to publish a strategy that becomes a guidance document that puts every part of the enterprise on a pathway to 2028,” Wesley said.
The Army released the Multi-Domain Operations Concept 1.5 on Thursday, which focuses on driving strategic formations to better align with growing threats from Russia and China and urging a requirement for a joint effort to address ongoing competition at levels “below armed conflict” (Defense Daily, Dec. 6).
“Concepts are not doctrine. We’ve still got to continue to evolve this concept to put a finer point on it, so we can start identifying capability gaps and seams that we need to address. We can start to examine new experimentation and modeling and simulations, and changes to organizational structures that have to happen,” Murray said.
Wesley’s team is also tasked with publishing a new concept modernization document, the Annual Mission Guidance.
“It’s a top down-driven document that Gen. Murray will be the signatory to, that is really for holding accountable the entire enterprise for achieving the goals and objectives associated with that modernization effort,”Wesley told reporters.
ARCIC’s force development team will remain with TRADOC as they focus mainly on near-term updates, according to Wesley.
Murray said Futures Command leadership is meeting next week to set capability and concept development benchmarks for the next 12 to 18 months.