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It's Official: Austin Lands New U.S. Army Futures Command

July 12, 2018

AUSTIN, TX — Austin has been selected as the home for the U.S. Army's new Futures Command, officials confirmed.

Bloomberg Business News broke the news on the selection of Austin to host the military function aimed at modernizing the Army. According to the Thursday report, Austin emerged as the winning city to land the function from a list of five finalist municipalities — whittled down after a 150-city list — who were vying to lure the operation. The ambitious new Army function aimed at military modernization techniques will be headed up by a four-star general and employ some 500 military personnel.

By Friday morning, U.S. Army officials confirmed the news in a televised news conference. "The Army chose Austin as the location of the AFC headquarters because it not only possessed the talent, the entrepreneurial spirit and access to key partners we are seeking, but also because it offers the quality of life our people desire and a cost of living they can afford," Army Secretary Mark T. Esper said at the press briefing.

"The establishment of the Army Futures Command is the best example of our commitment to the future readiness and lethality of the force," Esper continued. "Army Futures Command will help fulfill the Army Vision by addressing the key shortcomings of the current acquisition system, providing unity of command, effort, and purpose to the entire modernization enterprise."

Gov. Greg Abbott led a 4 p.m. press conference at the downtown offices of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce on Friday in making a formal announcement of the incoming Futures Command in Austin. He was joined by Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president/economic development with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce; Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, deputy commanding general with the U.S. Army; Josh Baer, founder/CEO of Capital Factory; and other chamber and Army officials.

Prior to that, the U.S. Army already had produced something of a promotional video explaining why Austin was chosen over the other cities that had vied to land the command:

"This is a major win for the Austin mega region," Phil Wilson, chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, said in a prepared statement. "It further reinforces our unique combination of resources – a deep talent base, innovative thinkers and high quality of life – that make the area so attractive. We look forward to helping make the Austin region home of the Army Futures Command as they centralize and seed innovation to the battlefield under a new four-star general."

Austin Mayor Steve Adler added his voice in conveying excitement over the news: "It's exciting that Austin has been selected as the home of the new Army Futures Command," Adler said in a prepared statement. "Innovation and creativity are intersecting with more industries every day, and it's happening more and more in Austin, an international innovation capital. This announcement is great for our economy and presents endless possibilities to develop collaboration with our vibrant and thriving technology industry."

In April, military officials said they had narrowed the list of finalists for the headquarters to five cities other than Austin, including Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Raleigh, N.C. Other cities previously under consideration included Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, according to Defense News. By June, a team of military personnel visited the city to survey its landscape, talk to civic leaders and scope out potential space to lease that would house the function.

Bloomberg was first to report on the selection of Austin via a Thursday tweet: "Pack your bags defense scribes, we're going to Austin!" a Bloomberg reporter tweeted. "Looks like the Texans will host the Army's New Futures Command."

In a prepared statement reacting to the news on Thursday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat whose district includes Austin, noted the city is a good fit for the Army's Futures Command: "Austin fits the mission as a city of innovation — a community that promotes creativity, entrepreneurship and diversity. We will now play a leading role in ensuring our national security."

By Friday, other state officials had released statements in reaction to the news. Although a formal announcement has yet to be made about Austin's economic development win, the official statements from state officials all but confirm the news ahead of a formal announcement by the Pentagon.

"This is great news for the State of Texas and the United States," Congressmen Roger Williams (TX-25), said. "Austin is the fastest growing city in the nation, and I cannot think of a location more fit to serve as the modernization and innovation hub for the United States Army. It creates a unique synergy between the military, academia and industry partners, unified in their goal to provide soldiers with the weapons and equipment that they need to fight and win."

Williams personally welcomed the command, extending his assistance should it be needed: "As a resident and the representative of Austin, I welcome the Army Futures Command, and look forward to working with them to ensure the Army remains the best trained and equipped fighting force in the world."

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican representing District 10, noted the seamless nature of bringing the Futures Command into the fold given an abundance of related functions already in Austin.

"I cannot think of a better place for the Army Futures Command Center to be located," McCaul said in a prepared statement. "Austin, my hometown, is a booming tech-hub with close ties to the U.S. Armed Forces. We already host some of the U.S. military's newest innovative research and development investments, including the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the Army Research Lab South, and the Air Force's 'AFWERXs.' I know this addition will serve as great help to the Command."

Added U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith, a Republican representing Dist. 21: "This is tremendous news for Central Texas. The Army Futures Command will bring hundreds of jobs to the Austin area. With its excellent academic institutions and established technology sector, Austin will be of great help to the Command. I look forward to Texas playing an even greater role in securing our country by welcoming this newest defense center."

Establishment of the command marks the most significant reorganization of the institutional Army since 1973, when it created U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC),Army officials said. "Unique in structure and design, it is being headquartered in Austin, Texas to better partner with academia, industry, and innovators in the private sector, while providing a good and affordable quality of life for Futures Command personnel," officials wrote in making the announcement. "When it reaches full operating capacity in summer 2019, the headquarters will comprise about 500 personnel. Sub-organizations, many of which currently reside within TRADOC and AMC, will transition to Army Futures Command in the coming months. The Army has no plan to physically move units or personnel from these commands at the present time."

"This is not about moving lots of people from other commands," said Ryan D. McCarthy, Under Secretary of the Army. "Army Futures Command can be best characterized as a restructuring and de-layering to maintain the 'best in breed' in all military capabilities."

Army Futures Command also oversees the Army's eight cross-functional teams, which are aligned against the Army's six modernization priorities, McCarthy explained. Each CFT is expected to facilitate faster acquisition decision making by Army senior leaders in order to meet the needs of the future force, consistent with the Army Vision, he added.

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce have been instrumental in quietly promoting the city as the future home for the new Army function. The chamber's CEO Mike Rollins in April reacted to news that Austin was among the finalists in landing the function that would focus on modernizing the U.S. Army and develop new technologies.

"We are thrilled that the United States Army is considering Austin as a potential location for its Army Futures Command,"Rollins said. He noted the city's status as host city for a number of other military functions, suggesting a synergy already exists locally: "The Austin region is already home to the Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUX), as well as the Texas Reserve Command and the largest U.S. Army installation in Fort Hood."

The city also has strong academic institutions and a thriving tech industry that would augment the mission of the Army Futures Command, Rollins said at the time: "Our strong academic institutions and our leading technology innovation sector have a history of collaborating to find solutions."

Despite the silence prior to a formal announcement, a special called telephone meeting posted by the University of Texas System Board of Regents has given rise to speculation that the contact is related to the Army function. The conference call is scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m., according to a open meeting notice posted by the board of regents.

In an attached agenda, the UT System Board of Regentsallude to a "...possible lease of space in the UT System building, 210 W. 7th St.," to the United States government as the subject of Friday's telephone call.

At Friday's press conference, Patch asked officials where the actual brick-and-mortar headquarters for the command would be located. Lt. Gen. Wesley said area universities and others have offered space for the command in the immediacy, but the actual headquarters would likely be housed in a downtown building.

The significance of the command coming to Austin might be viewed as something of an abstraction to some. But Joseph Kopser, a Democratic candidate seeking election to the U.S. House to represent the 21st Congressional District of Texas, disabused those with abstract notions. Instead, he likened the command's entry into Austin as transformative a development as when the Johnson Space Center came to Houston — not just in the sheer scale of the project but in terms of its likely generational impact.

Issues:Military