Mattis Commends Norway’s Commitment to Global Peace, Security

By Lisa Ferdinando, DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary James N. Mattis hailed the strong bond between the United States and Norway and commended the Nordic nation for its commitment to global peace and security in Oslo, Norway, yesterday.

The closeness is illustrated by the democratic ideals espoused in both nations’ constitutions, a bond strengthened by some 5 million Americans who claim Norwegian ancestry, Mattis said.

Mattis, who met with Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jense and Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide, said the United States and Norway have steadily built the strong bond over more than a century.

“It’s bolstered by strong shared values and our desire, our mutual desire for trans-Atlantic unity as demonstrated by the importance our two nations place on democracy, on individual liberties and the rule of law,” he said.

“In America, we do not take for granted the strong bond between our peoples,” he added.

Norway Reaffirms Commitment to Global Security

Mattis commended Norway for its recommitment at the NATO summit last week to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense. NATO members pledged at the alliance’s 2014 summit in Wales to invest 2 percent of their GDP in defense programs.

The commitment, Mattis said, “lends credence to the reality that NATO is stronger today than it was yesterday, stronger than it was a month ago, stronger today than it was a year ago.”

Bakke-Jensen described the United States as Norway’s “closest and most important ally,” saying the relationship includes strong and broad defense cooperation. “Our soldiers operate together in conflict areas around the world, and they increasingly work together in Norway and the North Atlantic,” he said.

‘Standard-Bearer’ for Peace, Security

Mattis recognized Norway for its commitment to global peace and security, which includes its support of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, and the coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

“You generously contribute to global stability to increase support of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan,” he said. “Your nation’s commitments to peacekeeping development are commendable,” he said, “because as we all know you’re a standard-bearer for the international responsibilities of peacekeeping, of development funding -- all those kinds of things that ultimately, we stand for.”

The professionalism, dedication and skill of the Norwegian forces have strengthened the defeat-ISIS coalition, Mattis remarked.

Hosting Hundreds of U.S. Rotational Forces

Further, Mattis thanked Norway for hosting up to 700 U.S. Marines on a rotational basis for rigorous cold-weather training.

“We’ve always benefited from our close relationship, and we have an almost assured mil-to-mil relationship ensured by the human beings who spend time in each other’s countries,” he said.

The talks in Oslo were aimed at discussing ways to advance the militaryto-military relationship and finding ways to further deepen the already strong bond the countries share, Mattis explained.

Army Chooses Austin as Site for Futures Command Headquarters

By David Vergun, Army News Service

WASHINGTON -- Austin, Texas, will be the location for the headquarters of the new U.S. Army Futures Command, Army Secretary Mark T. Esper announced today at a Pentagon news conference.

Army Undersecretary Ryan D. McCarthy then explained the details. He said the process started with 150 metropolitan areas, narrowed down to five. Besides Austin, officials considered Boston; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Philadelphia.

McCarthy said he and an advance team visited each of those five cities and met with city leaders, congressional delegations, private-sector entities, and university faculty and staff. All of those, he said, were "tremendously welcoming and accommodating to our team."

He added that the choice was difficult, as all five had great qualities.

The criteria for selection included:

-- Proximity to science, technology, engineering and math workers and industries;

-- Proximity to private-sector innovation;

-- Academic STEM and research and development investment;

-- Quality of life;

-- Availability of cost and time assessment of civic support;

-- Mature entrepreneurial incubator hubs for access to talent, ideas and collaboration;

-- Space and access to top-tier university science and engineering departments for collaboration on experiments, prototype concepts and systems;

-- Expandability of work space for other services and companies to join the effort;

-- Density of industry and academic talent; and

-- Cost of doing business to enable both new startups and to draw established firms.

The undersecretary said the type of urban ecosystem defined by the selection criteria is where innovation, networking and collaboration are happening daily.

"That ecosystem cannot be duplicated from behind the walls of traditional posts and forts," he said, adding that recognition of that concept is a radical change for the Army's culture.

The selection criteria evaluation process included use of an outside firm, validated with the Army's internal studies and analysis, as well as a federally-funded research and development center, he said.

A six-member team is en route to Austin to begin establishing initial operating capability at Army Futures Command, McCarthy said. Within a year, full operating capability will be achieved, he said, with a headquarters staff of about 500.

McCarthy said that doesn't mean all 500 will be working out of a downtown office. He said that as full operating capability is achieved over the coming year, he envisions teams of soldiers and Army civilians working out of technology "incubator hubs" alongside entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers.

A four-star general to head the command has been identified, but the officer’s name has not yet made public, he said.

McCarthy said Army Futures Command will shepherd development of the service's six modernization priorities of improved long-range precision fires, a next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift platforms, a mobile and expeditionary Army network, air and missile defense capabilities and soldier lethality.

He added that the eight cross-functional teams responsible now for moving those priorities forward will fall under the command.

Army Col. Patrick Seiber, communications director for Army Futures Command, said over the next year, a number of existing Army organizations are scheduled to transition from other commands to AFC. The Army Research, Development and Engineering Command is one example of an organization that eventually will realign under AFC, he said.

Army Research Laboratories, part of Army Materiel Command, also will realign to AFC, as will the Army Capabilities Integration Center, which now is part of Army Training and Doctrine Command. A number of acquisition and contracting elements that will fall under AFC, but those decisions are still being reviewed, he said.

While some existing Army organizations will be realigned under AFC, Seiber emphasized that those organizations, their employees and their facilities are expected to physically remain where they are now. The changes, he said, are "a delayering or rewiring, so to speak, to streamline functions under one command, to get solutions faster and products out to the soldier faster," he said.

When AFC is stood up within a year, Seiber said, the headquarters will contain up to 100 uniformed soldiers and 400 Army civilians, pending plans moving forward.

Mattis Reaffirms ‘Unbreakable’ Bond, Enduring Commitment to Europe

By Lisa Ferdinando, DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary James N. Mattis reaffirmed the “unbreakable trans-Atlantic bond” between the United States and Europe and underscored the enduring U.S. commitment to peace and prosperity on the continent during the U.S.-Adriatic Charter defense minister’s meeting yesterday in Zagreb, Croatia.

“I’m here today to reinforce America’s commitment to the security and stability of southeast Europe,” Mattis said.

Established in 2003, the U.S.-Adriatic Charter began with the United States, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia as founding members. It expanded to include Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro as members; Kosovo, Serbia and Slovenia are observers.

Mattis said many of those militaries “stand alongside each other shoulder to shoulder” to support critical missions across the globe. Those missions, he said, include NATO‘s regional support; the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan; operations in Kosovo; the enhanced forward presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; and the coalition effort to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The United States maintains strong state partnership programs with the U.S.-Adriatic Charter members and observers, he added.

Mattis reiterated U.S. support for each nation’s ability to choose its own path on the regional and global stage, whether NATO, the European Union, or both. Further, he reaffirmed U.S. support for NATO’s open-door policy, in which NATO membership is open to any European state in a position to further the principles of the alliance’s founding treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.

Enduring Commitment to European Peace, Prosperity

Mattis traveled to Croatia following a NATO summit in Brussels, where the secretary joined President Donald J. Trump to reinforce U.S. priorities, including more equitable burden sharing, strengthening the alliance’s deterrence and defense capabilities, and enhancing NATO’s role in fighting terrorism.

In Zagreb, Mattis said he is reaffirming what Vice President Michael R. Pence said during last year’s U.S.-Adriatic Charter summit: that the regional group is a testament to the U.S. commitment to a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.

“Coming out of our highly successful NATO summit in Brussels, it is clear that the U.S. will continue to strengthen our alliances and partnerships in the region,” the secretary said, noting that fortifying those ties is a priority in the National Defense Strategy.

However, he said there is a keen awareness that “some elsewhere would wish to see us fail in our endeavors here today,” and that “those that seek to divide us for their own reasons will not enjoy our dedication to working together.”

But, America’s commitment to Europe remains steadfast, Mattis said.

“Our meeting today is proof of our enduring shared commitment to this region’s prosperity and security, and the unbreakable trans-Atlantic bond,” he said. “Together, we are building security, shoulder to shoulder through respect, trust and cooperation.”

Mattis traveled on to Oslo, Norway, for talks with Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen and Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide.