Fort Myer hosts welcome ceremony for secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey: "successful business transformation essential to long-term (financial) health of the Army".

Dr. Francis J. Harvey delivered the following address at a ceremony held at Fort Myer, Va., on Dec. 6, marking his appointment as the new Secretary of the Army. Harvey spoke of how he proposes to transform the Army during his tenure, including adapting new technologies to warfighting and business operations.

I am truly honored to be appointed the 19th secretary of the Army and have the opportunity to serve our country, our great country, during a time of war. I am looking forward to working closely with the chief [of staff of the Army] as together we lead the Army in successfully meeting the challenges of the dangerous and complicated 21st-century security environment and, specifically, jointly fighting and winning the global war on terrorism.

Although these challenges are daunting, I know the Army will meet them. I say this because the Army isn't just an ordinary institution--it's a great institution with an unparalleled set of enduring core values, a long, rich tradition, and a demonstrated ability to change and adapt to new situations.

Values like loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage; and the Soldier's Creed, which states: "I will always place the mission first, I will never accept defeat, I will never quit, and I will never leave a fallen comrade."

To me, there is no institution in our country that has a richer tradition than the Army. A tradition that is older than the Republic itself. The tradition of the long gray line. The tradition of bravery as manifested at Omaha and Utah beaches and the Battle of the Bulge, as the deputy secretary has [just] noted. The tradition of courage as demonstrated at Okinawa and Guadalcanal, and most recently, at Falluja. The tradition that has preserved the peace and freedom of our country for over 229 years. This great institution, in concert with the Navy, Air Force, and Marines, has been the "Vanguard of Democracy" around the world--countries such as Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq are free today because of the United States Armed Forces and the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.

I recently had the opportunity to visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. What a moving experience that was for me--to see the resilience of these young men and women, and that of their spouses; to feel their commitment to something much greater than self. The nation and free peoples around the world will sleep better tonight because of the willingness of our soldiers and their loved ones to endure hardships so that others might have a brighter future--a future of freedom, democracy, equality, and opportunity.

Ladies and gentlemen, values, tradition, and people--that is the essence of the United States Army.

National Security Environment

So I am confident that the Army will succeed in meeting the challenges of the 21st Century security environment. As the chief has stated on many occasions, this security environment, which is characterized by asymmetric adversaries, transnational terrorists, non-linear battlefields, and intense post-conflict operations, is, perhaps, more complex than at any other time in our nation's history.

In order to ensure our country's national security in this complex environment, it is essential that the Army continue to successfully carry out its mission of providing trained and ready forces with the necessary capabilities to the combatant commanders in support of the national security and defense strategies both today and in the future. These forces must be fully capable across the entire range of military operations.

In the near term, that means we must meet our fundamental responsibilities of recruiting, organizing, training, equipping, sustaining, and developing soldiers and leaders. As the chief has frequently said, soldiers are the centerpiece of our formations. I could not agree more. As the secretary of the Army, my top priority will be the well-being of soldiers and their families. There is no more important aspect of our effort to win the global war on terrorism than taking care of our people.

Business Transformation

As we carry out these responsibilities in the near term, we must also develop a future force that is better able to meet the challenges of our security environment by implementing a key element of defense strategy, and that is transforming the way the Army fights and the way it does business.

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Transformation is a multidimensional and interdependent process that involves adapting new technologies to warfighting and business operations; developing improved joint operating concepts and business processes to utilize these technologies; changing organizational structures and, most important, developing leaders, people, and a culture that are relevant to the future. The intent is to establish an overall capability that is totally aligned with our security environment.

But most important, to truly be successful, transformation must build on those enduring values and rich traditions of the Army. We will keep the best of the past, while transforming to be better able to meet the challenges of the future.

Information Technology

The technology that is at the center of transformation is information technology. The long-term goal of the Information Age transformation of the Department of Defense is an organization that is capable of conducting network centric operations, both military and business, in a totally joint fashion, to include our allies and partners.

Network Centric Force

From the military point of view, a network centric capable force is one that is robustly networked (including command and control, warfighters, platforms, and sensors); fully interoperable; and shares information and collaborates by means of a communications and information infrastructure that is global, secure, real-time, reliable, Internet-based, and user-driven.

A network centric force has dramatically improved situational awareness and quality of information, which, in turn, leads to dramatic improvements in military effectiveness across the board including operational cycle time, command and control, force application, force protection, and logistics.

Under the chief's leadership, the Army has made significant progress on force transformation with initiatives such as modularity, force stabilization, rebalancing of the active and reserve components, and the Future Combat System, as well as a number of interrelated communications and information systems projects.

In the area of business transformation, there is much work yet to be done. Successful business transformation is essential to the long-term health of the Army because it will free up financial resources that can be applied to the warfighter.

As secretary, Army transformation, leadership development, and generating the land forces to win the global war on terrorism will be among my top priorities.

In closing, let me state that whether we are talking about the current force or the future force, my number one priority that will be overarching and enduring is the well-being of soldiers and their families. I want them to know that I greatly value the service and the sacrifices that they are making for our country. You can rest assured, too, that I am committed to ensuring that our soldiers get the best training and the right equipment to do their jobs. When they are out there in the cold and the dark fighting the war on terrorism, know that I will be working intensely for their near-term needs while building the Army of the future.

God bless our soldiers; God bless the Army; and God bless this great nation. Thank you very much.