Latest news with #DanDriscoll
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Army secretary wants to move more quickly on an agreement for Hawaii live-fire training lands
The U.S. Army's top civilian leader said Tuesday that he wants to move more quickly on an agreement that will allow the military to continue using the only large-scale live-fire training range for ground forces in Hawaii. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he discussed the issue during a meeting with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Monday. The Army leases a key part of Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island from the state and its contract to do so expires in 2029. It wants to be able to continue using the land so it can quickly send troops from Hawaii to Asia and the Pacific, something that is growing in importance as China becomes more assertive particularly regarding Taiwan. A May public hearing on whether to extend the lease generated hours of testimony against allowing the Army to stay. Many Native Hawaiians and environmental activists upset with the U.S. military's history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks said they wanted the Army to return the land to the state. Driscoll told reporters the Army needs the Pohakuloa land, which sits on a rocky plateau about 6,200 feet (1,890 meters) above sea level between the Big Island's tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. 'The world is changing. We all know this. The threat in Indo-Pacom is more real than ever before,' Driscoll told reporters, referring to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which overseas military operations in Asia and the Pacific. He said he wanted a more aggressive timeline 'to bake out these negotiations in the coming months, rather than waiting until 2027, 2028 and 2029.' 'This land matters the United States Army. We have got to be able to train here.' Driscoll said. Driscoll said he asked Green's office to give the Army a list within the next few weeks of things the Army can do to help the community. 'What we are hoping to do is figure out ways where we, the Army, can continue to contribute to a community that has given so much to our Army and so much to our nation, while at the same time acknowledging the very real world threat that we are facing in the Indo-Pacific,' Driscoll said. The Army says other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades. And commanders say they wouldn't be able to deter potential adversaries in the Indo-Pacific if they have to spend extra time transporting troops to the region from U.S. mainland training ranges. Green said he spent significant time on Monday speaking with Driscoll and his team. "We will be exploring possibilities on the military leases together in the coming days and weeks, and he now better understands how important it is to us to work together for the good of Hawaii's people and our land, while we all work together protect our country,' Green said in a statement. The governor said he updated Hawaii's congressional delegation on the meetings. Green said he would get the community's input 'as we move forward.' U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat whose district includes rural Oahu and the Big Island, has said she wants the military to help increase Hawaii's housing supply and bolster Hawaii's water and sewer infrastructure. Driscoll visited Hawaii during a Pacific trip that will also include stops in Australia and the Philippines. He spoke to journalists in front of two HIMARS rocket launchers, which are designed to deliver precision strikes to long-range targets. Hawaii-based soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division are due to receive 16 of the launchers, which the U.S. also supplied to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's invasion.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Army secretary wants to move more quickly on an agreement for Hawaii live-fire training lands
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (AP) — The U.S. Army's top civilian leader said Tuesday that he wants to move more quickly on an agreement that will allow the military to continue using the only large-scale live-fire training range for ground forces in Hawaii. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he discussed the issue during a meeting with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Monday. The Army leases a key part of Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island from the state and its contract to do so expires in 2029. It wants to be able to continue using the land so it can quickly send troops from Hawaii to Asia and the Pacific, something that is growing in importance as China becomes more assertive particularly regarding Taiwan. A May public hearing on whether to extend the lease generated hours of testimony against allowing the Army to stay. Many Native Hawaiians and environmental activists upset with the U.S. military's history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks said they wanted the Army to return the land to the state. Driscoll told reporters the Army needs the Pohakuloa land, which sits on a rocky plateau about 6,200 feet (1,890 meters) above sea level between the Big Island's tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. 'The world is changing. We all know this. The threat in Indo-Pacom is more real than ever before,' Driscoll told reporters, referring to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which overseas military operations in Asia and the Pacific. He said he wanted a more aggressive timeline 'to bake out these negotiations in the coming months, rather than waiting until 2027, 2028 and 2029.' 'This land matters the United States Army. We have got to be able to train here.' Driscoll said. Driscoll said he asked Green's office to give the Army a list within the next few weeks of things the Army can do to help the community. 'What we are hoping to do is figure out ways where we, the Army, can continue to contribute to a community that has given so much to our Army and so much to our nation, while at the same time acknowledging the very real world threat that we are facing in the Indo-Pacific,' Driscoll said. The Army says other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades. And commanders say they wouldn't be able to deter potential adversaries in the Indo-Pacific if they have to spend extra time transporting troops to the region from U.S. mainland training ranges. Green said he spent significant time on Monday speaking with Driscoll and his team. 'We will be exploring possibilities on the military leases together in the coming days and weeks, and he now better understands how important it is to us to work together for the good of Hawaii's people and our land, while we all work together protect our country,' Green said in a statement. The governor said he updated Hawaii's congressional delegation on the meetings. Green said he would get the community's input 'as we move forward.' U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat whose district includes rural Oahu and the Big Island, has said she wants the military to help increase Hawaii's housing supply and bolster Hawaii's water and sewer infrastructure. Driscoll visited Hawaii during a Pacific trip that will also include stops in Australia and the Philippines. He spoke to journalists in front of two HIMARS rocket launchers, which are designed to deliver precision strikes to long-range targets. Hawaii-based soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division are due to receive 16 of the launchers, which the U.S. also supplied to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's invasion.
Fox News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Army secretary vows 'grievous error' targeting pro-life groups will never happen again
FIRST ON FOX: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called a set of training slides that deemed pro-life groups as terrorist organizations a "grievous error" that he'll work to ensure doesn't happen again, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. "This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate," Driscoll wrote to a group of attorneys for the American Center for Law and Justice, who represented the pro-life groups affected. Thousands of soldiers at Fort Bragg were trained in counter-terrorism and security practices with slides that listed groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue alongside recognized extremist organizations, and even pointed to pro‑life license plates as potential warning signs. The practice went on for seven years, until 2024. "Equally concerning was the previous administration's inadequate response to this serious incident. Its failure to provide full transparency or take responsibility for such a grievous error is wholly unacceptable." Driscoll said the Army has since reviewed all security training materials, including anti-terrorism training, and removed the slides that referenced pro-life groups, along with a slew of pro-animal and green groups like PETA, as "terrorist organizations." "Please be assured that I am firmly committed to rigorous oversight of all Army training materials to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future." Agnes Schaefer, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and Reserve affairs, said that the training deck, which was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers, was "inconsistent with Army's antiterrorism policy and training." The training module was used to instruct soldiers on what to look out for when guarding points of base access. She claimed there is "no evidence" to suggest the individual who created the slide deck did so to "deliberately subvert" Army policy or to "further a personal viewpoint." The slides caused a stir among congressional Republicans, who demanded answers from Army officials in a hearing last year and took issue with Schaefer's assurances the slide did not represent a personal viewpoint. "It's downright ridiculous to claim the slide deck doesn't 'further a personal viewpoint,' but there have been no consequences for the employee who ran anti-life training sessions at Fort Liberty that clearly violated Army policy," Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in September. It's not clear if anyone involved in the slide's production and use has been fired or reprimanded.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Army Secretary Fires Entire Corps of Civilian Advisers from Communities Across US
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has ousted his entire slate of civilian advisers in a sweeping move aimed at clearing space for voices from the tech world, as the service doubles down on its push to modernize with a Silicon Valley-style lens. On Friday, Driscoll notified the 115 members of the Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army program, or CASA, an all-volunteer group that serves as the secretary's eyes and ears in communities across the country, that their roles were being terminated. "Moving forward, the Civilian Aide Program will focus on leveraging civilian expertise in strategic communications, advanced technology, innovation and digital transformation to advise the Army as we build a force capable of dominating the future fight," Driscoll wrote in a letter to all civilian aides Friday. Read Next: Tech Executives Commissioned as Senior Army Officers Won't Recuse Themselves from DoD Business Dealings The move marks a significant break for the century-old program, whose unpaid members have traditionally served to facilitate connections with local businesses, university campuses and state lawmakers, and help boost recruiting efforts and community outreach. "One of the big losses is I think the decision is short-sighted," said John Phillips, who was an Atlanta-based aide who worked on recruiting initiatives. "The key things lost are community and industry. We're the conduit to get the Army connected to the local community." It's unclear how Driscoll plans to reinvent the program -- or whether it will remain as large as it has grown in recent years. The shake-up comes as the Army becomes increasingly singular in its focus on emerging technology, drone warfare and deepening ties with Silicon Valley. Just last month, in a virtually unprecedented move, the service granted direct commissions at the rank of lieutenant colonel to a group of wealthy tech executives from firms including Palantir, Meta and OpenAI. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Army planners are quietly trimming down, or outright dismantling, programs seen as peripheral to the service's high-tech future. While some Pentagon officials and lawmakers have applauded the push toward more rapid innovation, some are quietly worried the Army is becoming too narrowly focused, potentially at the expense of its broader mission, and that recent major decisions about the force are being made without consulting outside of a very cloistered group of officials at the top of the Army hierarchy. The civilian aide program has long been viewed as uneven, with aides contributing at widely varying levels. Some aides were deeply engaged in local outreach or policy advising, but others were seen as largely symbolic or duplicative, according to officials familiar with the program. In practice, civilian aides were the Army's means of networking in cities and small towns, often helping coordinate events between the service and external stakeholders, from meetings with local officials and school administrators to attending ribbon cuttings, recruiting fairs and dinners with mayors. They've also served, in many cases, to figuratively fly the Army's flag -- or represent the service -- in areas far from major military installations. "It was an honor," said Edward Salo, a history professor at Arkansas State University and former CASA, who worked as a liaison between the National Guard, his university and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. "It felt good to be able to contribute to help the Army in any way possible." "I hope that they do redo the program to meet the new Army's needs and not let it sit on the back burner," Salo added. "It's an important tool for the secretary and the Army." Related: Army ROTC Programs at Dozens of Campuses Are Being Shut Down or Reorganized
Axios
25-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Expect more "reshuffling" in Army's transformation
Thousands of feet in the air, returning to D.C. from Georgia, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Axios of his housecleaning ambitions — the "cobwebs and bullsh*t" that need sweeping. "Complacency right now is going to be rewarded with failure and death in the short- to medium-term," he said. The big picture: The Army Transformation Initiative's opening salvo landed May 1 with the backing of Driscoll and others, including Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It jarred Congress and industry alike with its cuts (M10 Booker), consolidation (Futures and Training and Doctrine commands) and urgency. A second push, colloquially known as "2.0," is now in the works. It focuses on "procurement, reorganizing and reshuffling, and firing," Driscoll said, as well as funding "good ideas" plucked from the minds of soldiers and small- and medium-sized businesses. Nothing is sacred, it appears. "We should be held accountable if we're not willing to look at everything." Driving the news: Driscoll spent Monday at Fort Stewart, in the swampy southwest of Savannah, inspecting armored vehicles and drones and workout regimens and barracks. He sought feedback from troops on what desperately needs fixing — and warned them of how radically different war looks today. Axios was the only media in tow. Zoom in: Fort Stewart is home to the 3rd Infantry Division. Two armored brigade combat teams there are involved with Transforming in Contact, meant to quickly arm soldiers and test commercially available kit. That initiative predates and informs ATI. Soldiers are experimenting with robotics to clear battlefield obstacles, aerial drones to make first contact with an enemy, and tools to better understand and leverage the electromagnetic spectrum, which is key to communications and weapons guidance. Friction point: Congress has not been happy with the level of detail the Army has thus far provided concerning its overhaul, said to save $48 billion over five years. "We don't serve either the taxpayer or the common defense with blank checks for vaguely defined priorities," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at a June 18 appropriations hearing. "We want to see the analysis behind the specific bets the Army wants to place on ATI," he added. "We want to understand the second-order effects on industry, other services and allies." The other side: Driscoll promised to show the service's work in 10 days. The information had not been relayed as of Monday evening. The bottom line: "We believe the decision to not act is actually riskier than the decision to act and get it wrong," Driscoll said. The Russia-Ukraine war, a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan and a constant simmer in the Middle East consume Beltway thinking. "The existential factors and threats that are occurring today make it a very credible statement to say 'We're either going to do this in a wartime footing or we're going to do it in a pre-wartime footing,'" Driscoll added.
