A 1986 graduate of West Point, General Martin deployed to Iraq five times including stints as a company commander during Operation Desert Storm, as a battalion and brigade commander during Iraqi Freedom and he commanded the famed 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. Martin also served as the commander of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command during the pivotal Battle of Mosul, a major multi-national offensive that helped the Iraqi government retake control of the Iraqi city from ISIS forces.
Martin also served as the commander of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command during the pivotal Battle of Mosul, a major multi-national offensive that helped the Iraqi government retake control of the Iraqi city from ISIS forces.
Top 6 Modernization priorities
Kris Osborn: There is a lot of discussion about the Army’s Top 6 Modernization priorities:…Long Range Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicles, Future Vertical Lift, network, Air and Missile Defense, and Soldier Lethality…. How are they progressing and what sticks out in your mind?
General Martin: All the modernization priorities are doing very well. We’re seeing the progress that we need to right now. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to continue to have consistent funding; without consistent funding, requirements can be requirements, but they’ll never turn into material that we develop. So, we’ll continue to work with Congress and everyone who is involved to make sure that we have consistent funding over time.
Kris Osborn: Is there an example of the kind of new technology consistent Congressional funding can provide?
General Martin: We are very excited about the progress we’ve made on the programs that we have anticipated we would have completed at this time. The Enhanced Night Vision Goggles B (ENVG-B), that was a great idea and… 2 years later, we actually fielded something to a brigade, 2nd Brigade of First Infantry Division. We will have other successes like that if we have consistent funding. We are on the verge of changing the momentum…right now, it’s an uphill fight–building requirements and having dialogues between material developers and requirements developers. We’re pushing the rock uphill. We get that over the top of the hill, these programs are going to take on a life of their own and we’re going to be very very successful.
