The Chief of Staff of the Army is one of the highest ranking officers in the U.S. Army and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Chief of Staff is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Army and performs duties under his authority, direction, and control, such as promulgating and implementing Army policies, plans, and programs; leading the Army Staff, which represents the Army's capabilities, requirements, policies, plans, and programs in various tri-service forums; and being responsible for the deployment of personnel and resources of the Joint Combatant Command. The Chief of Staff of the Army is an executive position responsible only for the construction and management of the U.S. Army and has no operational command over the U.S. Army.On August 9, 2019, Army General James McConville succeeded Admiral Mark Millet as the official 40th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Mark Millet has said, "McConville is one of the bravest and most thoughtful officers I have ever worked with. He has battlefield experience in the Middle East, which makes him the perfect candidate to take over as chief of staff. He has the drive, background and vision to build the Army for the better." Since taking office, McConville has said on several occasions that the U.S. Army must work on four areas: personnel, readiness, modernization and reform in order to deal with the "great power competition" with Russia and China. How did this top U.S. Army commander get to where he is today? And what impact will his tenure as U.S. Army Chief of Staff have on the world situation?
James Charles McConville was born on March 16, 1959, in Boston, Massachusetts, to a military family in the Quincy neighborhood. His father, Joe McConville, was a former Navy man who missed his Navy service despite having served in the Korean War only as a recruit and working at Boston Gear for about 50 years after his discharge. Influenced and encouraged by his father, McConville graduated from Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Massachusetts, and entered the United States Military Academy (West Point) with honors, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1981 and becoming an aviation officer in the same year. Because of his love of aerospace, McConville spent his spare time studying on his own to complete the Georgia Institute of Technology's aerospace engineering program, earning a master of science degree in 1990. in 2002, McConville also became a visiting national security scholar at Harvard University.
McConville's wife, Maria, is also a former Army officer, and they have been married for more than 30 years. They have two sons and a daughter, all of whom are serving in the U.S. Army.
McConville's experience spans multiple branches of service. After graduating from West Point, McConville attended U.S. Army Air Corps pilot training, and was later assigned as an operations officer in the Flight Concept Division, gradually becoming a special pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was awarded the "U.S. Army Air Corps Pilot Master" badge and the Army Air Corps Captain's Badge. He then transferred to the infantry and earned the title of "Infantry Specialist" for his dedication to infantry warfare. Later, he was transferred to the 101st Airborne Division, where he became an outstanding paratrooper and earned the Basic Parachutist Badge. He also had command experience in the Air Assault and Cavalry Divisions. His experience in land aviation, infantry, paratroopers and cavalry demonstrates his diverse personality, open mind and ability to learn and absorb, which is probably why he is a big fan of "multi-domain operations.
The U.S. Army's line of command is separate from the line of management and control, with the combatant commander responsible for all kinds of operations and warfare, and the staff officer responsible for the management and construction of the army. McConville not only has extensive command experience, but also has experience as a staff officer. McConville personally commanded combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in the staff position as a fish in water, can do both strategic planning, but also good management. The author has compiled his command and staff experience in chronological order for the reader's reference.
McConville and his family (behind McConville, from left to right: wife Maria, eldest son Michael, son-in-law Ryan Nenzel, daughter Jessica Nenzel, and youngest son Ryan)
McConville's command assignments were as follows: from 1984 to 1985, he served as an aviation rifle platoon leader with Company D, 2nd Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 7th Light Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California; from 1986 to 1987, he served as a company commander with Company C, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, within the same infantry division; from 1998 to 2000, he served with the 17th Air Assault Division, 101st Air Assault Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and from 1998 to 2000, he served with the 17th Air Assault Division, 101st Air Assault Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a brigade commander with the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, where he participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and played a "decisive role" in the battle of Fallujah. "From 2011 to 2014, he served as commander of the 101st Air Assault Division, during which time he was promoted to major general, and also participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, serving as deputy commander and commander of the 101st Multinational Joint Task Force; he deployed with the division to Afghanistan in December 2012 as In December 2012, he deployed to Afghanistan with his division as commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Eastern Regional Command in Afghanistan, carrying out security advisory and assistance missions. It is easy to see that McConville's experience and ability in command is something he has built up step by step, moving up a level in the military command hierarchy with each change of position.
McConville's staff experience is also very rich, his staff experience has included: flight concept division operations staff; 9th Cavalry Regiment, 5th Squadron operations staff; 25th Combat Aviation Brigade operations staff; U.S. Special Operations Command plans staff division strategic planner; 101st Air Assault Division operations staff; Deputy Army Deputy Chief of Staff; has also served as deputy director and director of the Legislative Liaison Office. He served as the U.S. Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel from August 2014 to June 2017; and as the U.S. Army's first deputy chief of staff between June 2017 and June 2019. he became the Army's chief of staff in August 2019.
During his service in the U.S. Army, McConville experienced multiple positions and repeated refinements of multiple services, both grassroots training experience, and institutional staff experience; both participated in actual combat, and force commander experience, his resume is quite complete. His entire service career can be described as a great success, won a number of merit medals, commendation medals, service medals, campaign medals. In 2002, while serving as the 4th Brigade Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, McConville was promoted to brigadier general and led his unit in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was personally credited with leading the charge, capturing an Iraqi commander, and eliminating an Iraqi army unit. From 2011 to 2014, while serving as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, McConville commanded the 101st Airborne Division-based Multinational Joint Task Force in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In 2014, he returned home from the operation and received the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. The honors he has received are evidence of McConville's accomplishments in multiple fields and his recognition by the Army as one of the most versatile men and women in the U.S. military.
On August 9, 2019, Army General McConville became the 40th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, given his extensive resume, diverse military experience and distinguished combat service. After assuming the post of Army Chief of Staff, McConville made it clear on various occasions that "the U.S. Army is at an inflection point in an era of great power competition with China and Russia. Because of this, the U.S. Army needs to modernize and transform to build a strong army that can win wars. Its priorities include personnel, readiness, modernization and reform, with the ultimate goal of creating a strong Army that can "win the war. He briefly summarized his operational guidance in one sentence: "People first - win first - Army strong. All signs point to McConville's push to best prepare the U.S. Army for future great power competition through four major directions: people, readiness, modernization and reform.
McConville (second from left) officially takes over from Millet (second from right) as U.S. Army Chief of Staff on Aug. 9, 2019, as Acting Secretary of the Army McCarthy (center) organizes the inauguration ceremony
Between people and equipment, McConville places more emphasis on the role of people. He said, "The Army is made up of people, and without people, it would be a bunch of combat equipment parked in parking lots, hangars and armories. By "people," McConville means all Army personnel, including soldiers, dependents, retired veterans and civilians. He believes that the U.S. Army is at an "inflection point" where it is moving from counterinsurgency and the war on terror to "great power competition" with China and Russia, and that "people are the decisive factor in winning on the battlefield, and that readiness, modernization and reform are inseparable from people. The "inflection point" is "where people are the decisive factor in winning on the battlefield. McConville's specific initiatives to solve the Army's personnel problems are three. The first is to promote the construction of the 21st century talent management system, strengthen talent management and rational use of talent. McConville has strongly pushed to build the system since he became the U.S. Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel. According to McConville, some branches of the military equip their personnel with equipment, while the Army wants to do is to equip its personnel with equipment. The talent management system consists of the Army Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS-A) and the Army Talent Matching Program two subsystems, which will enable the U.S. Army to the knowledge, skills and behaviors of officers and soldiers of the active and reserve components, using the system can also show the talents, knowledge and skills of active-duty officers to higher commanders, and accordingly rationalize their positions for them, talent to the fullest. Second, to improve the quality of life of officers and soldiers, to solve the worries of officers and soldiers. He listed five major matters that need to be solved to change the quality of life of officers and soldiers: housing problems, medical problems, child care problems, spouse employment problems, and job transfer relocation problems, and proposed corresponding solutions. Third, he expanded the recruiting force, increased new media campaigns, and expanded recruitment to address the shortage of soldiers and maintain the Army's ultimate strength. After McConville became Army Chief of Staff, he conducted a comprehensive review of recruiting methods, changed recruiting strategies, and adopted multiple initiatives to promote recruiting "modernization," including the use of Memes, TikTok and other advertising.
McConville distinguished between two types of readiness: tactical readiness and strategic readiness. Tactical readiness means that commanders at the division, brigade and below levels maintain a state of readiness to fight on the night and focus on the moment. Strategic readiness refers to ensuring the readiness to mobilize, deploy, employ, and sustain forces with an eye toward the future. McConville believes the U.S. Army needs to test both states of readiness. The U.S. Army's "European Defender 2020" and "Pacific Defender 2020" exercises test the level of strategic readiness, aiming to test the "entire strategic readiness system," including ports, military supply depots, airfields, and pre-positioned materiel. The entire strategic readiness system" is in a sound and ready state.
McConville has said that only through modernization can the U.S. Army provide its personnel with the best training and high-quality training to ultimately win on the battlefield. The Army Modernization Strategy was signed and implemented shortly after Conwell became chief of staff. The strategy document summarizes the modernization of the U.S. Army into three areas: modernization of the concept of operations (refining the corresponding ordinance and technical and tactical procedures), modernization of combat equipment (prioritizing the development of six major types of equipment) and modernization of the organizational structure of the force.
The U.S. Army's current regulations are based on the concept of "air-ground integrated warfare" introduced in the 1980s, which is based on both air and land operations. With the increasing anti-access/area denial capabilities of two "competitors," China and Russia, the U.S. Army cannot continue to ensure a sustained advantage. The "multi-domain warfare" concept proposes that the U.S. Army should address competition and conflict from multiple domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyber. Under the concept, the U.S. Army will conduct multi-domain operations as needed to gain competitive advantage. On March 23, 2021, McConville released Strategy Paper #1, "Army Multi-Domain Transformation: Preparing to Win in Competition and Conflict," demonstrating the importance the U.S. Army places on this concept of warfare. Combat Equipment Modernization proposes that the U.S. Army will focus on modernizing equipment in six areas: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicles, future vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, Army networks, air defense and anti-missile systems and weapons and equipment that increase the lethality of soldiers. Force Organizational Modernization refers to a major restructuring of the force organization. The U.S. Army will integrate the organizational structure and training of its forces in the next five years in accordance with the requirements of "multi-domain operations" to form a "multi-domain operations" capability by 2028. To this end, the U.S. Army has taken the formation of "multi-domain task forces", the formation of "security force assistance brigade" and strengthen the construction of new combat forces in cyberspace three measures. In the future, the U.S. Army will explore the integration of other services and allied forces into the Multi-Domain Task Force to enhance synergistic capabilities. It will also use the Security Force Assistance Brigade to provide advisors and related training to allied and partner security forces to build lasting alliances and partnerships. McConville is also moving forward with a cyber training center modeled after the National Training Center, including a cyber range to enhance virtual reality and augmented simulation training for cyberspace forces to enhance their offensive and defensive capabilities. In addition, McConville agreed to rename the Army Cyber Command to the Army Information Warfare Command and to establish an "Information Warfare Operations Center" at the new headquarters to integrate military and local information. The new headquarters will have an "Information Warfare Operations Center" that will integrate military and local sources of information. On Sept. 16, 2021, the U.S. Army establishes a second multi-domain warfare unit in Wiesbaden, Germany, to support European Command operations.
Army Cyber Command is responsible for leading operations and defense of U.S. military networks, while devoting more effort to executing cyberattack and information warfare missions
Reform is also one of McConville's key priorities. The Army's reforms focus primarily on business process and resource optimization to dedicate more time, money and manpower to development priorities. To that end, the U.S. Army has made a series of innovative changes in operational concepts, policies, training methods, talent management, financial audits, acquisition processes, contract management and other areas. McConville said on the day of his inauguration that he will continue to promote the restructuring of the force during his tenure, to further improve the functions of the future command and the establishment of institutions, to create a transformative Army.
McConville believes that the U.S. military "needs to win the next war, not fight the next war better. It suggests that while great power competition does not necessarily mean great power conflict, it can lead to great power conflict if the United States does not have great military power. It is clear from McConville's view that the United States will definitely spare no effort and do whatever it takes to win in future great power competition, conflicts, and wars, and it also means that during McConville's term of office, he will give his all for American goals.
