Comptroller Glenn Hegar (right) and Maj. Gen. Miles Brown discuss the economic impact of the U.S. Army Futures Command in Texas.
The U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) focuses on continuous transformation to ensure our country has the world’s best Army today, tomorrow and into the future.
AFC is the fourth major Army command, joining the Army Material Command, the Army Training and Doctrine Command, and the Forces Command. These commands were restructured in 2019 to give AFC authority over the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, a team of highly skilled scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff focused on contributing to AFC’s objectives.
In 2023, AFC contributed approximately $1.8 billion in economic output and $1.1 billion in gross domestic product to the Texas economy. As part of his Good for Texas Tour in June 2024, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar visited AFC headquarters, the Army Software Factory and the Army Applications Lab, where AFC trains its software operations experts to develop solutions and deploy teams to various locations to address issues as they arise.
Fiscal Notes spoke with Maj. Gen. Miles Brown and Col. Vito Errico in connection with the Comptroller’s tour.
Maj. Gen. Miles Brown
Fiscal Notes: What is AFC and its mission?
Brown: Our mission is to transform the Army by building future war-winning readiness. A lot of the discussion about military is how ready you are for operations today, but we can’t just think about today. We have to think about the future. We have to design the Army of 2040 and deliver the Army of 2030, which cannot be done through an incremental approach.
Transformation means that you have overmatch and that you have capabilities that outpace your adversaries. This is exactly what the Army decided to do with Army Futures Command. We are an intellectually curious investment into the future of the Army. We aim to drive the change for the future, and we want to have an influence on the future by being prepared. One of our mottos is, “Tomorrow is worth protecting, but we have to be willing to make an investment into tomorrow.”
Fiscal Notes: How many locations does AFC have?
Brown: Army Futures Command has 128 locations around the world, with five of them in and around Austin, Texas, including the Army Applications Lab at Capital Factory and Army Software Factory at Austin Community College’s Rio Grande Campus.
Fiscal Notes: Why was Austin chosen as the global headquarters for the Army Futures Command?
Brown: The selection of Austin for the headquarters of Army Futures Command was done in 2018 really for two reasons: access and influence. Austin attracts important and influential people to the city every year, and we are able to harness a lot of the executives to influence the decisions they make. Another benefit to being located in Austin is that we are able to access two major university systems: the University of Texas (UT) System and the Texas A&M University System. By being partnered with these universities, we are connected to extensive research networks and a large part of the investments made in Texas, as well as every county in the state through UT’s connections in the medical sector and A&M’s connections to local municipalities. We’re really proud to be a part of the innovation and collaborative ecosystem that is based here in Texas.
Fiscal Notes: Tell me about the partnerships AFC has with Texas businesses, organizations and universities.
Brown: We work out of Austin Community College to develop and train software operations along with major tech companies. We have access to robotics labs, medical research facilities, cyber operations research and innovation proving grounds to do prototype and advanced technology demonstrations through the state’s universities.
Fiscal Notes: The Army Software Factory had a slow start. Can you talk about that and why it is important that Comptroller Hegar visited this facility?
Col. Vito Errico
Errico: The Army Software Factory started in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 with no preprogrammed funding, no preidentified facilities or location, and no soldiers. I think a lot of our success is due to being located in Texas, with the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit here in this ecosystem where we were able to be successful under those circumstances. I think it is important that Comptroller Hegar came here to highlight that the Army Software Factory cares about the state of Texas and the Army’s involvement in the local community. We are very much about partnering with private industry as well as Texas institutions. We think a lot of the lessons learned here could be rapidly scalable in places like these, and we’re more than happy to share the details of our digital transformation with these institutions to help them in their journey.
Learn more about the AFC’s work to power innovation and collaboration.
A REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY