Gen. Randy George, who was recently nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as the 41st chief of staff of the Army, has shared his priorities for the position.

Testifying before the Senate, George, who currently serves as Army vice chief of staff, highlighted recruiting challenges and several other areas as issues he would focus on if confirmed, the Department of Defense said on Thursday.

Strengthening the Army profession and creating successful teams, said George, begins with recruiting to maintain “an army of the people and for the people — a formidable team of all-volunteer warriors.”

George said that he suspects recruiting to be one of the toughest challenges he may face as chief of staff, and added that he sees it as the number one difficulty the Army is dealing with.

“I will tell you that every leader in the Army, and I have been as the vice, is completely focused on this,” he remarked.

A major aspect of this focus is the service branch’s approach to selecting and placing recruiters as well as the command and control structure of the recruiting enterprise and marketing, said George.

He noted a shift in public perception among young people as another challenge to Army recruitment. George attested that he believes many people view enlistment as “putting their life on hold” — but his perspective is different.

George said that he was told that the Army would “accelerate” his life, an idea that he still embraces.

“I still use that … because it has. And I think we need to get that word out. And we’re working very hard to do that,” he emphasized.

In doing so, the Army is offering support to help soldiers fulfill the service branch’s standards. George cited the Future Soldier Prep Course, a pilot program designed to help soldiers meet the weight requirements to progress to basic training, as an example.

George also noted preparing the Army for future warfighting, maintaining a strong industrial and sustainment base and providing soldier and family support infrastructure as key priorities during his testimony.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Defense Sciences Office is sponsoring a hybrid workshop on July 25 to provide information on a program to create new rare earth elements separation and purification strategies.

DARPA said Wednesday it is issuing an advanced research concept opportunity to solicit ideas to develop environmentally sustainable and commercially viable techniques to separate and purify REEs from domestic sources for defense applications.

The U.S. currently relies on foreign sources for REE processing and purification, which may pose risks to the domestic supply chain, according to the agency.

Through the program, DARPA seeks to establish a domestic manufacturing industry to extract and purify REE resources within the U.S. to mitigate potential supply chain vulnerabilities.

“Solving the technological challenge of separating rare earths from each other is critical for establishing a secure domestic supply chain of strategic materials and requires a re-examination of the fundamental physics and chemistries of these elements,” said DARPA Innovation Fellow Rebecca Chmiel.

REEs comprise 17 elements used in modern technologies, including cell phones, electronic displays and electric vehicles.

The Department of the Air Force has outlined efforts to implement its action plan to mitigate future climate impacts on operational resilience and readiness.

The Climate Campaign Plan is the implementation portion of DAF’s Climate Action Plan that outlines activities, offices of primary responsibility and timelines to achieve key objectives, the U.S. Air Force said Tuesday.

“Our priorities are to maintain air and space dominance in the face of climate risks, ensure our decisions reflect an understanding of the impacts of climate on our mission, and build resilience by optimizing energy use and pursuing alternative energy sources,” said Ravi Chaudhary, assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and the environment.

“Ultimately, this Campaign Plan is about warfighting and responding at the point of effect for theater commanders – and we will be ready,” he added.

Launched in October 2022, DAF’s Climate Action Plan focuses on three goals: maintain air and space dominance in the face of climate risks; make climate-informed decisions; and optimize energy use and adopt alternative energy sources.

DAF officials are set to speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Air Force Summit on July 18 to discuss the service’s key objectives, capabilities and programs to address current and future warfighting needs. Click here to register and see all the confirmed presenters at the forum.