Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy has three priorities for the Army: readiness to face adversaries, development of new systems, and Army families. McCarthy recently paid a visit to Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service to address the first two items on this list.
One aspect of readiness is working constantly to ensure that the U.S. Army is up to date with the latest research and thinking on multiple fronts. McCarthy visited Texas A&M University to meet with faculty and students and discuss the research that is being conducted on campus.
During his visit, McCarthy met with faculty and students from the Bush School as well as faculty from departments across campus. At the Bush School, McCarthy was able to talk with top researchers on topics including pandemic threats and grand strategy as well as converse with faculty experts specializing on North Korea and China. Creating these dialogues between government officials and academics is an important step in the Army’s efforts to continuously modernize and attempt to outsmart our country’s ever-evolving adversaries.
McCarthy also had a chance to interact with students during his time at the Bush School. In a lunchtime address, he spoke about the importance of mentorship and managing one’s time. McCarthy, who served as the special assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, stressed the need for young people to have someone to model themselves after. Because of his time serving under Gates and Gates’ mentorship, McCarthy now advocates for young professionals to seek out and develop strong relationships with trusted leaders.
Mentors help you think, help you learn, and they advocate for you, said McCarthy. He added that a reliable mentor and solid time management skills are important. Working in government is often stressful, and public servants need to begin each day with a plan and work to make incremental improvements over time.
