(The video above was recorded by the Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division but The Salty Soldier added in images taken by attendees)
The 70th Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition kicked off this week at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
More than 33,000 attendees from more than eighty different countries are expected to attend the AUSA Expo from October 14th to 16th.
The event began with an opening ceremony that some say was more akin to a middle school talent show than staying true to the expo’s purpose.
According to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth’s speech during the Expo, the Army is “transforming in a complex world,” but none of those transformations have anything to do with the rap performance that was put on during the opening ceremony, in front of military officers, retired military officers. Department of the Army civilians and the Army’s defense industry partners.
“Army leaders realized toward the end of the last decade that we needed to be prepared for a more dangerous future,” she said. “So, the Army began an institutional shift away from a focus on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism to preparing for large-scale combat operations.”
“This shift was underway long before Russian tanks rolled into eastern Ukraine or Hamas invaded southern Israel,” she explained. “The world continues to grow more volatile, but the Army’s transformation is now coming to fruition.”
Secretary of the Army Wormuth claims the Army has transformed weapon systems, modernized air and missile defense units, and started using new battle command systems to connect a wide range of sensors.
She also mentioned the Army will begin building prototypes for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft -the Army’s next-generation tilt-rotor helicopter.
According to Wormuth, the aircraft will be ready for its first test flight in approximately 18 months.
Wormuth’s speech was mostly overshadowed by the U.S. Army Chorus performance during the Opening Ceremony.
Attendee’s recordings of their performance quickly made their way to social media and were not received well.
“In 2004 we had firepower demonstrations…now we have middle school talent shows,” one person wrote on Instagram.
Another chimed in by writing, “Remember, this was staffed, budgeted, rehearsed, and selected over at least two other options. 🤔🤦♂️”
The Department of Defense released an entire recording of the opening ceremonies but it was not promoted in any of their news coverage of AUSA or press releases, suggesting the performance was only created with AUSA attendees in mind.
“Cringeworthy opening ceremonies at AUSA this morning,” Terminal CWO wrote on Instagram.
“First this hot garbage was performed in front of hundreds of general officers and retired grey haired men. “Welcome to the future” with soldiers in old ass ASUs standing awkwardly on stage in the back. 🥴 I’m so over this DEI agenda. Then SecArmy comes up and protestors immediately rush the stage. It was a total circus. Our adversaries are laughing at us.”
The protestors who took the stage have been scrubbed from the Department of Defense recordings of the event but when Wormuth takes the stage, she seems to allude to what happened.
“Okay, so, we will try and reset,” she said before beginning her speech.
Photos evidence of the protestors taking the stage were posted to Reddit and show two people holding signs, saying, “Planet Not Pentagon.”
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