Letter to Mark Esper, Army Secretary - Brown Leads Maryland Delegation in Effort to Bring Army Futures Command to Maryland

Letter

Dear Mr. Secretary,

We write to encourage you to consider Maryland as the location of the Army's Futures Command. Maryland has an unmatched research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) enterprise which makes it an ideal home for this new command.

We recognize the critical importance of ensuring our military maintains its technological advantage over our adversaries. While we believe Maryland is uniquely suited for supporting that effort, we would ask for assurances that the Futures Command will not disrupt the current missions both at Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Army Research Lab in Adelphi by cutting funds for existing research programs. Additionally, we would want to ensure that the Army is maintaining civilian oversight over the Futures Command in accordance with the Goldwater Nichols Act.

Maryland is home to over 150,000 civilian and military employees working in high-technology fields, and houses sophisticated research and development facilities necessary for executing an effort of this magnitude. Ranked by Forbes as second in the nation in science and engineering graduates, as well as technology company presence, Maryland has a vibrant academic and defense-focused entrepreneurial ecosystem which is ideal for the Command. From small and medium-sized enterprises to Fortune 500 technology industry leaders such as Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman, Maryland's innovative private sector has a deep history of working with the Army, Air Force, and Navy, and will provide advanced capabilities which the Army can rely on.

Several leading institutions of higher education, including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and its world-class Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Maryland -- Baltimore County, and University of Maryland at College Park, offer sophisticated technology, materials research, and cyber centers. Each maintain close research and development partnerships with the Department of Defense. With its proximity to national institutions for cybersecurity, the I-95 corridor from Aberdeen to Washington, D.C. is not only known for its preeminent academic prowess, but for its thought leadership, forward-thinking organizational behaviors, cutting-edge research, and for attracting the best and brightest eager to solve the nation's most challenging tasks.

Given Maryland's long-standing and considerable stake in Army RDT&E, the Army Future Command's Cross-Functional Teams (CFTs) will greatly benefit from the technology development, developmental testing, and rapid prototyping in which Maryland-based Army RDT&E organizations specialize. The Command's CFTs rely on management support from the Research, Development, and Engineering Command, test support from the Army Test and Evaluation Command and Army Research Laboratory, and computational and data support from Army Research Laboratory and Army Material Systems Analysis Activity -- all located within Maryland. Two CFTs are currently located at Maryland's Aberdeen Proving Ground, which possesses unique test facilities that ensure it is ideally situated to provide lasting and significant support to other CFTs as they develop.

Locating Army Futures Command within Maryland offers close proximity to Washington, D.C. and the Pentagon. Regular train service is available between Washington, D.C., the I-95 corridor, and Baltimore; major highway corridors between these locations allow for reasonable driving distances and driving times. Furthermore, the Baltimore-Washington International Airport is easily accessible, as are the Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. and the Washington Dulles International Airport.

In light of Maryland's ranking as a top region for innovation and technology development, the talented technology-focused workforce and top-tier academic institutions in our state, and the other cogent reasons described above, we greatly appreciate your consideration of Maryland as a future siting of Army Futures Command.

Sincerely,

Source