Gen. Gary Brito calls himself the 18th and final commander of Training and Doctrine Command. TRADOC, created more than 50 years ago at Fort Monroe before moving to Fort Eustis in 2011, will be deactivated in a ceremony next Friday.
The training command will merge with Army Futures Command to form the new Army Transformation and Training Command, based in Austin, Texas. Brito spoke on “The War Room,” the US Army War College’s official podcast, which was published Tuesday.
“I do think there'll be some clunkiness to work through. But this organization will deliver force generation,” Brito said. “They'll connect the big cogs of force generation, force design and force development.”
Created in 1973, during the wind-down of the Vietnam War, TRADOC is the larger and older of the two commands being merged. Brito says the move is part of a larger effort by the Army to streamline operations and training. He describes it as a “tough and bold decision.”
The Army wants to adapt more quickly to the rapid changes seen in the wake of the war in Ukraine and get new technology into the hands of soldiers more quickly, he said.
"Adapting fast, experimenting fast, putting equipment and capabilities into the hands of the soldiers where you really learn a lot," Brito said on the podcast.
The deactivation means Fort Eustis loses a four-star command. The Army has not said how many people and positions will be lost in Virginia. Over the summer, officials at TRADOC have said that the training portion of TRADOC’s mission will continue.
Britto said he was set to retire this year after 38 years in the Army.
"Hopefully I have a couple more weeks before I transition afterwards," sais Brito to War Room.
