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THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition is not a military event per se but rather a fo- rum — planned and executed by a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization — that serves the entire community of the U.S. Army: active-duty soldiers and their families, as well as reservists, veterans, civilian employees, and suppliers. But you didn’t even have to set foot in the Walter E. Wash-
ington Convention Center during AUSA’s 2011 Annual Meet- ing, held on Oct. 10–12, to understand that this was a show informed by a very specific reality. The front-facing side of Wal- ter E. Washington spans two city blocks in Washington, D.C., and each corner of the building was fitted with a two-story sign for AUSA 2011 — dominated by a near full-body photo of a soldier in dust-brown fatigues, helmet, and body armor, eyes shielded by mirrored sunglasses, automatic rifle pointing down
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ARMY STRONG: Since 2003, attendance at the Asso- ciation of the United States Army Annual Meeting has doubled. About 38,000 people attended this year’s AUSA show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
but ready, moving through a hazy landscape. The message was clear, whether you were heading into the convention center or not: This was a show for an army at war. Inside, certain things became even more apparent. The United States has been fighting overseas for the last decade, and while that hasn’t been front-page news during some or even most of those 10 years, it’s reflected fully in the AUSA Annual Meeting, which in that time has changed, and been changed. “This is a great celebration of the Army culture and the con-
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pcma convene December 2011