Army Restructuring to Supercharge Simulation, Training, and Network Ops

Army Acquisition Reform to Accelerate Cloud Migration and Simulation Modernization

The Army’s dramatic acquisition overhaul positions the service to dramatically modernize its digital infrastructure and eliminate long-standing organizational barriers that have hindered modernization efforts. Speaking at I/ITSEC 2025 in Orlando, Brig. Gen. Christine Beeler, the Army’s Capability Portfolio Executive for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (STRI), outlined how the restructuring will unlock faster cloud adoption and enhanced training capabilities.

Under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s acquisition reforms, the Army has eliminated traditional Program Executive Offices (PEOs) in favor of Program Acquisition Executives (PAEs). The new counter-command and control PAE consolidates three former PEOs—now designated as Capability Portfolio Executives—including STRI, intelligence and electronic warfare, and command, control and network operations.

“Right now we can’t take advantage of opportunity as fast as we would like,” Beeler told Breaking Defense. The organizational restructuring directly addresses this challenge by breaking down departmental silos that previously hindered coordination among related capabilities.

A primary objective for CPE STRI is transitioning simulation and training platforms to fully cloud-accessible environments. This transformation would enable soldiers worldwide to access training resources platform-agnostic, regardless of location or device. Beyond operational convenience, Beeler emphasized that cloud-based simulation capabilities directly enhance combat effectiveness. “The work we do in simulating that and building those models and bringing that to life absolutely improves our lethality and our understanding in that space,” she stated.

The consolidation under a single PAE creates unprecedented opportunities for synergy. “By putting us all under one PAE, we’re going to be able to break down those stove pipes and synergize in that space instead of doing things separately,” Beeler explained. The three CPEs can now identify complementary capabilities, eliminate duplicative efforts, and resolve friction points more efficiently than previous coordination structures.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll emphasized that the acquisition restructuring aims to streamline capability delivery timelines. The reorganization reduces administrative layers and consolidates offices sharing overlapping missions, creating more flexible funding mechanisms that enable initiatives like STRI’s cloud transition.

Beeler cautioned that meaningful results require patience. The Army plans to address organizational friction points throughout 2026, with anticipated concrete outcomes emerging in 2027, including cloud migration achievements and other strategic objectives.

While combat systems often capture headlines, Beeler highlighted that training and simulation technologies provide exponential value relative to applied resources. “Training devices aren’t glamorous, but they are absolutely essential,” she noted. “We simulate the fight, we replicate the threat so that we can win in all domains.”

Source ID: SRCE-2025-1764965086232-1211