Ask retired Lieutenant General Pat Donahue what difference just five years makes to the U.S. Army’s mission. He’ll tell you it’s virtually a world away. “When I parted the service in 2017, after a 37 year career, the primary mission was counterinsurgency in Africa and the Middle East,” said Donahue. “Today the Department of Defense’s focus is the great power competition with Russia and China. There’s growing emphasis, too, on readiness to address tensions within the Indo-Pacific region.” Donahue, who now works with Lockheed Martin, helps the firm translate mission realities into future technology programs. As the Army adapts its operations to oceans and islands, it will also shift strategies to countering well-resourced, highly disciplined and technologically-advanced militaries.