(Image source from: Yahoo News Canada)
As Senator John McCain's family announced that the ailing veteran is stopping treatment for brain cancer, the Army paid tribute on Friday at the opening of a new warfare modernization headquarters in Texas that he played a dynamic part in creating.
"None of this would be happening without someone who's not here today, and that's Sen. John McCain, an American hero," said General Mark Milley, the Army's chief of staff.
Just hours after McCain family's statement, the activation of the Futures Command in the downtown heart of tech-savvy Austin took place. The family proclaimed that the Senate Armed Services chairman had surpassed expectations for endurance yet that the advancement of the disease and McCain's age "render their verdict." McCain turns 82 following week.
The health condition of McCain worsened past fall and the Arizona Republican has been in his home state since December.
Two of McCain's staff attended the ushering in of what the Army says amounts to its most momentous restructuring in over 40 years. The command is tasked with modernizing everything from combat conveyance to arms and serving soldiers adapt to rising threats from powers such as China and Russia.
Milley and else Army leaders delineated a former Navy pilot McCain, who was held as a captive of war in Vietnam for over five years, as a guiding force in making the command a reality. Talk about on establishing a Futures Command began about two years ago.
A long-term survivor of the deadly skin cancer melanoma, McCain underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma.
"I wish he could be here. I know from talking to Gen. Milley that he was key," said Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. "I know that he would love to be here and be pleased."
More or less 500 people are anticipated to work at the command, most of whom will be civilians. The command, for now, will run out of the University of Texas System's new downtown headquarters that is surrounded by tech incubators and nearby startups.
The Army says it wanted to tap into that workforce.
By Sowmya Sangam
