Inside the Army highlights

Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Army:

1. While the Army upgrades a group of Strykers for use in Europe, the service plans to make key decisions by the end of the summer on how to upgun the entire Stryker fleet, according to the project manager.

Full story: Army to examine options for upgunning entire Stryker fleet

2. The Defense Department has certified a new multiyear procurement for the UH-60M Black Hawk, and the Army expects to award the contract within the next week.

Full story: Army prepares next Black Hawk multiyear contract

3. The Army's first security force assistance brigade will begin training in August with 16 weeks of immersive language coursework, according to the unit's commander.

Full story: Army to begin training first SFAB in August

4. The House Armed Services Committee will propose fiscal year 2018 legislation that authorizes $621 billion for the base defense budget and $75 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations funding, of which $10 billion would be used for base spending, according to a copy of the legislation obtained by Inside Defense.

Full story: House Armed Services Committee revising FY-18 topline to $621B