CommunityEditor
01-27-2010, 09:04 PM
The Army should trim several heavy brigade combat teams from its future fighting force to make room for more Stryker units, according to a Dec. 3 draft of the Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Review.
“Our assessment of security trends points strongly to the conclusion that the future mix of missions facing U.S. forces will call for greater flexibility and agility,” the draft document states. “By FY13 the Army will convert a heavy brigade combat team to the Stryker configuration. As resources become available, [DoD] intends to convert several more BCTs” to the medium weight, rapidly deployable Stryker model. Currently, the Army has seven Stryker BCTs, six active and one National Guard. The service would add up to four more Stryker brigades in the future, according to the draft QDR report.
A congressional mandate requires the Defense Department to conduct a QDR every four years to evaluate its strategies and policies that directly affect how the services set force structure and procure weapon systems.
Surprisingly, the Pentagon document makes no mention of the Army’s primary modernization effort — the Ground Combat Vehicle, a new class of infantry fighting vehicle that will eventually replace the Bradley.
The December draft report also calls for the increase in “rotary wing assets.”
“Vertical lift has been indispensable to successful counterinsurgency and counterterrorist operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere,” the draft report states. “As operations in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan grow in scope and intensity, more rotary wing lift capacity will be needed to ensure that coalition and Afghan forces can be re-supplied at remote outposts and effectively cover their areas of responsibility.”
The Army and other services “will take steps, including expanding pilot training, to make selected vertical lift assets more readily accessible to forces in forward theaters of operations,” the report states.
U.S. Special Operations command will field an “additional company of cargo helicopters.”
To address future chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear explosive threats, DoD will stand up 10 Homeland Response Forces and base one in each of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 10 regions in an effort to field faster, more flexible consequence management response forces, the report states. The National Guard will be responsible for resourcing these new HRFs. The plan involves restructuring current Consequence Management Response Forces “to increase their life-saving capability, maximize their flexibility and make them able to respond more quickly in the wake of an event,” the draft states.
DoD will also enhance its capability to counter improvised explosive devices attacks in the United States.
The plan calls for improving DoD’s “counter-IED training, intelligence and exploitation teams, and its information integration centers here at home,” the draft report states. “Increasing access to trained DoD reserve component forces during the at-home portion of their force generation cycle could also decrease the stress on domestic law enforcement resources that are engaged in support of DoD activities worldwide.”
The QDR also stresses the importance of maintaining a robust U.S. military presence in Europe.
“Subject to a review of NATO’s Strategic Concept and an accompanying assessment of U.S. military requirements in Europe, retain four Brigade Combat Teams and an Army corps headquarters forward-stationed on the continent,” the draft states.
This will help “deter political intimidation of allies and partners, promotes stability in the Aegean, Balkans, Caucasus, and Black Sea regions, demonstrates U.S. commitment to NATO Allies, builds trust and goodwill among our nations, and facilitates multilateral operations in support of mutual security interests both inside and outside the continent,” the draft states.
The draft also recommends that “all four services provide specialized training to individuals and groups deploying abroad to train and advise the security forces of partner nations. In anticipation of the growing role of security force assistance in U.S. strategy and operations, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps will add a total of approximately 500 personnel to their train-the-trainer units for general purpose forces.”
In addition, DoD “will also seek authorities and resources to enable the Army to sustain its ability to train partner forces in the operation and maintenance of helicopters used by partner states,” the draft states.
Army officials referred all questions from the media to DoD.
Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/army_qdr_012710w/
“Our assessment of security trends points strongly to the conclusion that the future mix of missions facing U.S. forces will call for greater flexibility and agility,” the draft document states. “By FY13 the Army will convert a heavy brigade combat team to the Stryker configuration. As resources become available, [DoD] intends to convert several more BCTs” to the medium weight, rapidly deployable Stryker model. Currently, the Army has seven Stryker BCTs, six active and one National Guard. The service would add up to four more Stryker brigades in the future, according to the draft QDR report.
A congressional mandate requires the Defense Department to conduct a QDR every four years to evaluate its strategies and policies that directly affect how the services set force structure and procure weapon systems.
Surprisingly, the Pentagon document makes no mention of the Army’s primary modernization effort — the Ground Combat Vehicle, a new class of infantry fighting vehicle that will eventually replace the Bradley.
The December draft report also calls for the increase in “rotary wing assets.”
“Vertical lift has been indispensable to successful counterinsurgency and counterterrorist operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere,” the draft report states. “As operations in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan grow in scope and intensity, more rotary wing lift capacity will be needed to ensure that coalition and Afghan forces can be re-supplied at remote outposts and effectively cover their areas of responsibility.”
The Army and other services “will take steps, including expanding pilot training, to make selected vertical lift assets more readily accessible to forces in forward theaters of operations,” the report states.
U.S. Special Operations command will field an “additional company of cargo helicopters.”
To address future chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear explosive threats, DoD will stand up 10 Homeland Response Forces and base one in each of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 10 regions in an effort to field faster, more flexible consequence management response forces, the report states. The National Guard will be responsible for resourcing these new HRFs. The plan involves restructuring current Consequence Management Response Forces “to increase their life-saving capability, maximize their flexibility and make them able to respond more quickly in the wake of an event,” the draft states.
DoD will also enhance its capability to counter improvised explosive devices attacks in the United States.
The plan calls for improving DoD’s “counter-IED training, intelligence and exploitation teams, and its information integration centers here at home,” the draft report states. “Increasing access to trained DoD reserve component forces during the at-home portion of their force generation cycle could also decrease the stress on domestic law enforcement resources that are engaged in support of DoD activities worldwide.”
The QDR also stresses the importance of maintaining a robust U.S. military presence in Europe.
“Subject to a review of NATO’s Strategic Concept and an accompanying assessment of U.S. military requirements in Europe, retain four Brigade Combat Teams and an Army corps headquarters forward-stationed on the continent,” the draft states.
This will help “deter political intimidation of allies and partners, promotes stability in the Aegean, Balkans, Caucasus, and Black Sea regions, demonstrates U.S. commitment to NATO Allies, builds trust and goodwill among our nations, and facilitates multilateral operations in support of mutual security interests both inside and outside the continent,” the draft states.
The draft also recommends that “all four services provide specialized training to individuals and groups deploying abroad to train and advise the security forces of partner nations. In anticipation of the growing role of security force assistance in U.S. strategy and operations, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps will add a total of approximately 500 personnel to their train-the-trainer units for general purpose forces.”
In addition, DoD “will also seek authorities and resources to enable the Army to sustain its ability to train partner forces in the operation and maintenance of helicopters used by partner states,” the draft states.
Army officials referred all questions from the media to DoD.
Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/army_qdr_012710w/