3-star defends Army modernization strategy - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

3-star defends Army modernization strategy

ARLINGTON, Va. — Despite the cancellation of many of its largest acquisition programs of the past decade, the Army has a coherent plan for modernizing its forces, a senior service official said.

“Now most folks in this room would probably say that in wake of the cancellation of the Future Combat Systems, the Army really does not have much of a modernization strategy, but I would disagree,” said Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and policy (G-3/5/7), speaking Thursday at a breakfast meeting here.

“Our Army has modernized dramatically in the last decade, if you think about it,” Bolger said. “We’re organized differently and we fight differently. We did it all at war and in fact, I would tell you, we did it because we’re at war.”

Canceled in 2009, FCS was the largest Army program to get the ax in the past decade. In 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld canceled the XM2001 Crusader program, designed to be the next-generation self-propelled Howitzer. With the cancellation of FCS, the Army lost the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, also intended as a replacement for the M-109 self-propelled 155mm howitzer.

In 2007, the Army ended its Joint Common Missile program, an effort to replace Hellfire and Maverick missiles. The Joint Air-to-Ground Missile program, currently in competition, picks up where JCM left off.

The service also canceled the Comanche helicopter program and its replacement, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter.

The Army’s latest effort to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle with the Ground Combat Vehicle suffered a delay Aug. 25 when the Army canceled its request for proposals and announced it would release a new one within 60 days.

Despite these setbacks, Bolger said the service’s equipment has been continuously upgraded and existing systems have been given new capabilities, citing the Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopter as an example.

“It looks the same, but it’s a much different and better aircraft than the D model it replaced,” said Bolger.

The Army has also bought new weapons and equipment. Bolger highlighted the purchase of the Army’s version of the Air Force’s Predator drone, previously known as the Sky Warrior and now named the Grey Eagle. He also pointed to the thousands of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles the Army has purchased.

Meanwhile, the Army has also been testing the next-generation of network capability at Fort Bliss, Texas. Bolger said the year’s upcoming tests will be important for the Army’s network, which he described as the centerpiece of the Army’s modernization strategy.

“I think the new ‘Big Five’ of today, of 2010, may really be the Big One: the network,” said Bolger, echoing other Army senior leaders who have described it similarly.

In the early 1970s, the Army began work on the Big Five: the Abrams main battle tank, the Bradley fighting vehicle, the Apache helicopter, the Patriot air defense system and the Black Hawk helicopter. The multiple launch rocket system was also developed at the same time.

DISCUSS: THE MODERNIZATION IN THE ARMY