Grow the Army

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Grow the Army ( Eng .: "Enlargement of the Army") is a general plan to increase the strength of the Army of the United States . Postulated in 2007, it should be implemented by 2013 and create a total of 74,200 additional posts.

background

According to the operational doctrine of the US armed forces , the United States should be able to carry out up to four large-scale missions worldwide at any time . The current military engagements of the USA make it clear, however, that with the current strength of the army, only two major long-term operations can be carried out today. The increasing asymmetry of war around the world also requires the military to adapt to this threat potential, which is difficult to achieve with the current number of men.

The set in January 2007 by the President to Congress for greater allocation of Army posts around 72,000 men reflects the increasingly difficult execution of large-scale operations, which so far (only with a significant increase in the density of use of OP-speed ) could be realized for each soldier. If the structure of a professional army is retained , the current tasks and the guarantee of the adequate execution of the official operational doctrines can only be ensured by increasing the number of personnel. The previous practice of compensating for the need for longer deployments and increased obligations of members of the Reserve and Army National Guard has led to a significant deterioration in the morale and social situation of the soldiers, which can also lead to such a great social burden that they become politically a danger to the government.

The general plan

The plan envisages the creation of a total of 74,200 additional posts by 2013. This would be almost the equivalent of five divisions . The division will not only lead to new associations, but also strengthen existing ones, but at the same time also affect all areas, both active and reserve. The positions are distributed as follows:

  • US Army : 65,000 positions
  • US Army Reserve : 1,000 positions
  • US Army National Guard : 8,200 positions

When standing army should Infantry Brigade Combat Team ( infantry brigades ), Support Brigades ( support brigades ), Combat Support units (combat support) and Combat Service Support units (combat support supply arrangements). 30,000 men are earmarked for the individual support unit types, while 35,000 soldiers will reinforce the combat units. These changes affect all US units worldwide, so they are not limited to individual regions.

By 2011, the 1st US Armored Division was relocated from Germany back to the United States at Fort Bliss in Texas . The 1st US Infantry Division moved completely from the Federal Republic to Fort Riley in Kansas and Fort Knox in Kentucky in 2009 . These measures were partially offset by the independence and renaming of two tank brigades of the aforementioned divisions in 2008 and 2010. However, consideration is also being given to relocating these two brigades back to the USA in 2012 and 2013, one to Fort Bliss in Texas, the other to the missile training area in White Sands , New Mexico .

outlook

The implementation of the Grow the Army plan, with its reinforcements, relocations and re-stationing, is intended to ensure the status of the US Army as a professional army in the medium term , while at the same time optimally fulfilling its mandate and responding adequately to future threat potentials, both qualitatively and regionally.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Introduction from the National Defense University ( Memento of April 30, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 4, 2008, (English)

Web links