Transformation of the United States Army

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Graphic summary of the transformation

The transformation of the United States Army describes the strategic reorientation of the US Army . The armed forces should be able to face those of the 21st century instead of the demands of the Cold War . The practical implementation of this process began in 1997. The transformation is considered the most important structural measure since 1947 and, once it is completed in 2007, is expected to take effect at least until 2050, with the procurement of equipment going beyond 2007. Even if this process is not the only transformation in history, it is carried out with such effort and such high expectations that the term in this case comes close to a self-designation .

Historical development

The Cold War ended in 1989/90 ; In 1991 the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact dissolved. During the 1990s, the US Army experienced drastic cuts in the military budget due to the disappearance of the main enemy, the former Soviet Union (see also peace dividend ). By September 11, 2001 , the United States Department of Defense's strategy had shifted from simple cuts, downsizing, and downsizing to so-called "transformation." This doctrine focuses the army on fast, efficient combat that requires the relocation of massive units, such as B. in the Second Gulf War , made redundant.

The Ministry of Defense saw the necessity of a new type of warfare given by the predicted security situation of the 21st century. Four forms of military challenge are to be covered:

  • traditional, d. H. intergovernmental,
  • unknown or irregular,
  • post- catastrophic as well
  • disturbing.

Overall, a calming of the global security situation is not in sight.

The strategic goal derived from this was recorded in the significant doctrine Relevant and Ready ... Today and Tomorrow : to be able to muster a sufficiently large military force at any time as early as possible and thus to be able to fulfill the mission (see also the section of the same name) of the Army .

The four cornerstones of the current transformation are seen in the following factors:

  1. Ready combat force on the ground in support of the Combatant Commanders
  2. well trained and equipped soldiers - "to serve as warriors under adaptable superiors"
  3. Standard of living and welfare for all members of the Army
  4. an infrastructure that offers adequate strategic projection

An overly adaptable opponent, underfunding, excessive operating speeds and other excessive burdens on the Army as a whole are seen as risk factors for the transformation .

The strategic development of the transformation already took place under Defense Ministers William Perry (1994–1997) and William Cohen (1997–2001; both in the Clinton Cabinet ). Her successor, Donald Rumsfeld (2001–2006), on the other hand, is credited with implementing her approaches without compromise, which the Army Command only gradually adopted.

From a clear minority position among the officers , General Schoomaker , who is considered the spiritual father of the transformation, supported Rumsfeld in implementing the structural measure, which ultimately led to his appointment as 35th Chief of Staff of the Army .

In order to bridge the transition period of the structural adjustment, Schoomaker had the alarm forces assigned an additional 30,000 soldiers (10,000 soldiers cost 1.4 billion US dollars more). Around 2005 about 60% of the army budget consisted of personnel costs. The US Army must use funds for the transformation that were earmarked for other expenses.

The 4th Infantry Division was the first to complete the reorganization on December 16, 2004.

concept

Quarter-division of the potential threats

The US Department of Defense saw the need for a new type of warfare given by the forecast security situation of the 21st century. In his opinion, four forms of military challenge must be covered:

  1. State armed forces and recognized military groups, whether obsolete or modern, challenge the US's clout in traditional disputes ( war , remaining nuclear weapons ),
  2. State and non-state actors can also use irregular methods of warfare, such as riot, terrorism, civil war, ethnic cleansing, and the like, to undermine the clout of the United States
  3. Disaster-like threats can come from potentially breakaway terrorist splinter groups attempting to use weapons of mass destruction or any tactical or strategic missile warheads that they may have captured in order to paralyze US strength
  4. Actors that certain techniques such as cyberwar , Directed Energy , Genwaffen or nanoweapons use to the technical superiority of the Army to join might try to lead the United States to marginalize

The Ministry of Defense stated that overall a calming of the global security situation was not to be expected.

The strategic goal that was derived from this was recorded in the doctrine, which was designated as Relevant and Ready ... Today and Tomorrow (in English : "Effective and ready for action - today and in the future"): to mobilize a sufficiently large military force at any time as early as possible and so the Mission (see also the section of the same name) of the US Army.

Modular brigade structure

The starting point for the transformation is the stronger emphasis on smaller units. The brigade level (2,000–5,000 men) is to serve as the linchpin of the organization of the US Army , in contrast to the current emphasis on the division (10,000–20,000 men). This also replaces the doctrine of Major Theater War , which is intended to enable the US Army to fight two major regional wars at the same time. Rather, modular, i.e. H. Above all, interchangeable brigade elements can undertake military expeditions worldwide. The soldiers must be able to be transferred to two possibly completely different deployment areas one after the other. In addition, this new structure enables the Brigade (Unit of Action) to carry out operations in the operational area much more independently, without being overly dependent on higher-level command structures such as the division.

When Schoomaker took office, all of the divisions, which consisted of 15,000 men, were concentrated around the central armored divisions. When the maximum combat strength is shifted to the brigades, these will be reduced so that the 33 brigades in the active units in 2003 will become 42–43 combat brigades of 3,000–4,000 men each by the expected end of the transformation in 2007. These are supplemented by 75 support units, which are also modular, so that around 120 brigades are created.

The National Guard will consist of 28 combat and 78 support brigades, and the United States Army Reserve will consist of 58 support brigades.

Building up the combat brigades

The brigade modules equipped for combat operations will be self-contained, connected troop organizations consisting of fire support formations (e.g. artillery ), combat support units ( reconnaissance units , telecommunications troops , military police ) and logistics units ( paramedics , transport , repair ). All combat brigades are standardized from active units to reserves, which has not been the case before.

Before the transformation, support units were only assigned to the divisions and were only assigned to fighting brigades for a certain period of time when necessary. The restructuring accelerates cooperation and reduces bureaucratic hurdles.

Education plays a crucial role in transformation. In the planning, the acquisition of the target was repeatedly criticized as a weak point in the chain of events up to the destruction of the target. Therefore, the number of scouts in a brigade was increased. This was brought about by a reduction in artillery troops, which was made possible by the increasing combination of forces.

There will be three types of fighting brigades: infantry (including airborne troops ), armored and Stryker brigades . The organization of the unit will change, with the current Cavalry - Regiment serves as a model in several ways.

Tank brigades

Heavy tank brigades

The so-called Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT) , known as Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT) since 2012 , are planned to consist of around 3,700 soldiers. Since the structure as mentioned, more than relies on existing to composite units, the are first officer ( executive officer ) a proxy and an extended bar assist to meet the increasing requirements concerning civil affairs special missions, psychological warfare , anti-aircraft to meet and transport .

In detail, the brigades should consist of the following units at the end of the transformation:

  • Staff Battalion:
  • armored reconnaissance squadron from:
    • 3 armored reconnaissance companies each with 10 M3 Bradley reconnaissance tanks
    • 1 reconnaissance company with HMMWVs and sensors
  • 2 mechanized combat battalions for combined arms combat each:
  • Artillery battalion from:
    • 2 firing batteries with 8 Paladin self-propelled howitzers each
    • Fire train
    • Fire support train
  • Logistics Battalion:
    • Medical company
    • Supply company
    • Repair company
    • 4 supply companies for the four combat battalions

Infantry brigades

Infantry brigades

The Infantry Brigade Combat Teams will comprise 3,300 men and will be composed as follows:

  • Staff Battalion:
    • Brigade staff
    • Pioneer company
    • Telecommunications company
    • News Company (Military Intelligence)
    • Military police train
    • Safety pull of the rod
  • Aufklärungsschwadron (RSTA: R econnaissance, S urveillance and T arget A cquisition ; roughly translates to "reconnaissance, surveillance and target recognition"):
    • 2 × motorized reconnaissance companies
    • Scout Company
    • Support company with sensors
  • 2 × infantry battalions:
    • 3 × infantry companies
    • Combat Support Company
      • Mortar train
      • Reconnaissance platoon
      • Snipers
      • 3 × motorized anti-tank trains
  • Artillery Battalion:
    • 2 × firing battery with eight 105 mm guns each
    • Fire train
    • Fire support train
  • Logistics Battalion:
    • Medical company
    • Supply company
    • Repair company
    • 4 × support companies to supply the four combat battalions

Stryker Brigade Combat Teams

Stryker Brigades

A Stryker Brigade Combat Team will make up nearly 3,900 soldiers , making it the largest of the three brigade concepts. The Stryker brigades were designed before Schoomaker took office and therefore consist of three instead of two fighting battalions including a reconnaissance squadron. They therefore consist of:

  • Headquarters company
  • Anti-tank company (three platoons)
  • Pioneer company
  • Telecommunications company
  • Intelligence company with a drone reconnaissance platoon (Military Intelligence)
  • Reconnaissance Squadron:
    • 3 × reconnaissance companies each with 14 × Stryker RV and 2 × Stryker MC (120 mm mortar)
    • 2 × 120mm mortar companies
    • Reconnaissance company:
      • Drone reconnaissance platoon
      • ABC reconnaissance train
  • 3 × Stryker infantry battalions:
    • 3 × infantry companies each with 12 × Stryker ICV, 3 × Stryker MGS and 2 × Stryker MC (120 mm mortar)
    • Reconnaissance platoon
    • Ambulance train
    • Snipers
  • Artillery Battalion:
    • 3 × firing battery with 6 × 155 mm howitzers each
    • Fire support train
    • Fire train
    • Fire support train
  • Logistics Battalion:
    • Medical company
    • Supply company
    • Repair company

Modular support brigades

Similar to the Brigade Combat Teams , the Support Modular Brigades will have a modular structure. There are supposed to be five types.

  1. The Heeresfliegerbrigades ( Aviation brigades ) are a multifunctional mixture of attack ( Apache ), reconnaissance , general purpose ( Black Hawk ) and cargo helicopters ( Chinook ) as well as the ability for medical evacuation . Army Aviation Brigades differ in their structure from the CBTs . They will remain at the division level due to budget constraints . Heavy Army Aviation Brigades have 48 Apache , 38 Blackhawk , 12 Chinook and 12 MedEvac helicopters. These are divided into two attack battalions , one air attack and one supply battalion . The latter ensures logistical support. The equipment of the brigades comes from the larger brigades today, which are now subordinate to the corps.
    1. The light army aviation brigades of the divisions are equipped with 60 armed reconnaissance helicopters, but no Apache .
    2. Army aviation brigades with 30 armed reconnaissance helicopters and 24 Apache are subordinate to the remaining divisions . Otherwise the structures of the Army Aviation Brigades are similar.
  2. Artillery brigades will not only include large guns such as howitzers , Paladin or MLRS , but also contain the training and equipment for independent reconnaissance missions and weapons for the non-lethal defeat of targets .
  3. Supply brigades provide logistical support from the level of their branches of service.
  4. The monitoring of the battlefield , the Battlefield Surveillance Brigades ensure as reconnaissance brigades. Their equipment includes unmanned reconnaissance and (long-range) scouts who are trained for long-term observation missions.
  5. Maneuver Enhancement Brigades are support units that maintain the pace of operations and, if necessary, accelerate them. This will also include units such as the staff service , NBC defense units , military police and units for civil affairs. They are assembled according to the combined arms principle , so that they can also work together with other armed forces, whether national or international .

Headquarters

Mission and responsibility

The previous division staffs will take command of these divisions ( command and control ). Administratively, the divisions remain largely unchanged, but they are no longer fixed units, but administrations for all possible associated brigades, a maximum of four Brigade Combat Teams and at least two support brigades . The composition depends on the mission of the units. It is possible for the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division to coordinate two infantry and two tank brigades for one mission, while it is assigned two Stryker and two air brigades for the next. The same applies to the support units. The aim here is to standardize the logistics service and thus ultimately to achieve greater efficiency.

The headquarters themselves are also modular. You can be assigned different authorities. The name for this type of headquarters is UEx ( Unit of Employment, X ). After the reorganization, headquarters should be able to act in conjunction with other "divisions", not only to make tactical but also strategic decisions, and possibly to command even larger units. While a headquarters is not in use, it must ensure the training and combat readiness of some brigades.

structure

The restructured headquarters consist of over 1,000 soldiers, including around 200 officers . They are divided as follows:

  1. a command staff that plans and orders missions.
  2. a mobile command group in case the brigades are on the move.
  3. two tactical command posts to accompany the transmission of orders from the staff to the brigades.
  4. Public Relations and Civil Affairs Liaison Officers.
  5. a special unit with a security and an intelligence company.

Divisions will continue to be commanded by two-star generals , except in the case of unit massing or diplomatic agreements . Furthermore, regional commanders (e.g. the 3rd, 7th and 8th US Army) will retain their functions in the future, but will have fewer management tasks and will be more responsible for coordinating the large units.

Further training and commitment

In contrast to the current training of soldiers, so-called Combat Training Centers ( CTCs ) are supposed to provide holistic training for soldiers. You are at all bases and should the soldiers, especially the subtleties of his current environment and their connection with the order closer to bring (eg house fighting in hostile urban areas, confusing jungle ). Even before the war in Iraq , all infantrymen had to complete an intensive street-to-house combat course because the commanders felt they had been insufficiently prepared. This should now be omitted, as Schoomaker has recognized that long-term training has a stronger effect and that logistical and organizational bottlenecks can also be avoided.

The restructuring with regard to the type of task automatically means that in the future units will be budgeted according to their needs and not a priori as at the time when the division was focused, which primarily depends on their planned operations in the course of the financial year (combat operations versus supply and support operations ). On the basis of regular reports instead of snapshots, the units are assessed based on their task type, whereby the commander's assessment should be given greater weight than before.

Posting mode

The service routine that Schoomaker is striving for with the transformation is a constantly deployed ground force, so that it also logistically does justice to the “long war on terror” and can otherwise cope with the wide range of operations from peace missions to wars against state armed forces .

Under ideal conditions, Army units are only sent (again) into action after years at home. Active units are sent on tour every three years. Army reserve units are to be deployed every five years and national guardsmen every six years. A total of 71 combat brigades will rotate, 42 of which are from the active units. This part of the transformation is called Army Forces Generation , or ARFORGEN for short .

In this context, 15 active combat brigades will be available annually to be deployed, and another four or five from the entire reserve. This rotation principle is supposed to stabilize the morale of the troops. Nevertheless, there is a short-term emergency plan according to which the 20 brigades can be sent on a large-scale operation in addition to the 19 already dispatched.

General Dan McNeil from the Army Forces Command describes ARFORGEN as a model, a reservoir will be allocated upon the units after they have from 2006 finished a tour. Once this reservoir contains enough units , the new mode will be ushered in when operational readiness is established on a reset day ( R-Day ) set by FORSCOM and approved by the Army Department of the United States Department of Defense . On this day, the commanders of the brigades also change, who are also given new skills. The units are then assigned their status:

  • Deployment Expeditionary Forces , Brigade Combat Team ( DEF-BCT , roughly: "Sent Expedition Force"), who have trained for their upcoming mission and are being sent.
  • Ready Expeditionary Forces , Brigade Combat Team ( REF-BCT , German: " Ready -to- use expeditionary force"), which form the alarm reserve before otherwise becoming DEF-BCT .
  • Contingency Expeditionary Forces , Brigade Combat Team ( CEF-BCT , "Emergency Expeditionary Force"), which could also include units that have just returned home if a correspondingly serious crisis occurs.

Mainly based on the assessment of the unit commander, their units are then moved to the reservoir of operational units, from where they are then provided for the mission, and in which they then focus their training on the upcoming mission. One year before it is deployed, the unit is then transferred to the reservoir of available units, where its level of deployment is carefully checked, especially with regard to the areas of core tasks and tasks in a specific environment. This phase is the only one that is limited to a specific period of one year. It is entirely possible that units can enter this reservoir without a specific task and are sent into action within 30 days of being notified.

The aim of these measures is to build significant armed force capacities that meet the needs of certain regional or functional commands as early as 12 to 18 months in advance and to prepare the units as early as possible for their planned next mission.

When it comes to increasing and re-deploying units, attempts are being made to avoid previously extremely unpopular emergency measures that individual soldiers should keep in the Army for a certain period of time, such as stop loss and stop move , even if they are in the inventory of the measures remain. At least their current number of applications should decrease significantly. The new touring system is intended to allow soldiers who are personally connected to each other to spend longer together in their units and families to be able to integrate better through a normally longer stay at the location, which the commanders ultimately expect to raise the soldiers' morale.

Final stage of transformation

At the end of the transformation, the deployment of US Army units will look like this (units that are deployed overseas are in bold):

List of divisions

unit construction Location coordinated unit
1st U.S. Infantry Division Headquarters module, two armored brigades, two infantry brigades, one army aviation brigade Fort Riley , Kansas
1st U.S. Armored Division Headquarters module, four armored brigades, one army aviation brigade Fort Bliss , Texas
1st U.S. Cavalry Division Headquarters module, four armored brigades, one army aviation brigade Fort Hood , Texas
2nd US Infantry Division Headquarters module, an armored brigade, an army aviation brigade South Korea three Stryker brigades in Fort Lewis , Washington
3rd U.S. Infantry Division Headquarters module, three armored brigades, one infantry brigade, one army aviation brigade Fort Stewart / Benning , Georgia
4th US Infantry Division Headquarters module, three armored brigades, one infantry brigade Fort Carson , Colorado
10th U.S. Mountaineering Division Headquarters module, three infantry brigades, one army aviation brigade Fort Drum , New York a fourth infantry brigade in Fort Polk , Louisiana
25th Infantry Division Headquarters module, a Stryker brigade, an infantry brigade and an army aviation brigade Schofield Barracks , Hawaii a Stryker Brigade and an Air Storm Brigade in Alaska
82nd Airborne Division Headquarters module, four paratrooper brigades, one army aviation brigade Fort Bragg , North Carolina
101st Airborne Division Headquarters module, four air storm brigades, two army aviation brigades Fort Campbell , Kentucky

Remaining brigades and regiments

Name of the regiment Place of deployment Remarks
2nd Cavalry Regiment Germany Stryker Brigade
3rd armored cavalry regiment Fort Hood, Texas
11th armored cavalry regiment Fort Irwin , California Mainly used as a training unit, but as such it is almost the only one capable of being deployed and combat-ready
172nd Infantry Brigade Grafenwohr , Germany Disbanded in 2013
173rd Airborne Brigade Vicenza , Italy

The total of 10 divisional HQs will remain in place today. Your internal organization will also be streamlined. The associated reduction in bureaucracy is seen as a positive side effect of the transformation .

Type counting

With the exception of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment , which has instructor status, and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is not organized as a Brigade Combat Team, the Army will have 48 combat brigades (including the Grow the Army Brigades):

  • 19 Heavy Brigades ( HBCT ) (Armored / Mechanized Brigades: Equipment: total 1,108 M1 Abrams ; 1,108 M2 Bradley ; 570 M3 Scout ; 304 155mm howitzers Paladin )
  • 13 Infantry Brigades ( IBCT )
  • 6 Stryker Brigades ( SBCT )
  • 6 paratrooper brigades (Airborne)
  • 4 air assault brigades

Active duty support brigades

Brigade type Number of brigades of the same type in the
US Army National Guard Army Reserve
Air support 11 8th 0
Pioneers 5 4th 3
Battlefield surveillance 4th 6th 0
Combat support 4th 16 3
artillery 6th 7th 0
care 16 11 8th

The V Corps stationed in Germany is dissolved, so that the I Corps (which will be relocated to Japan ), which is reinforced in return , the III. Corps , and the XVIII. Airborne Corps remain.

equipment

A new procurement policy by the US Army goes hand in hand with the transformation . Some of the equipment that is advertised is only used in the completely reorganized army.

With the support of Rumsfeld and US President George W. Bush vis-à-vis the arms industry , Schoomaker heralded a change of course in procurement policy by surprisingly canceling the program for the development of the Comanche on February 23, 2004 . Despite all the problems that had arisen during the development of the helicopter, their total attitude was surprising and provoked violent reactions from the contractors.

Schoomaker saw the helicopter as out of date in its use and had the remaining budget for the procurement of the Comanche after the cancellation of the compensation agreement for unmanned reconnaissance drones , increases in combat value of the Apache for Block III and upgrades of the Black Hawk and Chinook .

Furthermore, Schoomaker changed the procurement of the Future Combat System by ordering that the individual components would be made available to the soldiers as quickly as possible. Overall, this extends the completion of procurement, but balances the equipment of all soldiers. Injustices regarding modern equipment have already caused displeasure among soldiers several times in the military history of the USA , especially when soldiers from certain units were of the opinion that the better equipment that was already available in units that were not yet fighting would mean the lives of several Soldiers from their unit could have been saved. In addition, Schoomaker was of the opinion that the army could not wait until the complete production of the entire FCS. However, not all units will be able to complete their FCS at the same time .

Critics of this step consider this to be a vote of confidence in the industry, which fears for the program because of the high costs, and suspect that Schoomaker wants to gain time in this way to bring the structural measures to an end.

Schoomaker has forecast that the Army's essential equipment, such as the Abrams and Bradley, will continue to be in service by 2030. Until then, only a certain part of the new brigades will be fully equipped with the FCS due to the extended procurement . "We plan to fully equip about 15 brigades out of 48 with the FCS ". On average, the Army procures FCS equipment for 1.5 brigades per year, as of 2014. The procurement and maintenance costs of the FCS exceed 125 million US dollars . The FCS program was canceled on June 23, 2009 by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The successor is the Brigade Combat Team Modernization program.

Documents

literature

Web links

Supporting documents and comments

  1. ↑ Message from the United States Department of Defense dated December 16, 2004. Date found: February 19, 2007
  2. ↑ When used as a military technical term, the English term target acquisition encompasses the tracking, identification and location of one or more targets.
  3. ↑ Source ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.army.mil
  4. ↑ Source ( Memento of March 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive )