Posted on 01/26/2006 6:51:15 AM PST by xzins
I've briefed Casey before. He's a no-nonsense guy, and he absolutely WILL ask for what he needs.
Rumsfeld's comment about 1.5 million troops was a bit of sleight-of-hand. The Army is the force on the ground and the Army has only about 480,000 troops out of that 1.5 million.
They'll not be deploying the Navy to Baghdad anytime soon.
This army is stretched because Bill Clinton cut it from 18 divisions down to 10 divisions. Casey is simply being matter-of-fact. I like the guy.
Having been through high op-tempo times, I know that strain is manageable. I disagree about Schoomaker's changes. He has simply taken the "rest slots" and converted them to "deployment slots" and with smaller brigades has simply made units deploy less. Those units, however, will be staffed by soldiers who come from other units that have recently deployed.
Besides, the 18 divisions still had about 108 fighting brigades (3 combat, arty, aviation, engineer) and other support brigades.
One can hardly get too excited about 44 brigades.
If our intent is to have a MARRIED FORCE with a quality of life, then Casey is right on the money.
Rumsfeld is starting to sound clueless with his "smaller, modern army" BS.
I have no problem with more modular units, and I do think that maybe the support tail of the Army was a bit too big for the size of the fighting force GIVEN new efficiencies in supply management and other information advances. I'm certain of that. So, Schoomaker isn't wrong.
It's just that no matter how you reorganize 10 divisions, Clinton's cut from 18 down to 10 divisions was too steep.
What's not mentioned here is that there were TWO studies conducted on this issue. One by the Pentagon, the other by the democRATS.
Now, I wonder which study the AP is referring?
I don't have any info on that.
The cuts started under Bush Sr.
ping
Rummy wants a mini-Wehrmacht on the cheap and it goes against the US's traditional strength of wartime logistics management.
Actually, not.
Bush drew down the INCREASE that had been brought on for Desert Storm.
Thanks for the ping.
Thanks for the ping!
I do not perceive any disagreement based upon this article.
Where are you getting this incorrect information? There was never even 18 divisions nor was there an increase for DS. Bush Sr reduced the number from 12 to 10 if I'm not mistaken. I'll look up the info for you.
I think people should remember what was said early on that you will hear things that are not true and you will not hear things that are true.
Ask yourself how many people are in the Army & Marines currently.
You hear our troops are thin but in reality how many Troops does the Army and Marines have at it's disposal?
ARMY ANNOUNCES DIVISIONS TO REMAIN IN THE 10-DIVISION FORCE WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Army Togo D. West Jr., and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan today named the divisions that will remain on active duty as the Army restructures from 12 to 10 divisions. The Army announced in December its plan to inactivate several major units as it finalizes the force structure drawdown directed by the October 1993 Bottom-Up Review. The 2d Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, will be redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Ga., will be redesignated as the 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized). The 3d Infantry, currently stationed in Germany will be redesignated as the 1st Infantry Division. The restructuring plan announced in December, called for the inactivation of the headquarters and division support units of the 1st Infantry at Fort Riley, Kansas, and the 4th Infantry at Fort Carson, Colo. These redesignations ensure two of the Army's most famous and decorated divisions remain in the active force. Also announced in December were the new designations for brigades in Alaska and Fort Lewis, Wash. The 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Richardson, Alaska will retain its designation but will be aligned with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division (Light), often called the 9th Infantry Regiment (Manchus), at Fort Lewis, Wash., will be redesignated as the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division (Light). The 10-division Army will consist of four light divisions (light infantry, airborne and air assault) and six heavy divisions (mechanized infantry and armored), all stationed at existing installations. All divisions will consist of three active component brigades. Some divisions will have one brigade stationed at a different location. The plan designating the remaining divisions was developed by the Army Center of Military History which maintains records of Army unit lineage and honors. In determining which divisions should remain on active duty, the Center prepared an order of precedence list based on unit age, campaign participation, and awards and decorations. Units were then rank-ordered by category, providing a framework for the Army leadership to select the units to remain on active duty. The brigade newly assigned to the 25th Infantry Division will be redesignated by the end of fiscal year 1995. Redesignation of the 1st, 3d and 4th Infantry Divisions will take place during fiscal year 1996. When the restructuring and renaming is complete, the active Army will look like this: 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) - headquarters and two brigades in Germany, one brigade at Fort Riley, Kan. 1st Armored Division - headquarters and two brigades in Germany, one brigade at Fort Riley, Kan. 1st Cavalry Division - headquarters and three brigades at Fort Hood, Texas. 2d Infantry Division (Mechanized) - headquarters and two brigades in Korea, one brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash. 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) - headquarters and two brigades at Fort Stewart, Ga., one brigade at Fort Benning, Ga. 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - headquarters and two brigades at Fort Hood, Texas, one brigade at Fort Carson, Colo. 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) - headquarters and two brigades at Fort Drum, N.Y., and the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Richardson, Alaska. 25th Infantry Division (Light) - headquarters and two brigades at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, one brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash. 82d Airborne Division - headquarters and three brigades at Fort Bragg, N.C. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - headquarters and three brigades at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Thanks for the ping.
"Rumsfeld is starting to sound clueless with his "smaller, modern army" BS."
I watched Rummy at his presser and he didn't sound clueless. He explained that part of the new strategy was to reorganize from division level fighting groups {15,000} to brigade level {4,000}. This means that a self contained group can deploy in smaller, quicker units. Since we are not going to be fighting the russkies in germany any time soon, makes sense to me.
That's my read on General Casey too when I was over there....
IF he says they are stretched, then they are, no more, no less.
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