Posted on 07/13/2018 5:37:33 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
The U.S. Army will unveil details about its largest reorganization in 45 years Friday, senior service officials said, as they create a new organization in an attempt to adapt more quickly to technology and address expensive failures in weapons acquisitions.
Army Futures Command is being established in part to address concerns about the more than $32 billion the Army has spent since 1995 on programs that it canceled early with little to nothing to show for them. The new power center will be on par with other influential Army organizations, such as Training and Doctrine Command and Forces Command, and commanded by a four-star general.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Somehow I am not sure the US Army will be able to screen for futurists or futurologists in basis training.
I then thought of Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Sprague de Camp at the Naval Aviation Experimental Station in Philadelphia during WWII.
I would dearly love to find out how this fleshes out?
All of them have, like google, grown up to hate this country and will sooner help our enemies and get us all killed than dare work for Donald Trump's army.
With that I would like to point out that a "Futures Command" must be able to develop brain power far beyond the average military scope.
Yes, but more likely haven’t grown up...
The first thing they should do is increase the length and content of Basic Combat Training to around what the Marine Corps does. Second, emulate the ROK army field rations that need no boiling water or fire to heat up. Third, find a modern replacement to the Browning Automatic Rifle and the Sturmgewehr 44.
The first action I would take would be to cut the general (Flag) Officer corps in half (all the military). These empire builders keep coming up with ways to expand their staffs and budget to the detriment of the military.
The Army doesn’t like smart Officers.
The Army likes obedient Officers.
Sounds like the army’s just adding another four star home with a huge budget to play with.
“I don’t see what they are cutting.”
It seems that it will be a new way of generating/handling the requirements for new systems. The Vice Chief of Staff usually plays the key oversight role for acquisition programs Armywide. The main guy on the Army Staff overseeing programs generally is the G-8 - the guy they are apparently now looking to promote to four stars.
It might just be a way to make another four star slot, to take care of somebody’s buddy, or retain some super talented hot shot (the article mentions Lt. Gen. John “Mike” Murray as the likely new Commanding General). It could be the result of a talented bureaucratic infighter/politician persuasively making the position for himself.
There might be good reasons that this new approach might cut some of the bureaucratic delays that slow down system development, or keep them from drifting so far from what’s needed and affordable that the whole mess get scrapped - but if so, the article didn’t identify how.
When the bureaucracy is fertilized with budget increases, it grows.
That is hilarious!
O-5s and O-6s should be the pivotal officers in the military, not admirals and generals. And go back to only having one and two stars except for chief of staff/commandant/CNO and large field army type structures. Bring back the specialist ranks since not everyone is suited to be an NCO.
This is smart and stupid at the same time.
Smart that they see how badly they have managed acquistion of the things the Army needs, but stupid that instead of shafting those persons and bureaucracies who have bungled for so long, they will leave those department of the Army wags in place and add another set of Army bureaucrats, with much duplication as well.
What the Army needs is fewer bureaucracies within it, and leaner & more direct commands that are THE commands that commands, not consults. The Army gets away with leaving so much organizational garbage in place because “ultimate” accountability is actually fragmented, like a commitee, unitl some poor sap at the top is handed an abortion of a commitee decision. Then when things go wrong, they have no direct source to fire, because no one source was responsible. They must be stupid. That does not work on the battlefield and they know it.
Article from yesterday if anyone cares to scan the comments thereon:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index?tab=comments;options=no-change
Army Chooses Austin as Site for Futures Command Headquarters
54 comments at this time
IMHO the military should be looking at retired 05’s for their future leadership. As one of my O5 bosses put it, “after 20 you are working for half pay” He was an aggie with MS in engineering and made boatloads more in civilian life.
GO’s are mostly political animals that serve their interest to get promoted.
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