New CSA vision: more brigades -- smaller but lethal
By Staff Sgt. Marcia Triggs
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 Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker outlines his vision to 2,500 AUSA members Oct. 7 at the Eisenhower luncheon.
Aaron Westbrook
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WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 8, 2003) -- In his first media roundtable, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker turned the Army’s goal of a lighter, more agile force up a notch.
Divisions with more brigades – smaller units with almost twice the lethality as the current brigades -- is the concept Schoomaker outlined during his discussion with nine reporters Oct. 7. Schoomaker also discussed a list of 15 areas where he wants to see improvements made during his tenure.
On the second day of the annual Association of the United States Army gathering in Washington, D.C., Schoomaker laid out his plans for reorganizing the Army. Although he plans to continue much of the transformation initiated by his predecessor, retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Schoomaker said he won’t be using the terms “legacy, interim and objective” to describe the force.
More Army funding should also go toward the equipment that is already in the hands of soldiers instead of future combat systems, Schoomaker said.
“We were looking to the future,” Schoomaker said. “But now the focus is on the present. We have got to make sure that we are doing the right thing by our Soldiers. I don’t think we should put Soldiers in harm’s way without doing the very best we can to equip them.”
Shinseki’s vision was an important one, said Schoomaker, who explained that the former chief is a good friend. But Shinseki didn’t know when he started his vision, the degree that the Army would be engaged in the War on Terrorism, Schoomaker added.
The 3rd Infantry Division, which recently returned from Iraq, is experienced in dealing with the enemy, Schoomaker said. That’s why he charged the division commander at Fort Stewart, Ga., to be the first to develop his new “brigade units of action.” Schoomaker said he asked the 3rd Inf. Div. to tell him what brigades need in order to be more capable within their own footprint. In other words, how can they be more effective against the enemy without more troops.
“I want to know if he can turn his three brigades into five maneuver brigades, and if I provide the right equipment, could they be one and a half more lethal than before,” Schoomaker said. “This is just a question, but I believe with the right enablers it can be done.”
One way to make it happen is to get back to the Soldier concept, Schoomaker said. Soldiers must learn how to perform ground functions – jobs of infantry and military police. Every unit should be able to conduct its own force protection, he said.
When the 101st Airborne Division returns from Iraq to Fort Campbell, Ky., its commander will get the same task as the 3rd Inf. Div., Schoomaker said. The two divisions will be able to get assistance from Training and Doctrine Command and Forces Command, Schoomaker said. But their reorganization will be local efforts, not something that the whole Army will be looking into at this time, he added.
The two division commanders won’t be the only two working for change in the Army, though. Task forces across the Army are looking to improve areas that need immediate focus, Schoomaker said. Over the last couple of months senior leadership has mandated surveys to find out the Army’s strengths and areas of weakness.
The analysis provided 15 areas that are being addressed. At the top of the list is the Soldier. Schoomaker said that to show how important Soldiers are, the letter “s” in Soldier will always be capitalized in military correspondence, and he encouraged news media and others to do the same.
“Army business is a human endeavor,” Schoomaker said. “It’s not just run on technology. We need to invest in the Soldier.”
One way to look out for the soldier, his unit and family is unit manning, Schoomaker said. Korea constantly has soldiers coming in and going out. If units rotated there together their families could have stability, Schoomaker said.
“Unit manning leads to unit cohesion and studies have said it leads to combat effectiveness and reduced casualties,” Schoomaker said. “We don’t know what unit manning will look like in the end, but we do know what desired characteristics we want to see -- stability and unit cohesion.”
Commanders and Soldiers who train together and deploy together, will return together, he said. Schoomaker has directed that units targeted to rotate to Iraq and Afghanistan will not change commanders. Commanders will not change duty stations and leave their troops behind. Such cases have happened in theater, Schoomaker said.
The 15 focus areas outlined by Schoomaker are:
The Soldier – The Army has to invest in the Soldier.
The Bench – The Army must build a bench of leaders who think strategically and innovatively at all levels of war.
Army Aviation – This investment needs to get close attention to make sure that the future doctrine goes hand-in-hand with joint air-ground operation.
Leader Development and Education – Training and education is not the same. Soldiers train for a controlled environment, but they are educated so they can operate in ambiguous situations.
Combat Training Centers/Battle Command Training Program – They must be more relevant and exploit opportunities to improve abilities to incorporate joint partners to a greater extent.
Current to Future Force – The current force has to be able to fight today. The future force can’t be fought, it doesn’t exist. The Army has to be ready to go to war with what it has.
The Network – The network that is needed is one where communication can be done from anywhere among different organizations on the battlefield.
Modularity – A degree of flexibility that would give smaller units more power.
Joint Expeditionary Mindset – The Army does not fight alone.
Active Component/Reserve Component Balance – There are capabilities that the Army needs immediately but only the reserve components can provide. So there is a lot of cross-training going on now. Also the reserve components are being structured so that they are more useful to the states and governors in terms of Homeland Security.
Unit Manning – They’re looking for concepts that will provide greater stability.
Installations as Flagships – Installations must be resourced to project power, support tough realistic training and provide for Soldiers, families and civilians.
Resource Processes – The Army has processes from how it feeds people to how it equips people. Many of those processes need to be upgraded and brought into more modern standards.
Strategic Communications – More communication can take place with the media, each other and improve the lines of communication.
Authorities, Responsibilities and Accountability – Sometimes people are given the responsibility for something, but they haven’t been given the resources to be successful. So how can they be held accountable?
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