Posted on 02/03/2003 5:42:27 PM PST by chance33_98
Gen. Eric Shinseki, U.S. Army chief, visits India
Gen. Eric Shinseki became the first U.S. Army chief to visit India Monday on a visit that will take him up to the disputed Kashmir frontier for briefings on Pakistan-backed infiltration, rising ominously again despite the winter weather. His Indian hosts, who include Defense Minister George Fernandes, are also pushing an unusual request.
India has traditionally come under the Pentagon's Pacific Command (a U.S. Navy fief) while Pakistan comes under Central Command (run by the U.S. Army). India wants to come under the Central Command system because of its strategic priorities over Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Arab world and Persian Gulf in general, and it also wants to bring Army and Air Force co-operation with the United States up to the high level of the naval links, where joint exercises are now routine.
A highly realistic joint training exercise is now being planned for later this year between F-15s of the U.S. Air Force and India's Russian-supplied Su-30.
Also, while the article correctly notes that US Pacific Command is traditionally commanded by a Navy admiral, it mistakenly refers to Central Command as Army-run. Command of USCENTCOM has alternated between Army and Marine Corps generals since its inception. But the distinctions are meaningless, as these combat commands are so thoroughly Joint in their staff compositions and practices that the service branch of any given commander is irrelevant.
Those distinctions aside, there might be good reason to shift India into USCENTCOM's Area of Responsibility. Most compelling is the perpetual Indo-Pakistani faceoff which makes for a confusing strategic boundary. On the other hand, India's expanding blue-water navy will have a growing impact on USPACOM interests. It's a tough decision, but one that will be made by Mr. Rumsfeld.
Vision
Last week at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army, Secretary Caldera and I announced a vision for the future of the Army. I want to take a moment to share with you a part of that vision, a copy of which you have all received and which, with your permission, I would like to insert in the record today.
Our goal is to be able to deploy a combat-capable brigade anywhere in the world within 96 hours after receipt of an order to execute liftoff, a division within 120 hours, and five divisions in 30 days. These forces will be light enough to deploy, lethal enough to fight and win, survivable enough to return safely home. They will be versatile enough to make peace or fight wars. They will be agile enough to transition from peacemaking to warfighting and back again quickly. And they will be lean and efficient enough to sustain themselves whatever the mission.
The Army will begin now to achieve the following vision: "Soldiers on point for the Nation transforming the most respected Army in the world into a strategically responsive force that is dominant across the full spectrum of operations." It will give the National Command Authorityies the ability to respond to crises, to engage to deter conflict, to fight and win decisively, and to maintain the peace thereafter.
This commitment to change will require a comprehensive transformation of the Army. We must begin soon. To this end, we will begin immediately to turn the entire Army into a full spectrum force that is strategically responsive and dominant at every point on the spectrum of operations. We will jump start this process by investing in today's "off-the-shelf" equipment to stimulate the development of doctrine, organizational design, and leader training even as we begin a search for the new technologies that will deliver the material needed for the objective force. As quickly as we can, we will acquire vehicle prototypes, in order to stand up the first units at Fort Lewis, Washington, where the infrastructure, maneuver space, and gunnery ranges will accommodate such a transformation. It is our intent to have an initial set of prototype vehicles beginning to arrive at Fort Lewis this fiscal year. Other units will follow in the near future. Thus, the need to move quickly could necessitate some reprogramming decisions in the fiscal year 2000 Budget. We will keep the lines of communication with Congress open and we look forward to your continued support.
Conclusion
In summary, through the cooperative efforts of the Administration and Congress this year, we have charted a new direction. We have ended 13 consecutive years of declining buying power. The Army is trained and ready. Your soldiers are on point for the Nation in a dangerous world, executing their missions ably and well. I am proud of the job they are doing.
Still, the Army is stretched and struggling to meet the requirements that our National Security Strategy places upon it. Our operations tempo is 300 percent of our Cold War average, despite a decline across the Army of 34 percent of end strength. Some pressing requirements have still not been met. There is still a mismatch between the requirements we have identified and the resources we have.
The vision that we have articulated is an attempt to plot a course that will allow us to meet urgent capabilities needs. It allows us to begin now to build a force that is more strategically deployable, one that can arrive at trouble spots quickly, engage as necessary, and be dominant across the spectrum of operations. It is a plan for today and a roadmap into the future. We hope that we will have your help and support in implementing this vision for an Army that will continue to be the finest land force in the far into the next century.
I will leave it up to those who work under him at this point as I don't know enough about the man yet (though I am looking).
The Chief of the U.S. Army, Eric. K. Shinseki, being received by his Indian counterpart, Nirmal Chander Vij, in New Delhi on Monday. — Photo: Anu Pushkarna
TheHindu--- www.hinduonnet.com/ NEW DELHI FEB. 3. Eric K. Shinseki, the first United States Army chief to visit India, was today extensively briefed about the continuing Pakistan support to infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC).
The Chief of the U.S. Army was first informed about the precarious security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and then about the developing security concerns in the East during an hour-long audio-visual briefing in the War Room in South Block.
Similar concerns were shared during his one-to-one interaction with his Indian counterpart, N.C. Vij, who has repeatedly dealt with this problem in Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides serving extensively in the rugged terrain of Jammu and Kashmir, Gen. Vij was directly involved during the brief but bloody Pakistani endeavour to alter the LoC in Kargil in 1999 as the Army's Director General of Military Operations.
Gen. Shinseki also interacted with the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee, and Naval chief, Madhvendra Singh, and the newly appointed Vice-Chief of the Air Staff, M. Macmahon. He also called on the Defence Minister, George Fernandes. Accompanied by a 14-member delegation and his wife, he leaves early tomorrow for the Philippines. The U.S. Army chief had arrived here on Sunday evening.
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