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January 31, 2004: The U.S. Army has decided that smart bombs and smart shells make a lot of its artillery units unnecessary. So two thirds of its non-divisional (those that that are not part of a combat division) artillery battalions will be converted to other uses (engineers, military police and civil affairs.) That's 36 artillery battalions containing nearly 10,000 troops. Most of these are National Guard units, who report to state governors until they are called up by the federal government. The governors won't mind having fewer artillery, and more engineer, military police and civil affairs battalions, as these units...

Part one of a three-part series on the United States evolving armed forces. NORRISTOWN - Transformation is the guiding principle for today's U.S. military, and top Defense officials have mandated sweeping changes aimed to quicken the pace of warfare and streamline the Pentagon's cumbersome bureaucracy. On Nov. 24, President Bush signed the $401 billion Defense Authorization Bill of 2004, the largest defense budget in history. And though the military's fighting capability is second to none, officials warn that the time it takes to develop some weapons renders them obsolete by the time they are finally produced -often 15 to 20...

<p>U.S. military commanders, working with the Pentagon's Joint Staff, have revised plans for potential wars on the Korean peninsula, in the Middle East and elsewhere based on assumptions that conflicts could be fought more quickly and with fewer American troops than previously thought, senior officers said.</p> <p>The changes reflect advances in precision munitions, greater use of Special Operations forces, and improved coordination between air, ground and sea forces tested in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. By incorporating these and other new elements in all U.S. war plans, Pentagon authorities hope to make them permanent features and gain greater combat efficiency, the officers said.</p>

In another display of skepticism toward Army transformation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has commissioned an independent panel to review the service's plans for its future force, sources said last week. During a March 8 meeting with top Army and Defense Department officials -- including Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane, Army Secretary Thomas White, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Pete Aldridge -- Rumsfeld questioned nearly every aspect of the Army's vision for the Objective Force, these sources said. The defense secretary agreed in...