Posted on 12/23/2007 9:40:52 PM PST by Stonewall Jackson
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 19, 2007) - Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody today announced plans to activate three new units in 2008, and other unit-stationing decisions to support the Army's growth by up to 74,200 Soldiers, including 65,000 active-duty Soldiers, by 2010.
The stationing plans announced during a Pentagon press conference this afternoon include six infantry brigade combat teams, eight active-component support brigades and various-sized combat-support and combat-service-support units.
"The Army is undergoing the largest transformational change since 1942," said Gen. Cody. "We've changed our doctrine. We've changed our organizational structure to the Army modular force. We've changed the active component and the reserve component, balancing between formations.
"We've changed modernization and reset programs, and at the same time, under BRAC 2005, we're changing the footprint of our Army to make it more agile, more expeditionary, but also to place our formations and our Family members in camps and stations that have a higher quality of life, a higher quality of training ranges so that we have the right formations so that we are training as we would fight."
The stationing plan builds upon the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act, Gen. Cody said, and ensures growth capacity for not only the 74,200 Soldiers, but any future growth the Army might need. It considers power projection, so that rail, air and port systems will be able to move troops when needed.
The plan also accounts for training areas at each post, camp and station, from small-arms training to large maneuver-training areas. Most importantly, he said, the Army considered the quality of life for Soldiers and their Families, and is creating real communities at installations.
BRAC relocates the 1st Armored Division from Germany to Fort Bliss, Texas; and the 1st Infantry Div. to Fort Riley, Kan., and Fort Knox, Ky., by September 2011. Per the request of the European Command commander, the Army will activate two heavy brigade combat teams in Germany in 2008 and 2010 to support near-term theater security needs, and reduce stress on Soldiers and Families by allowing time for construction in the United States to support transformation, BRAC realignments and Army growth.
The Army is scheduled to increase its strength to 48 infantry brigade combat teams by fiscal year 2011 by retaining, activating and converting three existing BCTs and growing three new BCTs at Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Bliss, and Fort Stewart, Ga. The two brigade combat teams stationed in Germany are tentatively scheduled to relocate to Fort Bliss in fiscal year 2012 and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in fiscal year 2013, respectively.
The Army also plans to activate eight active-component support brigades and restation two others.
Fort Hood, Texas, will activate an air-defense-artillery brigade headquarters and an expeditionary-sustainment command headquarters.
Fort Lewis, Wash., will activate a sustainment brigade
Fort Polk, La., will activate a battlefield-surveillance brigade.
Fort Bliss will activate a fires brigade.
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii will retain a military police brigade and activate an engineer-brigade headquarters.
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., will activate a maneuver-enhancement brigade.
A second will be restationed to Fort Drum, N.Y.
A third will be restationed to Fort Richardson, Alaska, pending the completion of a supplemental-environmental analysis.
The Army is also stationing about 30,000 Soldiers in combat-support and combat-service-support units throughout the U.S. and overseas. The details are in a report directed by the FY 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, which requires the secretary of Defense to submit a stationing plan to support Army growth.
Gen. Cody said between fiscal years 2006 and 2013, the Army expects to spend approximately $66 billion on more than 743 construction projects to support its growth. This includes 66 new child-development centers; 69,000 new barracks, which does not include renovations to old barracks; 4,100 Army Family houses, which does not include houses built under the Residential Communities Initiative; and 23 brigade-combat-team complexes.
Gen. Cody said the ease and convenience of the complexes make him want to be a captain again. Barracks, leadership offices, operations facilities, motor pool, and equipment storage areas are all close together, grouped around battalion and brigade offices and dining facilities.
The Army conducted a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to consider any environmental impacts stationing new units would have on installations, to examine available alternatives and to solicit the views of the public. The analysis and stakeholder comments were part of the decision-making process for selecting the final stationing for new units, officials said.
FYI
Fort Bliss is going to make out huge in this. In addition to the relocating 1st Armor from Germany, we’re going to get two of the new BCTs.
Bliss is going to get two of the six Infantry BCTs that are going to be activated here in the States and then one of the two Heavy BCTs that will be forming up in Germany will be heading to Bliss in 2012 and the second will be going to White Sands, NM in 2013.
The folks here at Fort Knox were really hoping to get one or two of these brigades, but it looks like that won't be happening.
I think building up the Military is needed for our National Security and way overdue.
But.......Where’s the fence?
Put enough battalions on the border, and give them proper rules of engagement, and you won't need a fence.
When are we going to shut down our bases in Germany?
You're right. It's hard to keep track. We're expecting over 70,000 people associated with the changes. Good for business and the local housing market.
I would welcome a European unified defense force. Keeping WWII/Cold War commitments is ridiculous.
Rumfield’s legacy the Fulda Gap generals fought tooth and nail against.
1) Fires Brigade.
The purpose of the fires brigade was to combine core artillery and division artillery into a modular brigade. The fires brigade was less involved with providing close fire support, such as cannon. It focused more on precision-strikes, counterstrikes and shaping. Under the new modular design, the role of close fire support would fall to the artillery units assigned to the maneuver brigade combat teams. The fires brigade allowed the division to assume some of the duties that Corps performed.
The fires brigade would consist of a brigade headquarters, a target acquisition battery and a Multiple Launch Rocket System battalion as its permanent elements. Personnel assets included a Marine officer, Air Force personnel, and sections for space command, information operations, psychological operations, civil affairs and a fires and effects cell. These sections would be permanently housed within the fires brigade headquarters.
2)Maneuver-Enhancement Brigade.
Typically, but not exclusively, the MEB is composed of engineer, military police, chemical, air defense, civil affairs, and other units that routinely function together during protection, stability, and support operations. As necessary, the situation may dictate the assignment of maneuver or other types of units to the MEB.
During major combat operations, the brigade could oversee river crossing, protect forces and critical infrastructure, and reinforce brigade combat teams with tailored engineer, military police, air/missile defense, chemical or other supporting capabilities. The ME brigade does not replace theater functional brigade headquarters, but provides an intermediate multifunctional capability. The unit might also exploit sensitive sites, support special operations units, or sever as joint security coordinator (JSC).
3)Sustainment Brigade
Sustainment Brigade [formerly the Division Support Command] deploys and provides responsive combat & health service support. This multifunctional brigade will have the mission, responsibility, and authority to conduct theater distribution. It will be assigned functional and multifunctional battalions that will perform transportation, supply, and services missions. Distribution-based logistics will maximize throughput from the theater hub to the user level, bypassing intermediate echelons whenever possible.
4) Battlefield-Surveillance Brigade
The brigade’s capabilities include a full range of advanced intelligence analysis and intelligence collection that includes counterintelligence, long range surveillance, aerial signals intelligence, and Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP). Its soldiers come from across the range of Military Occupational Specialties in the Army to include military intelligence disciplines, infantry, aviation, signal, and the full range of critical Combat Support and Combat Service Support experts. Its mission is to provide all-source, predictive intelligence and electronic warfare in support of world-wide contingency operations.
The Army’s Long Range Surveillance units (LRSU’s) are being expanded into the Army’s new Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BfSB) format. The brigade contains a Brigade HHC, a Battlefield Surveillance Targeting Battalion (BSTB), a Military Intelligence Battalion and a Surveillance Reconnaissance Battalion (SRB).
Unless the Japanse start buliding Zeros again, this is the place to be ...
This gives me the feeling that our military is being prepared for many more 'interventions', 'change of government' and 'nation building missions'.
Wonderful. Out of all this, how many actual boots on the ground - that is, infantry soldiers carrying rifles and sweeping villages - will the Army gain?
I asked Alicia if they could adopt me, but she just laughed. I told her that I am only four years older than she is, so nobody will say anything, but she then reminded me that they are going to Hawaii not California.
In addition, a number of the other new units will be MPs, engineers, field artillery, and aviation, all of whom are extremely valuable on the ground.
How many of these 29,200 soldiers will be physically walking patrol as opposed to doing other duties?
About 50%.
So????
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.