The Tooth to Tail Ratio: Considerations for Future Army Force Structure.

Abstract

The time has come for the Army to adjust its combat to support force ratio, commonly referred to as the tooth to tail ratio (T3R). For the foreseeable future, Army resources will continue to shrink while the scope and number of missions will grow. The Army reduced or reorganized support forces as the primary means to cut force structure. These actions resulted in an imbalance in its T3R. The primacy of combat arms is conceded but, in the equation and execution of combat power, support forces are also essential. Revising the T3R and maintaining a credible and effective war fighting force are not mutually exclusive processes. Many opportunities for change exist. Reasonable expectations of what an increasingly complex and uncertain future holds both calls for change and makes it the right course of action for future Army force structure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 1997
Accession Number
ADA326318

Entities

People

  • John H. Carter Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Forces
  • Combat Readiness
  • Combat Support
  • Commerce
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Democracy
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Force Structure
  • Governments
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Training
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

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  • Strategic Security Studies