Army Forces for Operations Other Than War
Abstract
The research described in this report was directed at the question, How does the conduct of operations such as peace enforcement, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and lesser regional contingencies influence the readiness and availability of Army forces to deploy to an MRC? We examine OOTW missions performed by the Army since 1975 and plans for possible future operations in order to define force requirements for OOTW. The requirements are defined in terms of unit type, numbers of units, and duration of deployment, and are intended to exemplify the forces likely to be required for future OOTW scenarios. We then compare the number, type, and component of Army units needed for simultaneous OOTW and MRCs to those in the planned force structure. The analysis does not examine the degree to which the operations might be conducted with a different mix of forces (i.e., active or reserve Army, Department of the Army civilians, contractors, or forces from the other services) in the future nor the potential effects of that different mix. We also developed a methodology to evaluate the influence of OOTW on the Army's capability to deploy forces to an MRC, taking into consideration the time required for units first to prepare and deploy for the OOTW and then to regain combat ready status after their return. The methodology also considers the effects of rotation and tour length policies on the availability of forces. That methodology is then applied in detail to the case of Somalia as an OOTW that the Army needed to perform while maintaining readiness for an MRC.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA331015
Entities
People
- Ronald E. Sortor
Organizations
- RAND Corporation