U.S. Army Strike Force -- A Relevant Concept

Abstract

Since January 1999, there has been a tremendous level of debate within the U.S. Army concerning how it should be organized and how it should deploy; specifically, its ability to rapidly deploy within 96 hours and provide a deterrence force of two to five thousand personnel. Army advocates for change argue that the Army's current force structure consists of heavy mechanized forces and light airborne forces, but no medium-weight, rapidly deployable, ground force capability that can perform a multi-mission role. This role should cover a wide spectrum to include decisive combat and operations other than war, specifically, support and stability operations. In order to bridge this gap, the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) has been designated the proponent to develop a rapidly deployable, medium-weight force; its name, Strike Force. As the proponent, TRADOC has developed a Strike Force Operational and Organizational Concept - a concept that has recently been approved by General Reimer, Army Chief of Staff. Many critics challenge the validity of the Strike Force concept, as the need for this capability has appeared to materialize from nowhere. Those critics have brought to the forefront several fundamental questions; such as, what are the operational requirements, purpose, and mission of such a force? Is there a current shortfall regarding the Strike Force concept within the Department of Defense in general and within in the U.S. Army in specific? Would the establishment of such a force be redundant with current Army or other service capabilities? Does the Army envision a requirement to change its methods of force tailoring and organizing forces for operations in order to meet the dynamic needs of emerging and future operational requirements? This monograph explores the viability of the Strike Force concept in terms of the U.S. Army's current and future mission requirements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 30, 1999
Accession Number
ADA370344

Entities

People

  • Mark G. Cianciolo

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Artillery
  • Combat Areas
  • Combat Forces
  • Combat Operations
  • Combat Readiness
  • Combat Support
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.