The 1993 Offsite Agreement: Undermining Goldwater-Nichols and Special Forces Capabilities
Abstract
Following the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War, Secretary of Defense Cheney acknowledged the requirement to reduce the DoD budget and to downsize the military. This began in earnest when Secretary of Defense Aspin directed the services to conduct a "Bottom Up Review" to determine the force necessary to fight two Major Regional Conflicts simultaneously. In addition Secretary Aspin directed that the active Army be reduced by 20,000 below the BUR baseline and the Reserve Components below the "Offsite Agreement" levels. Seven years later the events of 9/11 issued in from the realm of uncertainty. What existed prior to 9/11 and continues today is an unusual relationship between the U.S. Army Special Forces Command and the Army National Guard Special Forces in the face of the Goldwater-Nichols DoD Reorganization Act and the Nunn-Cohen Amendment. This research reveals the dysfunctional consequences of those acts upon the Army National Guard Special Operating Forces and attempts to define the proper roles and scope in which they should operate. Recommendations are provided to correct command deficiencies and logically align forces within the appropriate components of the Army Reserve and National Guard.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 05, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA467206
Entities
People
- Raphael S. Duckworth
Organizations
- United States Army War College