The Army You Need: Retooling the Army National Guard
Abstract
The US Army is too small to impose order on a large population Thus, it can face the future in one of three ways: it can avoid conflicts that may require occupation of an enemy's homeland, it can expand its capacity to compel the compliance of an occupied population, or it can expand its capacity to promote the cooperation of an indigenous people The first alternative is unacceptable; it forecloses a way to pursue strategic ends The second is infeasible; Americans will not support an army big enough to subjugate a foreign population, and the nation lacks the means to maintain an army so large The third option requires retooling the Army National Guard Most of the Army's stabilization and reconstruction capacity should reside in the National Guard The American Army is the most powerful land-based force in the world, and cutting combat forces from the Guard will not sacrifice the warfighting capacity it needs to remain so It will however, make the National Guard a more relevant force while increasing the Army's overall ability to maintain order in occupied territory Moreover, aligning the Guard's state and federal missions with the skills many of its members already hold will enable it to respond more rapidly and more effectively to either level of government.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA471702
Entities
People
- Patton K. Pickens
Organizations
- United States Army War College