Does the Army Need a Full-Spectrum Force or Specialized Units? Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

This report is intended to provide information that might be of interest to Congress on the current debate surrounding the creation of special U.S. Army units and organizations, which some believe are needed to address current and future security requirements. While the Army has recently changed from a division-based force to a brigade-centric force, it has resisted the creation of special units to deal with counterinsurgency, stabilization, and training/advisory operations. In contrast, there have been a number of proposals to create new units and organizations better suited to address the challenges of these mission areas. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates s recent challenge to the Army to organize and prepare for asymmetric warfare and advising and training foreign armies could renew and elevate this debate. The Army began reorganizing to a brigade-based, full-spectrum force in 2003 primarily to provide a larger pool of deployable units. Based on lessons learned from Afghanistan and Iraq, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Army have initiated significant changes in doctrine, education, and training, focusing on counterinsurgency, stabilization, and training/advising foreign militaries. The Army has also begun the conversion from what it describes as "Cold War force structure" into a number of other types of units that have been considered high-demand, low density units that the Army believes will be required in the future. There have also been a number of proposals to create specialized units to meet the operational challenges of counterinsurgency, stabilization, and training/advisory operations, but the Army insists that its current force structure is adequate to meet these challenges, and that the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan precludes the effective use of these specialized units.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 18, 2008
Accession Number
ADA476145

Entities

People

  • Andrew Felckert

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Combat Areas
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Green Berets
  • Infantry Fighting Vehicles
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Education
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • National Security
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

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