An Analysis of Alternative Army Forces Proposed by the National Guard Association of the United States
Abstract
Recently, the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) made a proposal that would alter the Administration's suggested forces for the U.S. Army. The NGAUS proposal would shift more of the Army's forces into units manned by personnel of the Army National Guard. A key element of the NGAUS proposal would retain four more divisions in the Army National Guard than the Administration proposes to keep, while also eliminating four other divisions, including two divisions on active duty and the two new cadre divisions that the Army plans to create. Once all forces are fully mobilized and trained, the NGAUS proposal would provide at least as much warfighting capability as the Administration's proposed force. However, divisions in the Army National Guard, whose members train only part time in peacetime, would require more time than active-duty divisions to mobilize and train for war. Thus, under the NGAUS proposal, more units would be available for reinforcing active divisions but fewer for immediate deployment. That means giving up some insurance against the need to deploy divisions relatively early during a conflict in order to reinforce active forces. As for costs, the NGAUS proposal--once all its provisions are fully in effect--could result in a reduction in the defense budget of about $1.1 billion a year compared with the costs under the Administration's plan. Savings might be larger or smaller depending on how the Army carried out the changes proposed by NGAUS. One important issue involves the nature of the two active divisions that would be eliminated, which NGAUS did not specify. The estimate of $1.1 billion in savings assumes that these two divisions would include one armored or "heavy" division based in Europe and one heavy division based in the Continental United States. (Divisions are termed heavy when they contain large numbers of tanks and other heavy equipment; light when they contain less heavy equipment.)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA530811
Entities
People
- Karen Watkins
- Lane Pierrot
- Martin Felsenthal
- William P. Myers
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office