Planning U.S. General Purpose Forces: Forces Related to Asia
Abstract
This report is one of a series of reports on planning U.S. general purpose forces. The other papers have concentrated on force elements, such as tactical air forces, that relate to the demanding contingency of a conflict between NATO and Warsaw Pact nations. This paper discusses the general purpose forces deployed in East Asia and the Pacific. It identifies alternatives to the current posture, including reductions and deletions from the overall force structure, realignments involving transfer of some force elements to the continental United States and the Atlantic for NATO-related missions, and force enhancements concentrated in Northeast Asia. The focus of debate on the U.S. defense posture in Asia, apart from Vietnam, has in recent years been on the question of withdrawing, retaining, or phasing down the U.S. Army Second Division deployed in South Korea north of Seoul. That is an important issue, and it is addressed in this paper. But there is a wider range of force structure issues in East Asia and the Pacific that relate to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and to deployments outside of Korea -- in and near Japan, the Philippines, and Hawaii, for example. The principal purpose of this paper is to illustrate the wider range of budget-related choices available in considering reductions and restructuring within the region. Another purpose is to highlight some dilemmas in which competing U.S. objectives make choices more difficult.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA593867
Entities
People
- Charles A. Sorrels
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office