Jump to content

Reorganization plan of United States Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 66.32.21.179 (talk) at 23:11, 13 August 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Army Transformation describes the future-concept of the US Army's plan of modernization.

Modular Brigades

One of the major initiatives of the modernization plan involves migrating the army from a division-centric force designed to fight one or two potential major-theatre wars toward a modular, brigade-centric force that is expeditionary in nature and deployed continuously in different parts of the world. To help with the force structure changes, an additional 30,000 soldiers were authorized under emergency authority. A permanent end-strength change is not expected because General Peter Schoomaker, the US Army Chief of Staff, fears funding will be cut in future years, forcing the army to dip into its procurement and readiness accounts to pay for the added personnel. (Personnel represent 60% of the defense budget and every extra 10,000 soldiers cost, in total, $1.4 billion annually)

Before Schoomaker's tenure, the army was organized around large, mostly armored divisions of around 15,000 soldiers each. Under his plan, the 3,000-to-4,000 soldier combat brigade is becoming the primary building-block unit of the army. In effect, the army will organize its brigades closer to the way it fights. The army will move from 33 brigade combat teams in 2003 to 42 or more brigade combat teams within the active component under his expansion program. There will also be 75 modular support brigades, for a total of 117 active-component modular brigades. Within the National Guard, there will be 28 brigade combat teams and 78 support brigades. Within the Army Reserve, 58 support brigades.

Modular Combat Brigades

Modular combat brigades will be self-contained combined arms formations. They will be standardized formations across the active and reserve components, meaning an armor brigade at Fort Hood will be the same as one at Fort Stewart. Before different armored units had slightly different designs.

Reconnaissance plays a large role in the new organizational designs. The army feels acquisition of the target was the weak link in the chain of finding, fixing, closing with, and destroying the enemy. They feel the army has sufficient lethal platforms to take out the enemy. Thus, it increased the number of reconnaissance units in each brigade. The brigades also depend on joint fires from the air force and navy to accomplish their mission. As a result, the amount of field artillery has been reduced in the brigade design.

The three types of combat brigade will be infantry (including air assault and airborne outfits), armor, and Stryker. The organization of brigades will change, with the armored cavalry regiment serving as a model in some ways:

Heavy armored brigades will comprise around 3,700 soldiers. Since the brigade will have more organic units, the command structure will include a Deputy Commander (in lieu of the traditional Executive Officer) and a larger staff capable of working with civil-affairs, special operations, psychological operations, air defense, and aviation units. The brigade design will include:

  • Brigade troops battalion (will include the brigade headquarters, signal company, military intelligence company with a TUAV platoon, security and military police platoons)
  • Armed reconnaissance squadron (equipped with three reconnaissance troops with 10 M3 Bradleys each, and one surveillance troop with HMMWVs and sensors)
  • (2) Combined-arms maneuver battalions (headquarters company including LRAS-equipped scout and 120mm mortar platoons and a sniper section, two tank companies with 14 M1 tanks each, two mechanized infantry companies with 14 M2 Bradleys each, and an engineer company)
  • Fires battalion (two 8-cannon Paladin batteries, a target acquisition platoon, and a joint fires cell)
  • Support battalion (medical, distribution, and maintenance companies, plus four forward-support companies to support the three maneuver elements and fires battalion)

Infantry brigades will comprise around 3,300 soldiers. Its design will include:

  • Brigade troops battalion (with the brigade headquarters, security and military police platoons, and signal, intelligence, and engineer companies)
  • RSTA (Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition) squadron (with two motorized recon troops with HMMWVs with LRAS-capability, one dismounted recon troop, and one surveillance troop with sensors)
  • (2) Infantry Battalions (each with three infantry companies, a combat support company containing mortar and scout platoons, a sniper section, and three motorized assault platoons with anti-tank capability)
  • Fires battalion (with two 8-gun 105mm Howitzer batteries, a target acquisition platoon, and joint fires cell)
  • Support battalion (medical, distribution, and maintenance companies, plus four forward-support companies to support the three maneuver elements and fires battalion)

Stryker brigades will comprise 3,900 soldiers, making it the largest of the three combat brigades. It was designed prior to Schoomaker's arrival and thus, unlike the other brigades, it includes three -- not two -- maneuver battalions in addition to a reconnaissance squadron. Its design includes:

  • Headquarters Company
  • Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition squadron (with three 14-vehicle, two-120mm mortar reconnaissance troops plus a surveillance troop with UAVs and NBC detection capability)
  • (3) Stryker infantry battalions (each with three infantry companies with 12 infantry-carrying vehicles, 3 mobile gun platforms, 2 120mm mortars, and around 100 infantry dismounts each, plus scout and medical platoons and a sniper section.)
  • Anti-tank company (9 TOW-equipped Stryker vehicles)
  • Fires battalion (three 6-gun 155mm Howitzer batteries, target acquisition platoon, and a joint fires cell)
  • Engineer Company
  • Signal Company
  • Military Intelligence Company (with UAV platoon)
  • Support Battalion (medical, maintenance, and distribution companies)

Support Modular Brigades

Similar modularity will exist for support units which fall into five types: Aviation, Fires (artillery), Battlefield Surveillance (intelligence), Maneuver Enhancement (engineers, signal, military police, chemical, and rear-area support), and Sustainment (logistics, medical, transportation, maintenance, etc.). In the past, artillery, combat support, and logistics support only resided at the division level and brigades were assigned those units only on a temporary basis when brigades transformed into "brigade combat teams" for particular deployments.

Aviation brigades will be multi-functional, offering a combination of attack helicopters (Apache), reconnaissance helicopters, medium-lift helicopters (Blackhawks), heavy-lift helicopters (Chinooks), and MEDEVAC capability. Aviation will not be organic to combat brigades. It will continue to reside at the division-level due to resource constraints. Heavy divisions (of which there are six) will have 48 Apaches, 38 Blackhawks, 12 Chinooks, and 12 Medevac helicopters in their brigade. These will be divided into two aviation attack battalions, an assault lift battalion, a general aviation support battalion. An aviation support battalion will help with logistics.

Light divisions will have aviation brigades with 60 armed reconnaissance helicopters and no Apaches, with the remaining structure the same. The remaining divisions will have aviation brigades with 30 armed reconnaissance helicopters and 24 Apaches, with the remaining structure the same. The helicopters to fill out these large, combined-arms division-level aviation brigades comes from aviation units that used to reside at the corps-level.

Fire brigades will offer not just traditional artillery fires (Paladin, Howitzer, MLRS) but information operations and non-lethal effects capabilities. Sustainment brigades will be corps-level logistics support and above. Battlefield Surveillance brigades will offer additional UAVs and long-term surveillance detachments. Maneuver Enhancement Brigades will command units such as chemical, military police, and civil affairs outfits. These formations will be designed to be joint so that they under operate with coalition or joint forces such as the Marine Corps.

Command Headquarters

Division commands will command-and-control these combat and support brigades. Divisions will operate as plug-and-play headquarters commands instead of fixed formations with permanently assigned units. Any combination of brigades will be assigned to divisions for particular missions, up to a maximum of four combat brigades. For instance, the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters could be assigned two armor brigades and two infantry brigade for a particular deployment. On its next deployment, one Stryker brigade and two armor brigades might be assigned. The same holds true for support units. The goal with logistics is to streamline the various logistics command layers so that combat service support can function more efficiently and smoothly.

The division headquarters has been re-designed as a modular unit that can be assigned an array of units and serve in many different operational environments. The new term for this headquarters is the UEx (or Unit of Employment, X). The headquarters is designed to be able to operate as part of a joint force, command joint forces with augmentation, and command at the operational level of warfare (not just the tactical level). It will include organic security personnel and signal capability, plus liaison elements.

When not deployed, the division will have responsibility for the training and readiness of a certain number of modular brigades units. For instance, the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters module based at Fort Stewart, GA is responsible for the readiness of its four combat brigades and other units of the division, assuming they not been deployed separately under a different division.

The re-designed headquarters module comprises around 1,000 soldiers including over 200 officers. It includes:

  • A Main Command Post where mission planning and analysis are conducted
  • A mobile command group for commanding while on the move
  • (2) Tactical Command Posts to exercise control of brigades
  • Liaison elements
  • A special troops battalion with a security company and signal company

Divisions will continue to be commanded by two-star major generals (unless coalition requirements require otherwise). Further, regional army commands (such as 3rd Army, 7th Army, 8th Army) will continue in the future but with headquarters changes designed to make the commands more joint and relevant to today's needs.

Culture, Training, and Readiness

Under Schoomaker, Combat Training Centers (CTCs) will emphasize the contemporary operating environment (such as an urban, ethnically-sensitive city in Iraq) and stress units according to the unit mission and the commanders' assessments, collaborating often to support holistic collective training programs, rather than by exception as was formerly the case.

Schoomaker's plan is to resource units based on the mission they are expected to accomplish (major combat versus SASO, or Stability and Support Operations), regardless of component (active or reserve). Instead of using snapshot readiness reports, the army will now rate units based on the mission they are expected to perform given their position across the three force pools, and more heavily weight the commanders' assessments.

Deployment Scheme

The force generation system Schoomaker is pushing emphasizes that the U.S. Army will be deployed continuously and serve as an expeditionary force to fight the "Long War" against terrorism and stand ready for other potential contingencies across the full-spectrum of operations (from humanitarian and stability operations to major combat operations against a conventional foe).

Under ideal circumstances, Army units will have a certain number of years at home before deployment. Active-duty units will be prepared to deploy once every three years. Army Reserve units will be prepared to deploy once every five years. National Guard units will be prepared to deploy once every six years. A total of 71 combat brigades will form the army's rotation basis, 42 from the active component with the balance from the reserves.

Thus, around 15 active-duty combat brigades will be available for deployment each year under this force-generation plan. Around another 4 or 5 brigades will be available from the reserve component. The plan is designed to provide more stability to soldiers and their families. Within the system, a surge capability does exist so that about an additional 18 brigades can be deployed on top of the 19 or 20 scheduled brigades.

From General Dan McNeil, Army Forces Command: Within the ARFORGEN (Army Forces Generation) model, brigade combat teams (BCTs) move through a series of three force pools; they enter the model at its inception, the reset force pool, upon completion of a deployment cycle. There they reequip and reman while executing all individual predeployment training requirements, attaining readiness as quickly as possible. Reset or "R" day, recommended by FORSCOM and approved by Headquarters, DA, will be marked by BCT changes of command, preceded or followed closely by other key leadership transitions. While in the reset pool, formations will be remanned, reaching 100 percent of mission required strength by the end of the phase, while also reorganizing and fielding new equipment, if appropriate. In addition, it is there that units will be confirmed against future missions, either as deployment expeditionary forces (DBFs-BCTs trained for known operational requirements), ready expeditionary forces (REFs-BCTs that form the pool of available forces for short-notice missions) or contingency expeditionary forces (CEFs-BCTs earmarked for contingency operations).

Based on their commanders' assessments, units move to the ready force pool, from which they can deploy should they be needed, and in which the unit training focus is at the higher collective levels. Units enter the available force pool when there is approximately one year left in the cycle, after validating their collective mission-essential task list proficiency (either core or theater-specific tasks) via battle-staff and dirt-mission rehearsal exercises. The available phase is the only phase with a specified time limit-one year. Not unlike the division-ready brigades of past decades, these formations deploy to fulfill specific requirements or stand ready to fulfill no-notice deployments within 30-days notice.

The goal is to generate forces 12-18 months in advance of combatant commanders' requirements and to focus every unit against its future mission as early as possible.

In the area of manning, previously an individual manning system (a fire-hose system that required unpopular measures such as stop loss and stop move) will now function on a unit basis to the maximum extent possible, allowing teams to remain together longer and enabling families to put down roots in communities.

Positioning - End State

In its end state, the Army's plan is as follows (with overseas-based units in bold):

Army Commands

Numbered Armies

Numbered Corps


V Corps, currently based in Germany, will be eliminated.

Divisions and Brigades

  • 1st Armored Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Bliss, Texas
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Bliss
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Bliss
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Bliss
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Bliss
    • 501st Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Bliss
  • 1st Cavalry Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Hood, Texas
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Hood
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Hood
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Hood
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Hood
    • 227th Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Hood
  • 1st Infantry Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Riley, Kansas
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Riley
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Riley
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Knox, Kentucky
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Riley
    • 1st Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Riley
  • 2nd Infantry Division
    • Headquarters module at Camp Red Cloud, South Korea
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Camp Casey, South Korea
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker brigade) at Fort Lewis, Washington
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker brigade) at Fort Lewis
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (Stryker brigade) at Fort Lewis
    • 2nd Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) in South Korea
  • 3rd Infantry Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Stewart, Georgia
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Stewart
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Stewart
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Benning, Georgia
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Stewart
    • 3rd Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
  • 4th Infantry Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Carson, Colorado
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Carson
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Carson
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Carson
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (armored brigade) at Fort Carson
    • 4th Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Carson
  • 10th Mountain Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Drum, New York
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (infantry brigade) at Fort Drum
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (infantry brigade) at Fort Drum
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (infantry brigade) at Fort Drum
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (infantry brigade) at Fort Polk, Louisiana
    • 10th/6th/17th Aviation Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Drum
  • 25th Infantry Division
    • Headquarters module at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (Stryker brigade) at Fort Wainwright, Alaska
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker brigade) at Schofield Barracks
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (infantry brigade) at Schofield Barracks
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (parachute infantry brigade) at Fort Richardson, Alaska
    • 25th Aviation/6th Cavalry/17th Cavalry Regiment (combat aviation brigade) in Hawaii
  • 82nd Airborne Division
    • Headquarters module at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (parachute infantry brigade) at Fort Bragg
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (parachute infantry brigade) at Fort Bragg
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (parachute infantry brigade) at Fort Bragg
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (parachute infantry brigade) at Fort Bragg
    • 82nd Aviation/17th Cavalry Regiment (combat aviation brigade) at Fort Bragg
  • 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
    • Headquarters module at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
    • 1st Brigade Combat Team (air assault infantry brigade) at Fort Campbell
    • 2nd Brigade Combat Team (air assault infantry brigade) at Fort Campbell
    • 3rd Brigade Combat Team (air assault infantry brigade) at Fort Campbell
    • 4th Brigade Combat Team (air assault infantry brigade) at Fort Campbell
    • 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell
    • 159th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell
-12th Combat Aviation Brigade will also be based with it
-mainly a training unit, non-modular, but capable of deploying

Division Totals

  • 10 division headquarter modules (one deployed overseas in South Korea)

Combat Brigades: 43

  • 21 armored brigades (Total: 1,160 of both M1 Tanks and M2 Bradleys; 600 M3 Scout vehicles; 320 155mm Paladins)
  • 2 armored cavalry regiment
  • 6 Stryker brigades
  • 5 infantry brigades (non-airborne)
  • 6 parachute infantry brigades
  • 4 air assault infantry brigades

Active-duty Support Brigades (with reserve-component numbers in parenthesis: ARNG/USAR)

  • 11 combat aviation brigades (8/0)
  • 3 Battlefield Surveillance Brigades (0/2)
  • 3 Combat Support Brigades (10/3)
  • 6 Fires Brigades (6/0)
  • 16 Sustainment Brigades (11/8)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Reorganization_plan_of_United_States_Army&oldid=69472111"