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STATEMENT
OF
LIEUTENANT GENERAL DAVID D. McKIERNAN
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, G3
UNITED STATES ARMY
BEFORE
THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SPECIAL OVERSIGHT PANEL ON TERRORISM
JULY 11, 2002
Mr.
Chairman and distinguished members of this
Special Oversight Panel, thank you for this
opportunity to report to you today on The
Army's global support for the War on
Terrorism.
Our Nation and The Army have a great and
common heritage.
Throughout our Nation's history, The
Army has continually demonstrated that it is
America's decisive ground combat force able to
perform operations anytime, anywhere, under any
conditions as we are currently doing in hundreds
of locations across the globe.
The Army's focus today is to win this
war and prepare for future wars.
I can report to you today thanks largely
to your support and the hard work and dedication
of the outstanding men and women in our Army, we
are doing both.
America
is a Nation at War.
And as we examine emerging lessons from
our first nine months of war, one conclusion is
absolutely clear.
Land wars require land forces.
The enduring value of land forces and The
Army as a robust institution capable of
protecting the American people at home, fighting
the enemy abroad, ensuring stability in critical
regions worldwide, and transforming to a force
to win tomorrow's conflicts has never been
more apparent.
We
are at war, however, against an enemy vastly
different than any we have ever faced in our
history. Even
in our darkest hours, we generally knew who our
enemies were, where they were coming from, and
what tactics and equipment they would use.
Today's enemy is transnational,
amorphous, and with alarming potential for
growth as terrorist groups exchange resources,
personnel, and intelligence.
Our enemies today have a global vision of
the world that uses religion as a façade to
mask a broad based hatred of free, independent,
democratic, and civilized societies.
While America has been attacked before,
both at home and abroad, never have our enemies
abandoned principles of common decency and
humanity and attacked innocent civilians with
weapons of mass effects.
We are in a new kind of war, but one that
The Army, along with the other services, is
robust and flexible enough to respond to while
continuing to protect the security of American
interests and the sanctity of our way of life.
In
this increasingly uncertain, dangerous, and
unstable world, The Army is one point of
stability and certainty.
For 227 years, The Army has protected
America's interests at home and abroad.
Currently, there are 185,000 Soldiers
forward based or deployed in 126 countries
including over 58,000 Soldiers deployed away
from home conducting full spectrum operations
worldwide.
This is a 215% increase in the number of
deployed Soldiers since FY 01-a direct
reflection of the impact of the attacks of 11
September and the subsequent War on Terrorism
are having on Army operations.
To a large degree, this increased
overseas presence reflects taking the fight to
our enemies globally.
In
fact, relative to its active duty size and
number of commitments worldwide, the Army is one
of the more busy elements of the military
establishment.
Since the end of the Cold War, the use of
military force as an element of national power
has increased with the Army becoming the force
of choice due to its immense strategic,
operational, and tactical flexibility,
sustainability, and breadth of skill sets.
In the thirteen years since 1989, Army
operational deployments have tripled in number
compared to those conducted during the previous
50 years of the Cold War.
In a general sense, those deployments
have become longer, are more open-ended, and
require more Soldiers, while simultaneously the
size of the active duty Army has shrunk by
almost 37%.
To
put this in perspective and as part of the joint
force team, it is important to note that the
other services have become smaller as well and
are all busy supporting the needs of the Nation.
According to statistics from the
Department of Defense Directorate for
Information Operations and Reports, the Active
Duty Air Force has decreased by approximately
37%, the Navy by about same, and the Marine
Corps by 13.5%.
Combined, the joint services are a
smaller, but still powerful force in an
ever-expanding era of uncertainty.
Global
Operations
The
inherent flexibility and agility of Army forces
enables our Soldiers to perform missions across
the full spectrum of conflict from peacetime
engagement to high intensity combat.
Our magnificent Soldiers are doing the
heavy lifting in the War on Terrorism and are
fulfilling our ongoing commitments to peace and
stability around the world.
Currently, these missions range from
force protection actions at home to stability
and support operations in Europe, Africa, the
Mid-East, and Asia to offensive combat
operations in Afghanistan.
Operation
Noble Eagle
While
always present, Army operations at home have
been increasingly visible since September 11,
2001, as part of Operation Noble Eagle, the
joint and combined operation to ensure homeland
security. Although
initially relying heavily on Active Component
forces, The Army quickly transitioned to using
both Active and Reserve Component forces to
perform a myriad of missions.
At its highpoint, The Army mobilized
almost 14,000 Soldiers at the federal level to
support operations at home.
Another nearly 9,000 were mobilized under
state control to guard airports and critical
infrastructure across the country.
For
over 200 years, The Army has supported civilian
authorities and will continue to play a vital
role in homeland security even as it combats
terrorism around the world.
The Secretary of the Army serves as the
Department of Defense (DoD) Executive Agent for
Military Support to Civil Authorities.
He executes that responsibility through
the Director of Military Support (DOMS), an Army
action agent, which directs the provision of DoD
personnel and resources in response to requests
for assistance from other federal, state, and
local civil authorities.
As part of the DoD force supporting civil
authorities, The Army has committed over 7,500
Soldiers, civilians, and contractors to 83
separate civil support missions since 11
September.
These missions range from providing
expertise and equipment in breaching,
demolition, radar and remote sensing, and
robotic rescue operations to providing
linguists, specialty lab capability,
microbiologists, chemical and biological
detection capability, logistics and
transportation support, explosive detection and
dog team support, and force protection.
Some of the venues where Army Soldiers
have provided the majority of support include
the Super Bowl, the 2002 Winter Olympics and
Winter Paralympics, The United Nations General
Assembly, and the World Economic Forum.
Elsewhere
across the United States, over 6,000 Soldiers
spent most of this year guarding over 400
civilian airports in 54 states and territories
before handing that responsibility over to the
Transportation Security Administration.
Another 3,000 Reserve Component Soldiers
operating under state control guarded waterways,
harbors, nuclear power plants, dams, power
generation facilities, tunnel, bridges, and rail
stations throughout the Nation.
Finally, The Army is assisting the U.S.
Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, and the
Immigration and Naturalization Service with over
1,500 Soldiers to protect our borders.
Operation
Enduring Freedom
Around
the world, Army forces have been supporting
Operation Enduring Freedom, the joint and
combined operation against terrorism outside the
United States.
Although deployed worldwide, Army
operations in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area
of responsibility have attracted the most
attention.
As
of mid-Summer, there were over 19,000 Soldiers
deployed across the CENTCOM area of
responsibility conducting full spectrum
operations. Some, like The Army forces deployed in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
and elsewhere have been deterring Iraqi
aggression since 1991.
Others, like those Soldiers monitoring
the peace in the Sinai as part of the
Multinational Force Observer mission, have been
there since 1982.
Now on its forty-second rotation, both
Active and Reserve Component forces share the
MFO Sinai mission.
This year, the 2nd Battalion,
153rd Infantry, 39th
Enhanced Separate Brigade from the Arkansas Army
National Guard, and the 1st
Battalion, 86th Infantry, 41st
Enhanced Separate Brigade from Oregon, executed
both rotations.
Next year, units from the 82nd
Airborne Division and the 10th
Mountain Division will share observer duties.
Further
east, in Afghanistan, a country hijacked by the
Taliban and Al Qaida, Army forces are fighting
to destroy a global terrorist network where they
have enjoyed sanctuary until now.
There and in other countries in the
region, joint and combined operations with Army
special and conventional forces are leading the
way. In
October 2001, immensely flexible and highly
lethal Army Special Forces teamed with
opposition forces and our joint partners to
begin the destruction of Al Qaida in Afghanistan
and the defeat of the Taliban, driving it from
power. In
November, elements of 10th Mountain
Division began to flow into theater.
Conventional force buildup continued
through December as the American Embassy
reopened, the Afghan Interim Administration was
inaugurated, and conventional and unconventional
operations began in Tora Bora.
In late January 2002, the 3rd
Brigade, 101st Air Assault Division,
rapidly deployed to relieve the Marines in
Kandahar and join units from the 10th
Mountain Division to bring The Army's
conventional agility and staying power to bear
on ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban and Al
Qaida.
In
early March, Operation Anaconda, an operation to
destroy Taliban and Al Qaida forces in the
Shah-e-Kot Valley, demonstrated our ability to
take the fight to the enemy in some of the most
adverse terrain and weather ever encountered.
Throughout the operation, the performance
of both our Special Forces (SF) and conventional
soldiers and their weapon systems, particularly
the Apache helicopter, was superb and proved the
continuing value of The Army training system.
The operation succeeded in destroying a
significant number of Taliban and Al Qaida
forces and equipment and pointed the way toward
more SF/conventional operations this summer as
the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)-180
continued to locate and apply pressure on
remaining pockets of Taliban and Al Qaida
forces.
Occurring
simultaneously with these operations, Army units
assisted their joint partners in organizing and
providing civil and humanitarian assistance to
the Afghans.
To ensure the long-term stability of the
new Afghan Government, The Army initiated a
program to organize and train an Afghan Army.
Only The Army possesses the flexibility,
breadth of ability, and depth of expertise to
undertake these efforts and ensure that its
victories on the battlefield are lasting and
secure.
Beyond
Afghanistan, in Georgia, Yemen, and the
Philippines and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
elements of Operation Enduring Freedom are also
ongoing. In
Georgia and Yemen, Army Special Operations are
training host government officials and military
personnel in counter-terrorism planning and
techniques.
In the Philippines, Army conventional and
Special Operations Forces (SOF) are working with
other joint forces to train the Armed Forces of
the Philippines in counterinsurgency operations
aimed at eliminating the Abu Sayyaf Group, one
of many terrorist organizations with links to Al
Qaida. In
Guantanamo Bay, The Army is supporting both
JTF-160 and -170 in detainee operations.
Elsewhere,
The Army is engaged in a myriad of activities
including theater support to regional combatant
commanders, smaller-scale contingencies, and
stability and support operations.
In Europe, where The Army and our allies
have conducted operations since 1945, Army
forces continue to keep the peace in Bosnia and
Kosovo. In
Korea, The Army remains the cornerstone of
stability just as it has since 1953.
In the Caribbean and in South America,
The Army supports engagement activities, drug
interdiction operations, medical readiness
training exercises, and peacekeeping and
humanitarian operations.
Because
The Army is a robust institution capable of
undergoing transformational change at the same
time it fights a war, many of the actions or
changes undertaken in response to the attacks of
11 September and the War on Terrorism were
actually ongoing prior to 11 September, but at a
much slower, less visible pace within the
structure of The Army.
In many cases, programs already underway,
but in the prototype phase were accelerated to
provide warfighters in the field the most
advanced equipment possible to fight the war.
Feedback from the use of these systems
will inform future development and result in a
better overall product for the Soldier.
Some examples include Grenadier Brat, an
Army Space program that provides for friendly
force tracking of Army Special Operations Forces
(SOF). It
was so effective for our SOF units that The Army
continued to field them to the SOF community and
is examining how to provide the same capability
to conventional units in Afghanistan as well.
Another example is the pre-production
Prophet system, The Army's newest ground-based
signals intelligence collection asset. Like Grenadier Brat, Prophet proved so valuable that the
Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF-180) in
Afghanistan deployed with four pre-production
models and the system is under consideration for
fielding to all SOF units in the future.
One final example highlights the inherent
flexibility of our ongoing programs. The Army's Trojan SPIRIT is a special purpose integrated
remote intelligence terminal able to carry high
volumes of secure intelligence products from
national agencies and other joint and Army
headquarters to headquarters in the field.
Within a few hours of the attacks of 11
September, The Army provided the Weapons of Mass
Destruction-Civil Support Teams (WMD-CSTs)
deployed to the three crash sites with
immediate, on-demand access to T-1 satellite
communications direct to National and Service
agencies. Similar
support continued for various events such as the
World Series, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and
other National Security Special Events.
A lightweight man-portable prototype
version deployed initially to Afghanistan to
support the 10th Mountain Division
and elements of the 101st Air Assault
Division.
Lessons
Learned
As
The Army continues to conduct operations
worldwide, a few lessons have begun to emerge.
First and foremost, these operations,
both at home and abroad, reaffirm with absolute
clarity and certainty the value of ground
forces. Specifically,
the value of Soldiers, operating in a joint and
usually combined environment, capable of
creating an imposing physical and materiel
presence, ready to search a cave or destroy an
armor column, willing to guard an outpost or
provide humanitarian assistance, has never been
more apparent than it is today.
Second,
we should all be careful about drawing too many
lessons, too early or make unsubstantiated
claims of success.
Warfare is a dangerous business and
success in warfare is often fleeting.
Comments that indicate that one service
or one method of warfare can "do it all" are
unhelpful.
Comments that connote victory through
preferred munitions or airpower, expeditionary
maneuver from the sea and historically deep
assaults are broad generalizations that may not
stand the closer scrutiny of time.
All of the services operate as
complementary parts of the joint team.
The benefits of airpower and precision
munitions were fully realized only once ground
forces compelled the enemy to mass, present
himself, and be targeted by men on the ground.
Expeditionary maneuver is an invaluable
component of our joint capabilities and can be
executed by both Marines and Army forces
embarked upon Navy seabased platforms. Deep expeditionary assaults over large tracts of undefended
and neutral ground against unconventional forces
that prefer to hide rather than fight does not
represent a true test of the validity of that
particular, potentially invaluable doctrine.
Third,
The Army training system provides Soldiers and
units the training and education they need to
fight and win on the battlefield.
The Army's Combat Training Centers and
the Battle Command Training Program provide
commanders and units the opportunity to fight
tomorrow's enemy in a Contemporary Operational
Environment (COE) that increasingly stresses
them to outthink and outperform adversaries bent
on exploiting asymmetrical advantages.
Doctrine and procedures are tested and
refined and our Soldiers are ready to fight.
Moreover, when the situation unexpectedly
changes, our Soldiers are innovative and can
adapt to emerging conditions.
To maintain this level of excellence, The
Army intends to execute its full Operations
Tempo (OPTEMPO) or training strategy of 800 tank
miles and 14.5 flying hours. To support such a strategy, The Army must reverse the trend
of encroachment on its training areas.
To that end, The Army thanks this
committee and your colleagues for the efforts to
strike a meaningful balance between stewardship
of the environment, which we all support, and
the need to provide combat ready Soldiers
prepared to go into harm's way to defend the
freedoms and liberties we hold dear.
Fourth,
our leadership doctrine and training readies our
Soldiers to take charge.
This was nowhere more evident than in
Afghanistan where the diary of a dead Al Qaida
fighter compared the mettle of U.S. Army
Soldiers with that of the Russians he had fought
a decade earlier.
In short, he stated that when they shot a
Russian leader, the platoon or squad became
disorganized and stopped fighting.
But when an American leader was shot, a
subordinate immediately took charge and there
was absolutely no break in momentum.
The Americans just kept coming.
The superb small unit leadership
exhibited not only in Operation Anaconda, but
worldwide, did not just happen-our
commissioned and non-commissioned officer
corps' reflect two decades of leadership and
training investment.
We truly "grow our own."
Fifth,
physical fitness counts.
Operating in Afghanistan at 10,000 feet
elevation or in the Philippines in mountainous
triple canopy jungle, carrying your equipment,
and engaging in close quarters, direct fire
combat against a well-trained, determined enemy
is the ultimate physical fitness test.
Our Soldiers took the test and passed
with flying colors due to great unit fitness
programs at home station.
On
a related note, The Army has interviewed
Soldiers in theater and is analyzing the suite
of individual uniforms and equipment it issues
to Soldiers with an eye to lightening the load
on the individual soldier, improving their
personal comfort in extreme conditions, and
increasing the level of protection.
Sixth,
the joint force benefited immensely from synergy
between the Special Operations Forces and The
Army conventional forces as well as from the
integration of the joint air-ground team.
Future operations will be overwhelmingly
joint and combined and require continued
integration and cooperation of all forces.
To ensure our continued success, we must
train the way we intend to fight.
Joint participation in division and corps
warfighter exercises and Army participation in
joint exercises and doctrine development will be
key.
Seventh,
the value of Army aviation and organic indirect
fires cannot be overstated.
In Operation Anaconda, Apache fires
provided critical battle-winning close air
support. Similarly,
the CH-47 and MH-47 proved invaluable in moving
Soldiers quickly around the high altitude
battlefield.
While joint air support continues to be
important in destroying the Taliban and Al Qaida
forces in Afghanistan and prosecuting operations
elsewhere, Army Soldiers require the security of
organic indirect fire support capable of
on-demand fires in any weather and terrain.
While precision munitions delivered by
joint CAS have been effective, AH-64 and mortar
fires have provided our Soldiers immediately
responsive combined arms fires.
Eighth,
The Army is a highly deployable force, but
relies on air and sealift to get its forces into
theater. While
The Army is continuing to reduce its deployable
footprint, support for the purchase of C-17
aircraft and exploration of existing and
emergent fast sealift options like the High
Speed Vessel (HSV) is critical.
The Army is an amazingly capable force,
but it relies on our joint partners to assist in
getting us to the fight whether it be in the
air, in the hold of a cargo ship, or on the deck
of an aircraft carrier.
Ninth,
our intelligence support systems and liaison
with other intelligence agencies have improved
immensely and must be nurtured in order to
continue to provide the Nation the fused,
actionable intelligence its law enforcement as
well as combat forces need to ensure the
protection of the American people.
Army Counterintelligence (CI) and Human
Intelligence (HUMINT) continues to play an
essential role in fighting the War on Terrorism
with success in collection, interrogation, and
document exploitation that spans the globe from
Afghanistan to the Continental United States.
Since 11 September, The Army has produced
hundreds of valuable reports for the Department
of Defense and the intelligence community
including information on nuclear and biological
weapons preparation, Taliban activities, foreign
citizens linked to terrorist organizations
attempting to enter the United States, and
debriefings of convicted extremists.
The Army fully supports this Panel's
comments regarding a special hearing on Service
intelligence and welcomes the opportunity to
give you more specific and perhaps classified
information on our contributions in that area.
Tenth,
we must modernize our mobilization system.
Our Reserve Component comprises 54% of
the entire Army and possesses a wide array of
absolutely necessary skills, but our system for
alerting and mobilizing units and individuals is
antiquated and cumbersome. While we have made significant progress since the Operation
Desert Storm call up, we have a long way to go. Currently, our mobilization system is not automated, which
makes it difficult to maintain up to date
information. All this makes it more difficult to find the right Soldier
and the right unit and increases the chance of
alerting the wrong Soldier at the wrong time.
Our goal is to update, automate, and
streamline the system so that The Army can
transition Soldiers rapidly to active duty while
ensuring that they have sufficient time to
prepare at home station for extended absences.
The G3, Director of Operations along with
the Chief of the Army Reserve and the Director
of the Army National Guard are examining how The
Army can do this better.
Finally,
and perhaps most importantly, the war in
Afghanistan reinforces The Army's
transformation efforts and demonstrates a clear
need to accelerate both the fielding of the
Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and the Objective
Force as much as feasible.
These capabilities are needed on
today's battlefield and would have had a
significant impact on the conduct of battles
fought to date.
Transformation
As
you know, Army Transformation is about changing
the way The Army operates both as a fighting
organization and as an enduring institution in
order to deal with the volatility and
uncertainty of the future.
It cuts across the entire DTLOMS
(doctrine, training, leader development,
organizational, material, and soldiers)
construct and represents both incremental and
leap-ahead actions to posture The Army to remain
the dominant combat force for the future.
Despite seeming focus on the Future
Combat System (FCS), Army Transformation is more
mental than material.
It is not about splitting the existing
force into three separate armies--the old
(Legacy), the improved (Interim) and the
high-tech (Objective) force.
Army Transformation encompasses the
entire Army, ensuring we can "fight tonight"
with our Legacy Force while simultaneously
filling the expected near-term warfighting
requirement with the Stryker Brigades of the
Interim Force, learning from them, and investing
in the future with the development of the
Objective Force capability that will eventually
proliferate to Legacy units and Stryker
Brigades. It
is one Army, one force, with one mission and one
future-to remain the most respected Army in
the world and the most feared ground force to
those who would threaten the interests of the
United States.
For
the Operational Army, Transformation is about
changing the way we fight, deploy, sustain and
use information.
Harnessing the tremendous power of
information, The Army will provide the Joint
force the ability to bypass our enemies'
preferred means of resistance and strike
directly and nearly simultaneously at his
centers of gravity and compel his submission.
With improved strategic responsiveness,
Army units will be capable of deploying a combat
ready Brigade anywhere in the world within
96-hours after liftoff, put a division on the
ground in 120-hours and place five divisions in
theater in 30-days.
Army forces will be able to deploy as
rapidly as today's light forces and strike
with the decisiveness of our heavy formations
when they get there.
To achieve this, The Army will also
change the way it supports the Joint Force,
reducing its logistical footprint while
improving its logistics capability. Far from being a futuristic idea or a never-ending process,
Army Transformation is real, it is happening
now, and in many cases, it has already touched
the lives of Soldiers.
The
first step, however, is to Transform the Army
Culture.
Soldiers are the engine behind our
capabilities and the centerpiece of our
formations.
Future leaders will be experts at both
planning for large, complex operations of long
duration and the kind of rapid tactical
decision-making that will earmark continuous,
noncontiguous, non-linear offensive operations
against mobile, lethal formations which
challenge plans-centric doctrine.
Future leaders and Soldiers will be able to
master the operational transitions that
challenge our retention of the initiative. Moving
from offense to defense and back again to the
offense; crossing natural and manmade barriers;
forcible entry operations; shifting peace
keeping forces smoothly into the ramp up
for a major war in another theater - - these are
the transitions that will continue to challenge
The Army's agility, versatility, and
responsiveness.
We must master these transitions at the
tactical, operational, and at the strategic
levels - - seamlessly, without losing offensive
momentum or relinquishing the initiative.
Our training of future Soldiers and our
growth of future leaders will continue to
underwrite a warrior ethos characterized by four
simple rules of thumb: win on the offense;
initiate combat on our terms - - at times,
in places, and with methods of our
choosing; retain the initiative - - never
surrendering it unless forced to do so; and
build momentum rapidly to win decisively.
Achieving Transformation demands
harnessing the creative capacity of our Soldiers
for in the final analysis it is Soldiers who
will Transform The Army, not equipment.
We
have already started today to develop the
Soldiers who will Transform The Army and lead
the Objective Force formations of tomorrow.
Army Transformation will combine the best
of its distinctive subcultures-Heavy, Light,
and Special Forces-transcending the
differences between them to create a warrior
culture for the future Objective Force.
Like the current heavy force, they will
be able to combine speed and overwhelming
firepower into combined arms operations to
dominate opponents.
Like Soldiers of our current light force,
they will possess organizational agility and a
rapid deployment mentality.
Like our current Special Operations
Soldiers, Objective Force Soldiers will be close
combat specialists who are the best in the world
at urban and night operations.
The
leaders of the future Objective Force are the
leaders and Soldiers of today's Legacy Force.
In addition to being the near-term
guarantor of security for the Nation, the Legacy
Force also plays an important role in
Transformation.
To improve the combat power of these
formations, we will continue to insert digital
technologies and rebuild key Legacy systems,
selectively, to extend service life, to reduce
operating costs, and to improve our systems
reliability, maintainability, safety and
efficiency.
In accordance with the new defense
strategy, we will focus those upgrades on
forward deployed forces.
The Legacy Force also plays a vital role
in the actual development of those capabilities,
especially with regard to Network Centric
Warfare. In
fact, The Army's first "Digitized
Division," the 4th Infantry
Division, demonstrated a significant increase in
its operational capabilities during Division
Capstone Exercises (DCX) I and II.
We are redesigning our corps headquarters
to increase flexibility and make each one JTF,
JFLCC and ARFOR capable.
While the technical components and
capabilities of the Army's battle command
systems will undoubtedly change with
accelerating rapidity over the next decade, what
will remain are leaders and Soldiers capable of
exploiting the power of information.
The
Stryker Brigades comprise both a mid-term
objective for and a means of Transformation. The Stryker Brigades are The Army's first formations
explicitly designed for information-enabled
operations.
Using an integrated set of doctrinal
publications written specifically for its
advanced capability, the 3rd Brigade,
2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis,
Washington, has been training since it was first
organized in 2000.
The Brigade began receiving its Stryker
Armored Vehicles in March 2002 and will achieve
its Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in May
2003, providing combatant commanders with
enhanced strategic responsiveness and the
ability to conduct fast paced, distributed
operations in a non-contiguous battlespace.
Five more Stryker Brigades, including one
National Guard formation and one brigade in
Europe, will follow, with fielding complete by
2008.
The
Army will also begin fielding Land Warrior, the
first-generation modular, integrated fighting
system for Infantry Soldiers and Soldiers in
support of the close fight.
Finally,
and most importantly, The Army is on track to
realize The Objective Force-This Decade. The Objective Force is not an end-state but a concept,
a force that is responsive, deployable, agile,
versatile, lethal, survivable and sustainable.
It will negate anti-access and
area-denial strategies through its ability to
deploy from multiple points of origin to
multiple points of entry, in remote areas with
unimproved infrastructure, and operate with a
minimal logistical tail.
The Joint Force Commander will be able to
leverage the synergy between networked leaders,
Soldiers, sensors and weapons to develop the
situation, maneuver to positions of advantage in
a distributed, non-contiguous battlespace, and
either destroy the enemy or compel him to
abandon his sanctuaries and face destruction by
Joint and Army precision fires.
The Objective Force will deter hostile
acts against U.S. forces through its speed,
power and precision, even as its agility and
smaller footprint reduces its vulnerability.
In
the past year, The Army has made immense
progress. The
Objective Force Task Force, which stood up in
November 2000, promulgated the Objective Force
Campaign Plan.
The Army also completed FM 1, The Army,
and FM 3-0, Operations, to incorporate these new
warfighting concepts into doctrine, published an
Objective Force White Paper, to provide the
conceptual underpinning for the design of the
Objective Force, and is in the process of
updating our training doctrine in FM 7-0 and FM
7-1. Our
development strategy for the Objective Force
leverages the lessons we will learn from the
Stryker Brigades and the digitized Legacy Force. Today, The Army Science & Technology community is working
hard to develop technologies that will give the
Objective Force the desired characteristics,
focused on the Future Combat System (FCS).
The FCS is an Army networked
system of systems that serves as the core
building block within all Objective Force units
to enhance advanced Joint and multinational
warfighting capabilities.
The Army took a major step forward this year in awarding the Lead System
Integrator (LSI) contract for the continued
development of the FCS.
In
order to continue being prudent stewards of the
resources The Congress has given The Army, we
are transitioning our business practices as
well. While
several changes are afoot, one of the most
notable is the realignment of functions within
The Army staff, the major commands (MACOMs) and
field operating agencies (FOAs) focusing on
smarter business methods and reducing
headquarters authorizations and strength by 15%
with expected manpower savings being returned to
units in the field.
Additionally, the creation of the
Strategic Readiness System (SRS), which
revolutionizes the way we think, report and
manage readiness, represents another important
change for The Army.
It vastly improves our current system
that despite frequent updates is labor intensive
and measures lagging indicators.
The new SRS uses information-age
technology to tap into the over 5,000 databases
resident in organizations throughout The Army.
It employs a mix of indicators to provide
leaders with information that enables them to
anticipate, instead of react to, readiness
issues. In
the planning and prototype stages well before 11
September, initial implementation will begin
this fall.
Finally, The Army continues to examine in
earnest the training and leader development of
its Officer Corps, Non-Commissioned Officer
Corps, Warrant Officer ranks, and Department of
the Army civilian structure.
Truly a learning organization, The Army
will always invest in its people and their
organizations to ensure each continues to grow
and develop as part of The Army Team.
The
Road Ahead
Congress
has always been extremely supportive of The
Army; both in providing for its needs as a
warfighting institution and in taking care of
its Soldiers.
In light of the increased requirements
emerging from the global nature of the War on
Terrorism, the road ahead for The Army is filled
with many challenges.
Some of the challenges as defined by our
current worldwide operations are well known,
others remain to be defined.
In this time of unprecedented challenge
and change, your continued support for this
institution and its people is paramount.
Specifically, we endorse early action on
the Supplemental in order to more adequately
fund our needs.
Additionally, our recent combat
operations validate the direction of Army
Transformation and indeed call for its
acceleration.
Reinforcing our current momentum only
further advances The Army's capabilities and
ensures our support for joint force full
spectrum dominance in the future.
One issue that has drawn some measure of
controversy lately concerns the size of The
Army. While The Army is currently engaged in its Total Army
Analysis (TAA) to determine our exact needs with
respect to the new security strategy, one
general conclusion is clear.
As the Secretary of the Army and the Army
Chief of Staff have previously testified, The
Army is too small for its current mission
profile. One
aspect of this issue has been the mobilization
of Reserve Component Soldiers to support the War
on Terrorism.
I applaud the Congress's swift action
to support establishment of the Transportation
Security Agency, which has enabled The Army
along with individual States to reduce to zero
the number of Soldiers guarding America's
airports. Internally, The Army has instituted Stop Loss currently
impacting 3800 soldiers out to March 2003.
In addition to your support for
maintaining The Army at a strength adequate to
its needs, we need your help with local
communities and employers who have
enthusiastically supported Reserve Component
mobilization thus far, but may feel increasingly
pressured against doing so as the War on
Terrorism continues.
The
Army - Persuasive in Peace, Invincible in War
The
Army is trained and ready and wholly dedicated
to preserving freedom and defending American
interests at home and abroad. As we have done many times over the last two centuries and
are doing today in Afghanistan, the Philippines,
the Balkans, Georgia, Yemen, the Middle East,
and countless other places around the globe, The
Army will continue to win the Nation's wars
and serve its interests as part of the joint
warfighting team.
The United States Army-Active, Army
National Guard, and Reserve-is the most
respected ground combat force in the world. Our
current training and readiness programs along
with The Army's Transformation will ensure we
remain the world's most respected force now
and in the future.
The
Army will always be focused on training Soldiers
and growing leaders, taking care of people, and
being ready to go at a moment's notice.
To that end, basic leadership, core
training competency, and deployment readiness
must remain our highest priorities.
Today's emerging security requirements,
particularly since the attacks of 11 September,
have intensified the demands we place on the
backs of our young men and women.
Defending freedom abroad and securing the
homeland, while preparing for potential
near-term contingencies has increased the
competition for scarce resources and reduced our
ability to invest in people, systems, platforms,
and research and development.
We cannot predict what other changes the
future will bring, but what will not change is
the need for our Nation to have the best
trained, best led and best equipped Soldiers on
the ground, deployed rapidly at precisely the
right time, in the right place, and with the
right support as part of the Joint team.
Mr.
Chairman and distinguished members of the
Committee, thank you for your continued support
of The Army, our current operations, our
Transformation to an even more awesome force,
and most importantly, our Soldiers.
Our actions in Afghanistan and elsewhere
have demonstrated with absolute clarity the
enduring value of Army ground forces. Your continued support will ensure those forces remain the
most valued and respected in the world.
Thank you again for this opportunity to
report to you.
I look forward to your questions.
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