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25th ID goes modular

By Staff Sgt. Bradley Rhen
August 19, 2004

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (Army News Service, Aug. 19, 2004) -- As part of the Army's ongoing transformation, a total of six brigades, including two Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, will form over the next three years under the 25th Division (Light) patch pending future decisions on unit designations.

Contrary to a recent Army Times article, 3,600 additional Soldiers will not be stationed at Schofield Barracks. Instead, three brigade combat team units of action will be formed under the Tropic Lightning Division, but will be located at other posts.

The new BCT(UA)s will be temporarily located at Fort Riley, Kan., Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Richardson, Alaska. The BCT(UA) at Fort Richardson will have an airborne capability for forced entry operations.

Those locations could change, however, with a Base Realignment and Closure analysis due in 2005.

Growth in the number of Army modular brigades will include 1st Brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash., the Army's second Stryker Brigade Combat Team; 2nd Brigade at Schofield Barracks, which will convert to an SBCT by 2007; and 3rd Brigade at Schofield Barracks, which will convert to a BCT(UA) in fiscal year 2006.

The U.S. Army Center of Military History is currently examining options for renaming the new BCT(UA)s, so they will likely assume different unit designations.

The temporary stationing of modular BCT(UA)s is critical to ensure the Army is properly postured to fully support its strategic commitments, including ongoing operations in support of the global war on terror, according to an Army press release.

Additionally, this allows the Army to continue its transformation to a campaign-quality force with joint and expeditionary capabilities that meet the future demands of the combatant commanders, the release continued.

The locations of the new BCT(UA)s were selected based on existing capacities, available training space and current locations of similar units. The Army will revisit the locations of these units during the BRAC process.

The new modular forces will be capable of operating across the entire range of military operations. As part of Army transformation, capabilities previously found within the divisions and corps will be shifted to the BCT(UA). These new brigades are the first conversions in Army transformation and are designed to deploy as independent units in support of the joint force.

"The normal links between divisions and brigades are going away," said Lt. Col. Christopher Rodney, a Pentagon Army spokesman. "This is a major change in the command and control piece for our Army."

The BCT(UA)s are designed to operate independently and will in most cases report to the base commander until they are deployed, Rodney added.

On Jan. 30, 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved increasing the number of active modular BCT(UA)s from 33 to 43 between FY 04-06. In accordance with the Army Campaign Plan, the Army began converting to modular designs this year with three new BCT(UA)s temporarily stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Drum, N.Y.

(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Bradley Rhen is the editor of the Hawaii Army Weekly newspaper.)