Multicomponent Brigade Combat Teams Case Study

Remember that the Army receives guidance for its force structure from multiple sources, both within and without DOD.

Training objectives must support the mission profile and meet the commanders desired end state. Prior to the 56TH train up at the National Training Center (NTC) the deployment location changed from Iraq to Afghanistan (case study). Changes to mission essential tasks were not identified prior to NTC, resulting in the BCT training on collective tasks and validated during MRE based on the Iraq mission profile. However, the shift to the Afghanistan mission profile created gaps in training not identified until units arrived at Bagram Air Field (BAF). i.e. the BCT had to establish an MRAP drivers training program at BAF extending the RSOI process. Training gaps were not limited to company level shortfalls as battalion and brigade staffs were not able to anticipate potential threats and capitalize on opportunities. (case study 2)

I am familiar with the Infantry and Cavalry division of the military structure and how to make this division of the US government functional is of crucial importance. First, by the very definition, the infantry and cavalry division of military service personnel requires a special mindset. It requires a person who understands that their life as well as others will be in a dangerous state and at any stage of conflict that has to be a mindset that the individual will be comfortable with. Regardless of the company for which one works, the staffing portion of any career is one

of Soldiers, Families, and Civilians, and to enable unit readiness. While the delegation of senior command authority is

The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), 82nd Airborne Division Fort Bragg, North Carolina (NC), received orders in early 2010 to deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) 11-12. Our brigade commander was a very maintenance-oriented, analytical forward thinking leader. He decided to implement task force organization for the brigade very early. He based the decision on troops and companies within the brigade fully integrating different aircraft, pilots, maintainers, and support personnel into new organizations. Aviation, in general, remains filled with many different low-density Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs). Certain MOSs work on different aircraft and others work on one type of aircraft specifically. Soldiers, Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), and Officers would need to fully integrate and understand the unit’s mission and various functions. A Troop, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (1-17), with myself as the First Sergeant (1SG), moved hangars and integrated with 1st Battalion, 82nd Attack Helicopter Battalion (AHB), and then again into Task Force (TF) Wolfpack. There were several reasons why A Troop, TF Wolfpack1-82, and 82nd CAB were one of the most successful Brigades during all OEF

The Army will begin their transition in reducing total personnel and force structure beginning in FY13. Our manning flexibility will be reduced causing affecting our ability to over man formations. Currently we can fill every position we are authorized with a Soldier, however that Soldier may not be of correct grade or MOS for that position. Prioritizing, the Army is going to focus on fully manning deploying units for prioritized operations, synchronizing the personnel assignments process with the ARFORGEN cycle and with Army priorities and invest in top quality officer and non-commissioned officers (NCO) in the institutional

U.S Guard Considers Replacing Thousands of Soldiers With Robots. A week ago at the Army Aviation Symposium, in Arlington, Va., a U.S Guard officer declared that the Army is looking to thin down its faculty numbers and receive more robots over the impending years. The greatest shock, however, is the scale of the downsizing the Army may point for. At the current rate, the Army is relied upon to psychologist from 540,000 individuals down to 420,000 by 2019. Yet finally week's occasion, Gen. Robert Cone, leader of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, offered some amazing insights about the thin down arrangements. As Defense News put it, he "quietly dropped a shell," saying the Army is examining the likelihood of lessening the span of an unit from 4,000 fighters to 3,000 in the nearing years. To keep things as compelling while diminishing labor, the Army will accumulate more unmanned force, as robots. From the Defense News story:

(U)HQDA EXORD 10-13 ISO THE HQDA FY13-15 ACTIVE COMPONENT MANNING GUIDANCE (ACMG). (U) (ATSG-NCOA). The Army will be downsizing its total personnel and force structure during FY 13-FY15. Beginning 2 QTR, FY13,The Army will apply the HQDA FY13-15 ACMG. This new guidance will line up its personnel IAW Army priorities. The objective is to man ARFORGEN structures at not less than P2 during the reset phase and sustain structures not less than P1 during the train/ready and available phase. Unit Status Reporting (USR) ratings will be used to identify manning and readiness in deploying units. Units will not be allowed to over strength other military occupational specialty positions to counterweight for non-available personnel. HQDA G-1 will

Force management, or what is really otherwise known as planned comprehensive change, is in reality a complex and interwoven process. Though it was designed within the confines of a systemic approach referred to as the DOTMLPF (Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership & Education, Personnel and Facilities), in reality it is meant to enable both dutiful and well-thought out change as well as faster, more urgent adjustments in accordance with the evolving nature of war and information gathering tactics. The Army, as one branch involved in this initiative, focuses most of its attention in this regard on the organizational sector because of the way it facilitates an adequate and democratic step-by-step system of review (Student Reader, F102:2). But the fact is that even this initiative remains multi-faceted and appears to be rather bureaucratic in nature (it has five phases, which seems antithetical to an urgent change process), which might not be surprising since implementing the type of changes that are demanded can have major implications of all sorts. Still, it does appear that this concentration is being well received and that it will eventually serve its goal even if it does not appear that way when detailed on a point by point basis.

ensure an adequate quantity of servicemen. (Woodruff, et. al; 2006) As the conventional military goes, so does its

The plan to align brigades with each global combatant command is a great strategy. The benefits of regional aligned forces are shown in improved operations, planning, and execution of missions. It also provides a greater partnership as the result of cultural proficiency and reduced cost of security operations in foreign countries.

Moreover, the Army is not the only who has experienced decreased readiness, for example, there have been budget cuts across the board which have resulted in “The Air Force is the smallest and oldest it has ever been”(Cooper). “80 percent of United States Marine Corps or (USMC)  do not have the minimum number of aircraft they need for training and basic operations”(Cooper). “The Navy’s fleet is the smallest it has been in nearly 100 years”(Cooper). Accordingly, all parts of the Armed forces have experienced budget cuts due to lack of attention and the fact of a president who does believe in the armed forces. The BCA has forced liquidations and sequestrations on the armed forces which has caused them to seriously decline in the past 5 years under the Obama Administration. Notwithstanding, to fix this problem we will need to provide more funding for the armed forces and repeal the BCA and other military sequestration

As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.

The Army National Guard (ARNG) will inactivate one Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) and one Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and will convert one ABCT to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). As a part of the Brigade restructure, all ABCTs will be reduced by two mechanized infantry companies as a part of the "Triangle Design". Every ABCT will consist of three Combined Arms Battalions (CAB). Two will be tank heavy, consisting of two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company. The third CAB will consist of two mechanized infantry companies and one tank company. The Armored Cavalry Squadron will consist of three cavalry troops and one tank company.”1

The Brigade Support Medical Company plays a variety of roles in its scope of work. This paper seeks to discuss and identify the manner in which the Brigade Support Medical Company can offer Force Health Protection to outlying COPs. The main roles of the company are that: they act as a unit level medical care; and they offer basic primary health care as per the Army Healthcare System and support to all BCT units that operate within the AO of the brigade (Menter, 148). The company also plays the above two roles on al BCT units that lack organic medical assets. The BSMC is led by a commander who leads supervision of the