FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS, Feb. 5, 2016--The National Commission on the Future of the Army presented its recommendations to the President and Congress in late January and briefed the Command and General Staff Officers Course Class of 2016 on their findings and recommendations on Feb. 4. "It's your responsibility to look at the recommendations and figure out solutions," Lt. Gen. (Retired) Jack Stultz, former Chief of the Army Reserve and one of eight commissioners told the students who are predominately Army captains and majors preparing for future assignments as field grade officers.
The commission made a total of 63 recommendations. Their report can be found on their website at www.ncfa.ncr.gov. Key recommendations include:
- The Nation must maintain and sustain an All-Volunteer Force.
- The Army must manage three distinct, essential, and interdependent components using a total force approach.
- The Commission recommends keeping 24 AH-64 Apache battalions, 20 in the active component and 4 in the Army National Guard.
- Congress should fund Army budgets at levels at least equal to the President's FY16 budget plan.
- An Army of 980,000 (450,000 Regular Army; 335,000 Army National Guard; and 195,000 Army Reserve) is the minimally sufficient force to meet current and anticipated missions with an acceptable level of risk.
General (retired) James Thurman, former Commander of U.S. and U.N. forces in Korea and another commissioner led the talk to the students and throughout his presentation emphasized the Army is a total force where all units and individuals should be treated as part of the same team. "Our standards make the profession of arms something that everyone wants to be part of," he said.
Things the Army can do to reinforce the total force concept include one marketing effort instead of the multiple efforts by Army components now, one fully integrated Army school system instead of today's system that leaves some school capacity unused while other schools cannot meet the demand, and an integrated personal and pay system instead of today's different systems for different components.
The All-Volunteer Force is "fragile and expensive" said Stultz. However, he and the other speakers reiterated the Commission's position that sustaining the All-Volunteer Force is vital to the future of the nation and that all budget and force management decisions must be made with this goal in mind.
The commission's recommendations included those considerations as well as a realistic view of future defense budgets, which still leave shortfalls in short-range air defense and aviation. Thurman said other areas including field artillery, watercraft, chemical and armor would be less than optimal at the funding levels assumed by the Commission.
Major Gen. (retired) Raymond Carpenter, former acting Director of the Army National Guard and executive director of the commission said the eight commissioners (four appointed by the President and four appointed by Congress) first met in April 2015 and began public hearings in May. Information gathering continued through October. The commission then did an analytical review of its data and the report was written between November and January.
The Commission was specifically tasked to look at AH-64 Apache battalions. They recommended the Army maintain 24 such battalions with 20 in the regular component and 4 in the National Guard. Thurman said this recommendation provides strategic depth for one of the Army's most used assets.
Carpenter said the Commission conducted 320 engagements in its fact finding phase and talked with more than 1000 people. They covered 17 states and Europe and talked with all state adjutants general, 80 members of Congress and 11 allied leaders.
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