Renewed focus on Pacific Theater requires partnerships

"The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay"-- President Barack Obama, Nov. 16, 2011

The United States Army has an enduring historic legacy in the Asia-Pacific, fighting 63 campaigns since 1899--more than any other geographical region outside of the Americas. This legacy continues today with the U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC) as the decisive land force with the depth and sustainability to:

1) Prevent conflicts first and foremost (Prevent)

2) Promote the conditions necessary to maintain peace and stability (Shape)

3) Prevail in conflicts when all other courses of action are exhausted (Win)

To contribute to this renewed Asia-Pacific focus expressed by President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, USARPAC's theater strategy puts into use four core tenets: persistent engagement, forward presence, trained and ready forces, and agile mission command. Working in concert, these four tenets enable the USARPAC commander to engage the theater to prevent instability and set the conditions to rapidly respond to a full spectrum of contingencies and to win in combat--if necessary.

Engaging the theater and working alongside partners is USARPAC's first line of effort in a theater campaign support plan designed to enable the command--by, with, or through allies and partners--to deter aggression, build capacity, and assure U.S. Pacific Command success.

The "Engage and Partner" line of effort is crucial to ensuring the right force is in place when needed. As the U.S. Army rebalances globally and determines the optimal mix of rotational general-purpose forces and forward-deployed forces, USARPAC's engagement efforts will set the conditions for the U.S. Army to prepare and position for regional contingencies, creating goodwill and rapport with our regional army partners and establishing the agreements necessary to train and safeguard our troops. The USARPAC exercise and engagement program, with partnership exercises from Mongolia to New Zealand to India, provides the ideal training grounds for the current generation of Soldiers, to deploy and train with our international partners.

Winning the nation's wars has and will always be the Army's most essential mission. The Army's ability to win in any environment, with the flexibility and depth to overcome any adversity, has been its hallmark for over 237 years. Yet, in the complex globalized security environment facing the Army of 2020, preventing costly wars will be as important a measure of the Army's success, as it was in Europe during the Cold War. USARPAC is the decisive theater land force, with the flexibility and sustainability, to accomplish the task. USARPAC's strong Army partnerships across the theater develop the trust and confidence necessary to form and foster participation in multinational, land-force coalitions that will respond to the future crises and contingencies that lie ahead.

For the U.S. Army Pacific of 2020, operating by, with, or through our allies and partners is the best way to ensure peace and security in the Asia Pacific.