Monday April 29, 2013
What is it?
America’s Army is the best-trained, best-equipped and best-led fighting force in the world, providing a credible and capable instrument of national power. Army forces play a fundamental role in all but one of the missions specified by the defense strategic guidance, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense.
The Army’s ability to provide strategic landpower for the nation makes it uniquely suited to meet these requirements. Army forces are tailorable and scalable to meet mission requirements. The Army’s ability to rapidly deploy task organized forces, from company to corps level over extended distances, sustain them and deliver precise, discriminate results is unmatched. Highly ready, responsive and capable ground forces prevent conflict through deterrence, by shaping combatant commanders’ operational environment and, when necessary, winning the nation’s wars.
What has the Army done?
Beyond combat operations in Afghanistan, the Army conducts many missions worldwide in support of national security objectives, as well as within the United States in support of civil authorities. Demand for Army forces in Afghanistan will continue to decrease. However, the requirement for strategic landpower capable of worldwide deployment will endure.
The Army has nearly 80,000 Soldiers currently committed to operations around the world - in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Philippines, Horn of Africa, Turkey, Sinai Peninsula and throughout the Middle East. In the last three months alone, the Army has deployed forces to Guam, Turkey and other locations in the Middle East to meet unplanned contingency requirements. Forward-stationed Army forces, in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Europe and elsewhere, provide Geographic Combatant Commands with an unparalleled capability to prevent conflict, shape the environment and, if necessary, win decisively.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
The Army will continue to provide a wide range of capabilities as an indispensable member of the joint force. Every day, the Army maintains deployable contingency forces, employs forward-based capabilities, delivers humanitarian assistance and conducts multilateral exercises with partners and allies. The Army maintains a Global Response Force at constant high readiness providing the nation its only rapid response, inland forcible entry capability for unforeseen contingencies. Army forces set theaters for the combatant commanders maintaining constantly the critical logistical, communications, intelligence, medical and inland ground transportation infrastructure to support all plans and contingencies.
Why is this important to the Army?
Living in an uncertain world, often requires a military response to protect the national security interests. When that time comes, the Army must be ready to answer the nation’s call. Readiness of the force cannot be taken for granted. The Army must be capable of providing strategic landpower that can prevent conflict, shape the environment and win the nation’s wars. Preventing conflict demands presence, shaping the environment demands presence, restoring the peace demands presence, and more often than not, that presence proudly wears the uniform of an American Soldier.
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