In March of 2015, I assumed the role of Director of the Army National Guard (ARNG). Since that time, it has been my mission to ensure the Army Guard is the force the Army and our Nation need. I've met with Army senior leaders, with Soldiers and with Families, and have gained a deeper understanding of our environment and the ways in which we must change and adapt.
From an organizational perspective, our mission and vision are clear. The Army National Guard provides operational forces capable of unified land operations at home and abroad. We build leaders of character, and we are disciplined and ready; organized and equipped. The Army Guard is an adaptable, accountable and balanced force -- and we are tightly woven into the fabric of our communities. Most importantly, we stand with the Army as a total force, comprising 980,000 Soldiers from the Army, the Army Guard and the Army Reserve, building units at the ready together to be the Army our Nation needs.
FACING A NEW ENVIRONMENT; WE ARE REQUIRED TO PREPARE AND RESPOND DIFFERENTLY
The clear and simple truth is that our environment has changed. The past 15 years have been focused on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency fights, predominantly in Afghanistan and Iraq. While these threats persist, terrorism and insurgencies are no longer limited to a geographical warzone, as last year's attacks in Paris and Brussels proved. Today, we face a more dangerous threat from potential nation-state adversaries. Aggressive and disruptive behavior from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea continue to threaten the stability and security of our Nation's interests and those of our allies. A clash with any one of these states has the potential to erupt into a much larger violent conflict requiring the full resources of our Army. The question I continuously ask as these demands surge and resources shrink, is -- will we be prepared to respond?
In my opinion, the answer is yes, but we must first make some changes. This past year has been about informing ourselves and understanding why we need to refocus our efforts. Now, the Army National Guard must intensify its inherent Warrior Culture and increase its sense of urgency. We do this in many ways. We have redefined our mission and vision while setting new priorities. We are establishing essential lines of effort that provide ready forces and enhance our role as an operational force, so we can be Warfighting capable while simultaneously responsive to the needs of the Governors and the States.
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE, WE MUST BE READY AND RESILIENT IN MANY WAYS
Meeting the Nation's expectations is not enough -- we must exceed them. To this end, we have redoubled efforts related to our main priorities of Readiness, Future Forces and Resilient Communities and have increased our perseverance around our core mission as a land power.
This is a dangerous world, and the danger does not sit squarely in the Middle East -- it is in Eastern Europe, the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf. We are looking at something that is very much a generational fight related to counter-terrorism. The Army must be more adaptable than ever. This is why the Army National Guard is evolving into a sustainable readiness model that operates as part of the Total Army's commitment to the Nation.
WINNING COUNTS
If our military is called to execute the National Military Strategy and any of its contingency plans, the Army National Guard will be asked for more than the normal sixth of the force currently gained through the Army Force Generation Model. We will be asked to provide more capability more quickly and likely for longer periods of time. The Army National Guard must be able to respond and be prepared to fight and win the opening punch as part of our Nation's land power. We are required to fight and win on the battlefield of any one of these potential conflicts. Our troops must yield a certain capacity and capability that, in many places, might require all of our force. We are examining ways to sustain readiness continuously and at the highest level of excellence possible, so if the Nation is faced with "America's Worst Night," we would have the capacity, capability and utility to fight and win our wars.
We are achieving these goals through a number of initiatives that explore the Army's and the Nation's needs and compare those with the state of our resources. Some of these efforts include:
• Associated Units: The Associated Units program is the first program of its kind that trains our soldiers and builds readiness across the Army, the Guard and the Reserve, enabling the Army to provide more combat-ready formations to combatant commanders. This Total Army effort maximizes our strength and human capital across components; builds trust and cohesion between units; and further injects the One Army ethos in our leaders and troops.
• Advise-and-Assist Brigades: Advise and Assist brigades resemble regular chains of command of units, brigades and battalions, but they do not deploy soldiers. Potentially, each combatant commander would be assigned an advise-and-assist brigade and would train, advise and assist foreign armies on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the United States. These models are in place today in Afghanistan and Iraq and have already shown successes.
• Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs): Our armor force is a key component of the Nation's land power and will play a critical role in future wars against a near-peer threat. Wherever that conflict erupts, our armor forces must be ready. We are testing our capabilities through rigorous training exercises beyond our shores such as last summer's Saber Guardian exercise held in Romania. This U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) led exercise was a joint, multinational and regional event supported by the 116th Armor BCT from four states (ID, MT, OR, SC) designed to assure operational access and global freedom of action. This event and the deployment of the 1\34ID to the National Training Center in FT. Irwin, CA (with more than 6,000 Personnel and 1,500 vehicles) is evidence that the Army National Guard armor force is at the ready for the Army and the Nation.
• Attack Reconnaissance Battalions (ARBs): ARBs are units with aircraft capability that can conduct attack and reconnaissance missions. The National Commission on the Future of the Army recommended the retention of four ARBs in the ARNG, and as the Department of the Army considers this recommendation, the Army National Guard will be part of that decision. I believe retaining ARBs in the ARNG provides the Army strategic depth and surge capacity, optimizes efficiency of resources and is best for the aggregate readiness of the total Army.
• Main Command Post-Operational Detachment (MCP-OD): MCP-OD provides expansibility for the Army headquarters by providing increased capacity for the Main Command Post. These units create greater readiness for simultaneous execution of missions and extended operations. They also support forward deployment of the MCP.
SUSTAINING THE ARMY OF TODAY; EVOLVING TO BE THE ARMY OF TOMORROW
We are constantly looking at ways to increase and maintain readiness in a band of excellence, so that if we have to execute upon "America's Worst Night," we can defend and protect the Nation and defeat those who threaten us.
No longer will our training focus solely on the assigned mission as we did for Afghanistan and Iraq. Army National Guard units must get back to their core wartime missions. No longer will we resource the readiness of a few select units only to be used and degraded, which then requires us to rebuild them at a later date. This leaves us with only a few ready units in a given period of time. With the sustained readiness model, all units train collectively on their overall functional mission and stand ready to deploy worldwide support to any number of operations as part of overall Army contingency plans. To achieve this, Soldiers must be manned, trained and equipped. With these conditions in place, we can achieve higher pre-mobilization readiness and reduce our post-mobilization time. That is how the Army National Guard can achieve success for the Army and the Nation in future conflicts.
WARRIOR CULTURE REQUIRES SHARED COMMITMENT
The Army National Guard that the Army and the Nation need is resourced, trained and operationally used. We do not operate in isolation -- we are succeeding within the Total Force concept. Together, we have reviewed the recommendations of the National Commission on the Future of the Army, finding consensus and speaking with one, strong Army voice. We are moving rapidly toward a sustained, readiness model which means the Army Guard will increase our combat readiness and reduce our deployment timelines. As an Army, we have invested a tremendous amount of time ensuring that we are integrated and focused together on One Army, a Total Army.
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