HS Today
The US Army plans to increase integration of active duty and Reserve
forces and to align reserve units to regional commands to better meet
their needs.
After 11 years of war since 9/11, the Army is going to have to meet its obligations with
a smaller force, Army Secretary John McHugh said during the annual
meeting of the Association of the United States Army Monday.
"I believe very strongly we can and in fact we already have started [to do so]," McHugh said.
To
adjust force structure, equipment and training, McHugh seeks to
integrate reserve forces and to continue to make use of the operational
reserve built by the Army since Sept. 11, 2001, McHugh said. The
capabilities of the Army Reserve and National Guard as a trained and
ready force are "paramount" to national security and stability, McHugh
said.
To that end, McHugh signed a directive for a "total force
policy," he announced Monday. The directive calls for the Army to man,
train and equip active and reserve components in an integrated force
with the goal of setting predictable, recurring and sustainable
capabilities
The Army will develop and implement unified
personnel management, foster procurement programs for the total force
and facilitate opportunities for soldiers to move between different
military components, McHugh said.
In a panel later in the day,
Maj. Gen. James Young, chief of staff of the US Army Reserve Command,
said the Army Reserve in particular has been too fragmented in the past.
Six
years ago, the Army reorganized the Army Reserve so that all units of a
particular function aligned under unified command and control, Young
said.-[Full Article]
