Future Force Designs: Are We Interested in Protecting Rice Bowls or Winning the Next Super Bowl.

摘要

Over the past three years there has been a dramatic and significant change worldwide. We have witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and with it has gone the threat that has defined the structure and size of the United States military over the past four decades. From the pentomic divisions of the '50s and '60s to the Army of Excellence (AOE) structure of the '80s, the design of our divisions and corps stemmed from parochial beliefs and consensus as much as from a capability to respond to any particular threat. In this paper the author proposes a need to depart from the traditional consensus-building approach used in the past in designing a force. In particular it emphasizes the need to capitalize on those systems that recent advances in technology have provided. As the Army undergoes downsizing, adopting a plan that simply takes our current division and corps structures and makes fewer of them is a bankrupt strategy. A methodology must be used that builds structure that can be tailored quickly, respond rapidly, and can best contribute to warfighting.