Evaluating Army Aviation's Force Structure to Support an Operational Reserve Force.

摘要

During nearly nine years of persistent conflict in OEF and OIF the Army has operated at a demanding pace. While it has met each challenge placed before it, the strain has put the Army out of balance. The overall demand for Army forces, especially Army aviation assets, continues to exceed a sustainable rate. The Army has determined that it must rely on an operational force to meet the demands of today's and tomorrow's national strategic environment. On October 29, 2008, the Secretary of Defense issued Department of Defense (DoD) Directive, No. 1200.17, establishing a set of principles and policies to promote and support the management of the RC as an operational force. His intent was to ensure the RC is manned and equipped to integrate, when necessary, with the Active Component (AC) to provide additional operational capabilities and strategic depth to meet defense requirements. In OEF and OIF, the Reserve component (RC) has played a pivotal role in providing substantial support and has proven itself a capable and reliable force multiplier. They achieved this while suffering through significant shortages of equipment. The lack of equipment and slow pace of equipment modernization has significantly affected RC availability. These problems are most prevalent in RC aviation units, specifically AH-64 Apache-equipped Attack Helicopter Battalions. Besides the positive aspect Directive No. 1200.17 provides in modernizing the RC, are there negative aspects from this Directive. Is operationalizing the RC the right answer. More importantly, to face current and future threats, what is the right mix of equipment to meet the task. This SRP will analyze the operational force concept and apply it to Army aviation force structure to find out where assets can provide the most impact. It concludes with recommendations to better structure aviation within the Army's RC to fulfill their dual-role requirements.