Rethinking the CONUS Replacement Center Concept: Time for a Strategic Evolution

摘要

The nature of warfare now and in the foreseeable future will be dominated by asymmetry. As a primarily expeditionary force the United States military will find itself deploying more and more in smaller operations similar to operations in Bosnia and Kosovo. Since 1991 the CONUS Replacement Centers (CRC) have been deploying and redeploying non-unit related Army personnel and to a lesser extent other service personnel in support of these operations. The CRC concept has been well validated as an effective way of deploying and redeploying non-unit related personnel however it is time to reexamine the concept. Future operations for the Army and most of DOD will be in the form of an expeditionary force that will consist of ad hoc command and control headquarters formed to meet specific missions. In order to gain efficiencies and reduce the number of redundant capabilities and processes in deployment operations it is time for the DOD to establish a permanent Joint and Interagency Deployment Center (JIDC) that deploys and redeploys personnel from all services and government agencies. This paper briefly examines the history and evolution of personnel replacement operations through the use of the CRC from 1990 to the present day. It offers explanations as to why the current model is insufficient for 21st century warfare and recommends doctrinal and regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the United States retains the agility to project needed personnel to the Combatant Commanders (COCOM). The paper culminates in a recommended organizational structure for the JIDC along with recommendations regarding the deployment and redeployment capacity for normal and surge operations and logistical support requirements for annual operations.