FORT POLK, La. — Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper recently published their vision for the Army through 2028. In “The Army Vision,” the leaders spoke of how the Army and its allies throughout the world will be challenged during the next 10 years by near-peer competitors such as China and Russia, as well others such as North Korea, Iran, failed states and terrorist groups.
They also described how demands on the United States’ resources would force the Army to “continue making difficult choices about how it spends scarce dollars to meet national objectives.”
The men pointed out that the Army Mission remains constant: “To deploy, fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the Joint Force.”
They further wrote the Army Vision is as follows:
“The Army of 2028 will be ready to deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary, anytime and anywhere, in a joint, multi-domain, high-intensity conflict, while simultaneously deterring others and maintaining its ability to conduct irregular warfare. The Army will do this through the employment of modern manned and unmanned ground combat vehicles, aircraft, sustainment systems and weapons, coupled with robust combined arms formations and tactics based on a modern warfighting doctrine and centered on exceptional leaders and Soldiers of unmatched lethality.”
To achieve this vision, Milley and Esper said the Army must meet the following objectives, detailed under the acronym “MOTEL,” in the coming years:
• Man. Grow the Regular Army above 500,000, with associated growth in the National Guard and Army Reserve.
• Organize. Ensure warfighting formations have sufficient infantry, armor, engineer, artillery and air defense assets.
• Train. Focus training on high-intensity conflict with emphasis on operating in dens urban terrain, electronically degraded environment and under constant surveillance. Training must be tough, realistic, iterative and dynamic.
• Equip. Modernize the force to focus the Army’s effort on delivering the weapons, combat vehicles, sustainment systems and equipment Soldiers need when they need it.
• Lead. Develop smart, thoughtful and innovative leaders of character who are comfortable with complexity and capable of operating from the tactical to strategic level.
While all five objectives are paramount to success of the Army over the next 10 years, the “T” and “L” are especially important to those of us who call the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk home.
Under the explanation of training, the CSA and Army Secretary said “continuous movement, battlefield innovation, and leverage of combined arms maneuver with the Joint Force, allies and partners” must be the hallmark of training. The training in Rotation 18-09, consisting of more than 4,500 Army National Guard Soldiers from Illinois and other states, highlights the important role the JRTC plays helping Big Army meet those training needs.
Whether it’s a traditional battlefield, urban warfare or airborne operations, the JRTC can provide rotational units with any scenario as they prepare to deploy or maintain readiness, utilizing multi-force components, such as active, Reserve and National Guard, along with Marines, Air Force, Navy and foreign nations.
The same can be said for developing leaders. There is no better place for officers and noncommissioned officers to develop the skills and expertise needed to lead Soldiers and ensure their best chance of survival on today’s diverse battlefields, supporting the goal of JRTC, that a Soldier’s worst day “should be at JRTC and not down range.”
In today’s ever-evolving battlefields, it’s important that Soldiers and leaders have the best training available that offers accurate representation of what they might expect from an enemy that is often hard to determine. The JRTC provides that and is proud of its role as Home of Heroes and trainers of the best fighting force in the world.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.09.2018 16:37 |
| Story ID: | 288088 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 96 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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