Reply #6: Part of the huge restructuring of the Army - biggest change since '39 [View All]

[54anickel]

This will hurt the local economies that they are pulling out of. The inverse being it will help the areas here that they'll be deployed to. I'm not even going to where a tinfoilhat would lead one on this move.


http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050727-3521.html

We're going to discuss today with you all what we consider to be a true cornerstone of Army transformation in the 21st century. I'm going to give you a little bit of a strategic background, strategic framework, if you will, and the vice is going to give you the details on the restationing plan for the Army's 43 Active Brigade Combat Teams. And then we'll take some of your questions.

It's important to note, though, that, why are we doing it now? Three very important strategic initiatives are converging at this time. You know all about them, but I want to knit them together because they provide the basis for this announcement today.

Number one, of course, is the Army modularity or modularization initiative that builds from 33 Brigade Combat Teams to 43, as well as standardizes the Army's Brigade Combat Teams into three types -- Stryker, light, and heavy.

Number two. You all have heard about Secretary Rumsfeld's Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy. So the second strategic initiative that's knit together in this restationing announcement are the initial stages of the return to the United States from overseas of Army units, some 50,000 soldiers; from Germany, 1st ID and 1st AD -- 1st Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division, and from Korea, the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The third, of course, is BRAC, Base Realignment and Closure, which the secretary of Defense from this podium on Thursday the 12th, and Mike Wynne on Friday, May 13th, announced the secretary's recommendations.

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Now the basing decisions for the additional 10 new brigades, these new formations, were influenced by the existing infrastructure that we had, to include training capacity. It was also influenced by the deployment opportunities or so-called deployment optimization -- that is to say proximity to railheads, airfields and seaports -- and of course the operational surge requirements, which we are living with today.

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