Inside the Army highlights

A few must-reads from this week's Inside the Army:

1. The final number of Army brigade combat teams the service can assemble at an end strength of 450,000 active-duty soldiers remains in flux as senior leaders weigh their options, according to officials and documents.

Full Story: Number of Army brigades still up in the air as new chief studies options

2. Army Chief Information Officer Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell said the newly articulated idea of connecting deployed soldiers with headquarters elements left in the United States is prompting an upgrade of main information highways.

Full Story: Army CIO says new focus on 'reachback' will require network upgrades

3. The Army is planning to draw up a new contract with Airbus to buy 16 LUH-72A Lakota helicopters remaining in the service's fiscal year 2016 budget plans, a move that may rekindle discussions about whether the service is allowed to sole-source the choppers, leaving competitor AgustaWestland in the dust.

Full Story: New Army Lakota contract could reignite vendor-competition questions

4. American soldiers deployed to train local African forces can sometimes find themselves exposed to the grand power struggle playing out on the continent between the West and China, reports a colonel with recent experience in the region.

Full Story: A helping of geopolitics meets U.S. Army soldiers aiding African forces