The Congressional Research Service has issued a report that looks at the conclusions of a recent study by the National Commission on the Future of the Army.
The Feb. 6 CRS report -- originally obtained by Secrecy News and authored by Andrew Feickert, a specialist in military ground forces who served on the commission for a time -- states:
"Some general observations of the commission's recommendations include the importance of the NCFA classified appendix; the impact of the commission's recommendations on the "Corporate" Army; the history and challenges of past and current Army initiatives; and force structure issues outside the Title XVII mandate.
"Potential issues for Congress include
* "to what extent will Congress and the Administration implement NCFA's recommendations;
* "how much would it cost to implement the recommendations;
* "potential difficulties in implementing the NCFA's recommendations; and
* "how Congress would oversee the implementation of the NCFA's recommendations."
Inside Defense reported last month that the commission suggested the Army keep 24 Apache battalions, with 20 in the active service and four in the Guard:
Of the battalions remaining in the Guard, the commission recommends that they be equipped with 18 Apaches each -- as opposed to the 24 aircraft the active Army battalions will have -- "with the understanding that deployed battalions would plus up to 24 for operations" by way of "cross leveling," according to the report.
NCFA Chairman retired Gen. Carter Ham told reporters Jan. 26 the commission recommended 18 Apaches in the Guard battalions simply because of reduced cost. "It would absolutely be better if the battalions were equipped and manned identically," he said, but it wasn't affordable to have them mirror each other.
Ham said that the commission's conclusion "was the best alternative" when compared to the active Army's Aviation Restructure Initiative and the Guard's counter proposal.
The report also recommended that the Army shed two infantry brigade combat teams to fill out understaffed positions elsewhere in the service:
Released Jan. 28, the 208-page report suggests divesting two active service IBCTs for "potential manpower offsets that could be used to reduce or close important gaps," as "budgetary pressures make end-strength increases unlikely, at least for the next few years." The personnel gained from the two divested IBCTs is "necessary to strengthen aviation, short-range air defense, and other capabilities," according to the report.
The commission, which was tasked by Congress to recommend changes in how the Army is organized, trained and equipped, found that "the Army’s capability and capacity in Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) created less risk" than many other structure shortfalls. Therefore, the group found "that the Army could reduce overall mission and force risk by reallocating the manpower associated with up to two regular Army IBCTs."