The Army must maintain a force capable of fighting across the full spectrum of war even as defense outlays shrink.Further, the service must maintain readiness even if the Army must become smaller.That was the message Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stressed at the Association of the United States Army’s 2014 Annual Meeting and Exposition on Wednesday. Oct. 15. The world is more volatile and there are more and varied threats around the globe, and training is the key."People are not in the Army, they are the Army," Hagel said.Even though the Army is coming out of the longest war in American history, there will be no rest for the service.The Obama administration will not commit U.S. ground forces to another land war in Iraq or Syria, Hagel said, but that does not mean that the Army will be less busy.The Army will continue to deploy and forces will be stationed forward in areas where they are needed.Moreover, a more complicated world means that threats are more diverse and difficult to deal with.On one side of the continuum, there is a "revisionist" Russia with a large and modern military force that once again threatens NATO more than two decades after the end of the Cold War, Hagel said.On the other side of the scale are so-called hybrid threats where a foe combines insurgent tactics with advanced military hardware and communications systems.To ensure the Army is ready, the service might have to shrink.The Army can ill afford another Task Force Smith debacle that happened during the Korean War in the 1950s, Hagel said.There, a short six years after the end of the Second World War – when the Army was at its zenith – a poorly armed, poorly trained and poorly led Army task force was all but decimated in battle against North Korean forces.Hagel said that there are already problems showing up – Army readiness fell to an unacceptable level in 2013 due to the effects of the congressionally-mandated sequestration automatic budget cuts.Readiness has improved, but must get better, Hagel said.But Congress must play its part too, Hagel added.The Congress must allow the Pentagon to reform compensation and get rid of sequestration – which Hagel said was a "deferral of responsibility."Without those two actions, the Pentagon will face a $70 billion gap in its budget and it will be forced to cut readiness, Hagel said.Even if Congress passes sequestration relief, the Army "must face the reality of shrinking resources," Hagel said.Hard but necessary choices must be made to keep the Army relevant for long and short-term missions. It must focus on three areas – people, capability and partnerships.Thus, the Army has to make sure it has trained and well-led troops.It must develop new capabilities to fight across the spectrum of conflict – from a head-to-head confrontation with a great power to counter-insurgency operations.While counter-insurgency cannot be forgotten, Hagel said, future missions might mean the Army adapts to the challenges of the Pacific by using its air defenses to harden friendly bases against attack.The Army’s artillery and missiles might be able to strike at targets deep behind enemy lines or provide cover to friendly forces.Some of these things are already being done, Hagel said. Apache gunships are flying from Navy ships, and often are being paired with unmanned aircraft.While some of this might seem foreign to the Army, some of these missions date back to the War of 1812, where the service was tasked to defend the American coast from the British.