The world keeps changing, but the in-depth analysis in a 2016 report whose main theme was the importance of harmony among the Army’s three components remains relevant, the authors of a new paper assert.
The Heritage Foundation’s “2021 Index of U.S. Military Strength” gives the U.S. Army high marks for improved readiness but once again scores the service as “marginal” because those readiness gains continue to be offset by ongoing struggles to modernize and grow the force.
The Army isn’t alone. The report also rates the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and U.S. nuclear capabilities as marginal. The new U.S. Space Force was not assessed in the 2021 report.
The Army National Guard will play a key role as the Army continues to develop its Multi-Domain Operations concept, which incorporates land, air, sea, space and cyber in the future fight, a senior leader said.
Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, deputy commander of Army Futures Command, said the Army will need to collectively plan for potential cross-leveling between active-duty and Army Guard units in the years ahead.
Deploying with a force that included active-duty, Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers highlighted the “continued strength and mutual dependency” of the total Army, a senior Army leader said.
“It was such a joy to be able to integrate [them] into our force structure, and to have our soldiers and units that are normally assigned to us learn from their example,” said Col. Patrick Sullivan, commander of the 20th Engineer Brigade, during a recent media roundtable at the Pentagon.
The Army is seeking modest growth in the size of the force in 2020 while increasing funding for training and modernization programs.
The fiscal 2020 budget requested by the Army is $182 billion, a modest 2.5 percent increase over current spending. The overall defense budget would jump from $716 billion in 2019 to $750 billion in 2020 under the plan unveiled March 12.
The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law Friday by President Barack Obama. The bill brings an end to the Army’s troop drawdown and provides soldiers with the first pay raise in five years that matches the average private sector increase.
The Association of the U.S. Army has signed a statement of support for employment rights of National Guard and Reserve soldiers and in doing so challenged its chapters as well as corporate and sustaining members to also sign statements supporting reserve components.
Retired Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, AUSA president and CEO, signed the document on behalf of the association in a brief ceremony with Paul E. Mock, who heads the Defense Department’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program. The ceremony held was held in AUSA’s Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Va.
