U.S. Army forces command: Be ready!

"I have a message for our military-Be Ready."

President George W. Bush,

Joint Session of Congress

September 20, 2001

On September 11, 2001, the United States found itself at war. Requirements for already busy Forces Command (FORSCOM) active duty soldiers, reserve component soldiers and civilians accelerated in a very brief time. America's soldiers answered the call without hesitation and with confidence in their ability to fight and win whether deployed forward to fight terrorism overseas, or deployed stateside to protect critical infrastructure.

While meeting the expanded demands of the war on terrorism, FORSCOM never flagged in the mission to maintain trained forces ready for action across the full spectrum of operations. FORSCOM's men and women continued professionally to execute critical missions, maintain combat power for current and future operations and present a strategic deterrent to opportunists looking for any diminishment of America's ability to protect her interests.

Simultaneously, we continued the effort to transform the Army for the strategic, operational and tactical environment of the 21st century.

FORSCOM aggressively pursued fielding the Stryker brigades to fill a gap in our Army's ability to deploy survivable, flexible and lethal forces rapidly. We began transformation of the way we manage installations and of our operational procedures to set the conditions for the fielding of the Objective Force. Most important, FORSCOM stayed ready to defend the nation, to preserve the flexibility for the Army to transform without distraction due to current readiness shortfalls. Only through Transformation will the Army continue to dominate all adversaries in the security environment of the 21st century.

As a part of the continuing transformation of FORSCOM, and in recognition of the emerging realities of our post-- September 11 environment, we undertook an extensive command-wide objective assessment of our strategic plan and the mission and vision from which it springs. We refined our mission and vision statement to place greater emphasis on sustainable readiness in a context of increased homeland security requirements and renewed commitment to Army Transformation:

Mission. "Train, mobilize, deploy, sustain, and reconstitute combat-ready forces to meet requirements of combatant commanders across the full spectrum of operations. Conduct homeland security operations. Transform operational forces and institutional processes. Ensure the well-- being of our soldiers, civilians, retirees, and their families."

Vision. "Build and maintain FORSCOM as the preeminent provider of strategically responsive, trained and ready Active and Reserve land forces that dominate across the full spectrum of military operations in a transformed Army, an Army in which soldiers, civilians and families live the Army values. To meet this challenge, the command will focus leadership, resources and effort on achieving excellence in six critical areas-readiness; transformation; homeland security; support to the joint warfight; AC/RC integration; and well-being."

In early October 2001, FORSCOM rapidly mobilized and deployed 7,800 soldiers for Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom. By June, FORSCOM had processed 150 requests for forces involving hundreds of trained and ready active, National Guard and Reserve individuals and units. FORSCOM also rapidly alerted, mobilized and deployed Task Force Santa Fe, made up of 2,100 National Guard soldiers, to perform installation force protection missions for the U.S. Army across Europe.

The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) deployed to become the coalition forces land component command (forward), first in Karshi Kanabad, Uzbekistan, and then at Bagram air base, Afghanistan. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) also rapidly deployed to Afghanistan in January 2002 and sustained operations in that austere environment.

Uncertainty about the extent of requirements for Army forces for subsequent phases of the war on terrorism caused FORSCOM to accelerate home-station unit training plans. In October 2001, FORSCOM issued training guidance that directed units to qualify with individual, crew-- served and major weapon systems immediately and to sustain that qualification with all weapons semiannually. In addition, all combat support and combat service support units were instructed to conduct platoon-level live-fire exercises immediately and every six months thereafter. The intent of the guidance was simple: build confidence in every soldier in his or her ability to fight. The program was executed as planned and FORSCOM units are ready.

Heightened confidence in our soldiers' collective ability to fight is also an imperative. Despite increased deployments and heightened training requirements, FORSCOM units did not miss a single rotation at our combat training centers. The National Training Center implemented the contemporary operational environment (COE), a training paradigm for the new threat environment. Developed prior to September 11, 2001, the COE presents our units with the full range of potential threats-- guerrilla attacks, terrorism, a conventional enemy and intrastate instability. Operations continue 24 hours a day, involve a vastly expanded battlespace, include increased noncombatant interaction, and present leaders with greater opportunity to develop personal initiative and decision-making abilities.

During March and April 2002, FORSCOM completed its first dedicated deep attack rotation at the National Training Center with great results. During the rotation, a total of eight Army aviation missions were flown, four in a constructive environment and four in a live environment. Lessons from the rotation were applied to the joint exercise, Millennium Challenge 02, during which FORSCOM units conducted live joint strike deep attacks.

In training reserve component soldiers and units, FORSCOM continues to execute a number of critical programs. FORSCOM leverages the dedicated, multicomponent training resources provided by the training support XXI program. The highly proficient trainers of our continental U.S. armies and training support units are key to the Army's ability to mobilize, train and deploy trained reserve component forces. For individuals, we have sharpened the focus on training in assigned specialties or duty military occupational specialty qualification. To minimize soldiers in a nondeployable status, FORSCOM is pursuing a solution to ensure mobilized soldiers remain on active duty until individuals have been trained in their occupational specialty.

Readiness also means outfitting the force with the best available equipment. FORSCOM synchronizes modernization and recapitalization efforts to place the finest hardware in the hands of soldiers. Unit set fielding, currently under way in the lst Cavalry Division, is the process being used to modernize the current force. One brigade completed this total package fielding in May and another brigade will finish in January 2003.

The III Corps is the first fighting force of its size equipped with a complete suite of automated command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. These systems will be completely interoperable as part of the Army battle command systems (ABCS). The ABCS lays the foundation for network-centric warfare and dominance of the information sphere. Keeping the current force the best in the world is dependent on these digitization initiatives and is a vital part of maintaining readiness while we transform.

The past year has seen increased momentum in Army Transformation. There is no doubt the Army, as part of the joint team, was ready for the challenges it faced in Afghanistan. It alsc became clear that greater strategic agility, lethality, sustainability and survivability are all characteristics worthy of significant future investment. These characteristics will all reside in the Objective Force.

FORSCOM's role in Army Transformation is threefold. We maintain the current force in the highest state of readiness. We must also field the Interim Force quickly to ensure we can meet combatant commander requirements. The Stryker brigade combat teams are the cornerstone of this effort. We are responsible for resourcing and providing oversight of training and readiness of four Stryker brigade combat teams. FORSCOM will field and certify the first trained and ready Stryker brigade at the Joint Readiness Training Center in the summer of 2003.

FORSCOM is also setting the conditions required to field the Objective Force. The Army has set a goal to field the first maneuver unit employing the future combat system (FCS) by the end of the decade and we are setting conditions for that fielding. The FCS is a networked system of systems that will serve as the core building block within all echelons to develop overmatching combat power, sustainability, agility and versatility necessary for full spectrum military operations. FORSCOM is working to deploy recently developed technologies and transfer them across its units in support of the Objective Force.

Achieving the Objective Force requires developing leaders, change in processes, systems, doctrine and culture as much as it concerns equipment and technology. A notable example of organizational change occurred on October 1, 2002, when FORSCOM relinquished control of its installation management activities to the Army's Installation Management Activity. This new organization will allow greater flexibility and speed in meeting the prioritized garrison and deployment needs of our units and in building Objective Force installations.

Throughout FORSCOM, we have aligned our strategic plan more directly with the Army's Transformation Campaign Plan. The U.S. Army Forces Command Transformation Campaign Plan will enable FORSCOM to synchronize transformation efforts with Army Transformation. It will also provide a forum for FORSCOM to implement new processes and initiatives that will make it a full partner in Army Transformation.

As a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, FORSCOM immediately executed its Augmentation Force Plan, deploying numerous active component infantry companies to Army Materiel Command and Army Testing and Evaluation Command sites. Defense coordinating elements and security forces were deployed to New York City and Washington, D,C. Shortly thereafter, almost 16,000 reserve soldiers replaced them while also providing security at many more sites across the country Trained and ready National Guard soldiers protected more than 450 airports throughout the United States.

In addition, FORSCOM mobilized more than 1,600 soldiers to augment U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents along our borders with Canada and Mexico. As an ancillary result, as of the end of July 2002, soldiers working with Customs and INS agents, had seized illegal drugs worth more than $86 million in street value.

Proven command and control structures and operations, including our continental U.S. armies, response task forces, defense coordinating officers, and emergency preparedness liaison officers, were trained, resourced and ready. Our continental U.S. armies led the way with training and readiness oversight, while the Army National Guard (ARNG) and the Army Reserve, with established relationships within their communities and with state officials, were the force of choice.

As the Army component of U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), FORSCOM contributes to many exercises designed to increase joint interoperability, including Unified Endeavor, a series of training events that focuses on training the commander and his staff; Joint Red Flag Series, biennial exercises that feature joint interoperability in a deep attack environment; Roving Sands; and Millennium Challenge 02.

Roving Sands is the world's premier joint theater air operations and joint theater air and missile defense exercise. It is USJFCOM sponsored and FORSCOM executed. In 2001, Roving Sands had 15,000 Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and multinational participants. The exercise was very successful, leading to the development and refinement of joint theater air and missile defense tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs). The new TTPs, as well as a Standing Joint Force Headquarters, will be included in Roving Sands 03.

FORSCOM contributed significantly to Millennium Challenge 02 with III Corps Headquarters serving as the joint task force headquarters. Millennium Challenge 02 highlighted the increased capability of the Stryker brigades. It was a significant evaluation of the interim force capability of our transforming Army.

Seamless, interoperable forces are essential for readiness in an Army structured with almost 70 percent of its combat support and combat service support capability in the reserve component. A key FORSCOM objective in support of this goal is to complete the alignment of ARNG and USAR combat support and combat service support units with active duty corps and higher-level headquarters. For combat units, FORSCOM continues to implement corps packaging, a venue that aligns ARNG units with corps for planning and training purposes and offers the combat units a training focus provided by the direct link to an active component warfighting headquarters.

Corps packaging, as one initiative aimed at reserve component readiness, has been effective; the reserve component has recently assumed greater than ever responsibilities. The active component to reserve component (AC/RC) integration concept has matured to the extent that the reserve component has assumed complete responsibility from the active force for certain missions.

In September 2002, the ARNG's 28th Infantry Division from Pennsylvania, will assume command of the U.S.-led brigade of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and will provide all maneuver elements including aviation. The National Guard has also assumed responsibility for the multinational forces and observers Sinai mission. The 39th Enhanced Special Brigade from Arkansas was alerted, mobilized and trained for the January to July 2002 rotation. They met every milestone, including a demanding training program of instruction, in a greatly reduced timeframe.

Many well-being programs and initiatives are installations' responsibilities. Although FORSCOM relinquished control of installation management activities to the Installation Management Activity on October 1, 2002, the priority we place on well-being issues has not decreased. A caring and professional command climate is essential to well-being. FORSCOM commanders lead with this at the forefront.

The safety and health of our force is essential to well-being; and well-being is essential to readiness. We seek to eliminate to the greatest extent possible unhealthy patterns of behavior such as drug abuse, accidents, suicides, criminal activity and financial problems. To that end, FORSCOM is executing the risk reduction program, aimed at training leaders in identifying and reducing high risk factors and promoting risk reduction as a prevention strategy.

Because safety is a commander's responsibility, we have reestablished the commanders' safety council to share the initiatives that reduce accidents. Of particular importance is reducing the number of fatal accidents throughout the command. As a component of our safe driving campaign, we developed a campaign to combat aggressive driving behavior. Our campaign will focus on enforcement of laws and policies to change aggressive driving behaviors, as well as a menu of innovative accident countermeasures.

"Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign."

-President George W. Bush, September 20,2001

The war on terror will not end until international terrorism is no longer a threat. Army Transformation will ensure that our units and soldiers can defeat this threat and all others our nation will face tomorrow and in the future. FORSCOM's mission is clear: provide trained and ready forces for operations across the globe while simultaneously participating as a full partner in Army Transformation. We are at war. War has highlighted our readiness, the challenges we face in staying ready for operations across the full spectrum and the need to transform our forces. It has been an axiom of strategists for the last years of the 20th century that the Cold War is over and we face new and unknown threats. We now know what that means. FORSCOM is ready.

By Gen. Larry R. Ellis

Commanding General,

U.S. Army Forces Command

GEN. LARRY R. ELLIS assumed command of U.S. Army Forces Command on November 19, 2001, following his assignment as the deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, Department of the Army. With more than 32 years of Army service, Gen. Ellis has served in the United States, Vietnam, Germany, the Republic of Korea,

and Bosnia and Herzegovina. His command assignments inelude 1st Armored Division, Germany; Multinational Division (North), Bosnia and Herzegovina; assistant division commander, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea; brigade commander, 3rd Infantry Division, Germany; battalion commander, 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, La.; company commander, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; and 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. His staff assignments include deputy chief of staff for operations and plans; assistant deputy chief of staff for personnel, Headquarters, Department of the Army; assistant chief of staff, C3/J3/G3, U.N. Command/Combined Forces Command/LI.S. Forces Korea/ Eighth U.S. Army, Korea; deputy director for strategic planning and policy, Headquarters, U.S. Pacific Command, Hawaii; deputy director, military personnel management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Headquarters, Department of the Army; force structure analyst and chief, manpower and force structure division, Program Analysis and Evaluation Directorate, Office of Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Department of the Army; staff officer, Headquarter, U.S. Army Europe, Germany; staff and faculty, U.S. Military Academy, West Point; battalion staff officer, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; and battalion operations officer, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Copyright Association of the United States Army Oct 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved