U.S. Army Pacific: Providing indispensable capabilities to the Army and Pacific command

As both a major army command (MACOM) and an Army service component command (ASCC), U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) not only fulfills key statutory responsibilities to ensure Army forces are organized, trained and equipped to do their job, but also stands ready to provide these fully trained soldiers to the combatant commander, Pacific Command, in support of security operations ranging from engagement to warfighting. While we provide the daily critical interface between our major subordinate commands in Hawaii, Alaska, Japan and Headquarters, Department of the Army, and other Army forces as a MACOM, we exist to support the combatant commander in promoting regional stability and ensuring successful crisis response or, if necessary, decisive victory as an ASCC. Our essential value, realized through quality soldiers and civilians, a nonnegotiable stance on training readiness, responsive and timely support from the Department of the Army leadership and staff, and a one team approach among active component (AC) and reserve component (RC) professionals, is our ability to provide indispensable capabilities to both our Army and the Pacific Command.

USARPAC has played a key role in the ongoing global war on terrorism. Going on the offense in support of Joint Task Force 510 in the Republic of the Philippines, soldiers from U.S. Army, Japan, operated the intermediate staging base (ISB) in Okinawa for all soldiers moving in and out of the theater of operations, while soldiers from the 45th Corps Support Group (Forward), 25th Infantry Division (Light) in Hawaii provided essential round-theclock logistical support for JTF 510 soldiers, operating out of a forward base near Zamboanga City in the Philippines. Also assuming an aggressive defensive posture, major subordinate commands throughout USARPAC critically analyzed and then strengthened all force protection measures. Under the steady leadership and oversight of the 9th Regional Support Command in Hawaii, more than 350 reserve component soldiers, some of whom were based as far away as Guam, were activated to augment existing force protection plans in Japan, Alaska and Hawaii. In addition, leveraging off a war plan responsibility assigned to the commanding general, USARPAC, long before September 11, we have embraced the Joint Rear Area Coordinator-- Hawaii (JRAC-HI) mission.

JRAC-HI coordinates rear area security operations with Department of Defense, federal, state and other local authorities and all available military assets to preempt and/or defeat terrorist attacks within the state of Hawaii. By orchestrating the fusion and exchange of intelligence among all agencies, military and civilian alike, and by conducting regularly scheduled realistic training events involving all players at all levels within the state, USARPAC, working hand in hand with the experienced professionals in the Hawaii Army National Guard, has set the standard for homeland defense.

The USARPAC area of operations (AOR) encompasses more than 50 percent of the earth's surface and contains 60 percent of the world's population. Spanning 16 time zones, it also contains the world's six largest armed forces, four with nuclear arsenals. With many unresolved territorial and border disputes within the region, plus active ongoing campaigns within many countries to root out and eliminate terrorist organizations, this diverse and complex operational environment presents many unique challenges. USARPAC soldiers and leaders must be fully trained and ready to respond in a variety of operational scenarios, ranging from humanitarian assistance/disaster relief and noncombatant evacuation operations to peacekeeping/enforcement operations and strike operations. Our best guess is that the vast majority of our future deployments in the Pacific will be in response to one or more of these contingencies. In line with this need to be ready across the spectrum of operations, the USARPAC team is an active participant in the combatant commander's joint mission force (JMF) concept. Under this concept, elements from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) in Hawaii and the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) in Alaska are organized into carefully crafted force packages, designed to deploy anywhere within the Pacific AOR to tackle these likely missions. Force packages include early enablers, many of which are from combat support and combat service support units, to set the conditions for situational awareness, command and control, sustainment and mission execution; initial entry forces, to provide the right capabilities to quickly take charge of the situation; and follow-on forces, up to brigade size in strength, to provide the staying power for the joint task force.

With the strong support of our Army, we have also recently taken a major step forward in acquiring the needed command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C^sup 4^ISR) equipment to link us with a higher joint task force headquarters as well as our sister services in these contingency operations-an absolute must to be truly interoperable and an effective and indispensable player in the joint community.

Finally, and most important, training throughout USARPAC remains challenging and realistic to ensure the soldiers and leaders we send forward have the skills needed to succeed. We clearly recognize that the best way to take care of our soldiers and their families is to train them to do their jobs when placed in harm's way, and that skillful development of our leaders becomes even more paramount when faced with a contemporary operational environment and newly emerging adversaries. The readiness of our soldiers and leaders, and our ability to rapidly and efficiently respond to the needs of the combatant commander throughout the Pacific AOR, will always remain priority one.

While we clearly operate in a maritime theater, the most dominant military force in the more than 40 nations in the region are the armies. As a result, USARPAC is often the combatant commander's first choice to support his theater security cooperation program (TSCP), a comprehensive program designed to encourage and reassure allies and coalition partners of U.S. commitment to regional peace and to promote professional relations among all militaries in the Asia-Pacific region. Soldiers from all units within USARPAC, AC and RC alike, are on point for our nation each day as ambassadors in such diverse locations as Japan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Through senior leader visits, subject matter expert exchanges, professional development courses, command post exercises, field training exercises, and the sharing of tactics, techniques and procedures in such important areas as counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations, we are able to strengthen our military-to-military relations with our AsiaPacific neighbors. Our goal is to solidify our strong bond with trusted allies and to help developing nations learn to become stronger regional partners as opposed to regional adversaries, thereby expanding the foundations for multinational cooperative arrangements.

As a valuable tool in the global war on terrorism, active participation in the TSCP enables us to create conditions where nations do not perceive one another as enemies based on historic animosities, but rather as partners determined to deter any power, including a terrorist entity, from threatening regional peace. Our active involvement in the security cooperation program allows us to showcase our competence, professionalism and commitment to peace. Above all, it allows us to showcase our most precious resource and valued ambassadors, our soldiers.

Our Army's firm commitment to transform into a lethal and sustainable force that will be strategically responsive and dominant at every point on the operational spectrum is the ideal complement to the combatant commander's transformation goal-to improve capabilities, speed and mission agility to contribute to peace throughout the AOR, deter aggression, and if necessary, fight and win. The Army's decision to transition both the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) in Alaska in fiscal year (FY) 2005 and the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light) in Hawaii in FY 2007 to Stryker brigade combat teams positions new capabilities-the best our Army has to offer-in the Pacific, and will give the combatant commander immediate access to rapidly deployable, agile and versatile forces.

In concert with transformation efforts within Pacific Command, we are involved with numerous joint initiatives that include participation in advanced concept technology demonstrations (ACTDs), upgrades of command and control systems, and improved tactics, techniques and procedures for the joint task force commanders. Within USARPAC, transformation plans for installation and knowledge management continue to progress on schedule, and detailed work has begun to facilitate the smooth implementation of the residential communities initiative (RCI) in Hawaii in FY 2004. Finally, realignment efforts are ongoing within the 9th Theater Support Command, and U.S. Army, Japan to optimize our forward-based enablers to provide support to our existing Legacy Forces, and to prepare for theater-wide support for all the Stryker brigade combat teams. Transformation has become a way of life in USARPAC, as it has throughout our Army, and we are committed to doing all we can to get this right, not only for those soldiers and civilians who will feel the impact immediately, but also for those who will follow us in the challenging years ahead.

USARPAC is leveraging our soldier and civilian talent and a commitment for quality of service through better force structure and capabilities, facilities and training to provide the Army and our combatant commander added value in the Pacific. Gone are the days when we could be content with being merely relevant, particularly in a theater where deployment and sustainment costs are resource intensive, and there can be no miscalculation on putting the right force in the right place at the right time. As we work carefully with our Army on force stationing and support options for our Legacy Force as well as Interim and Objective Forces, we remain fully engaged on a day-to-day basis as trusted members of the Pacific's joint team. Much progress has been made, and more work is yet to be done, but what remains constant within USARPAC is the quality of men and women in uniform and the civilians who support them. Proud, professional and committed, the USARPAC team stands ready to provide indispensable capabilities to both our Army and Pacific Command.

By Lt. Gen. James L. Campbell* Commanding General Designee U.S. Army Pacific

LT. GEN. JAMES L. CAMPBELL will assume command of U.S. Army Pacific November 4 after serving as the commanding general, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, NY. Upon completion of the ROTC Program at the University of Missouri, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry. He commanded companies in the Ist Battalion,

32nd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey Korea, and 15th Battalion, 4th Combat Support Training Brigade, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He also served as the commander, 4th Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Ist Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry); and Joint Task-Force Full Accounting, Camp Smith, Hawaii. Additional assignments included assistant division commander (support) and assistant division commander (operations) for the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army, Hawaii; executive officer to the Chief of Staff, Army; deputy chief of staff for I Corps, Fort Lewis, Washington; and G3, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized), Fort Lewis, Washington. Gen. Campbell has a master of science degree in physical education from the University of Illinois and a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. His military education includes the Infantry officer basic and advanced courses; Airborne, Jumpmaster and Air Assault schools; the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and the Naval War College.

Copyright Association of the United States Army Oct 2002
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