Grow the Army

If you've been paying attention to "Army" news, then you probably already know that an announcement was made before Christmas concerning the approved locations for re-stationing of the additional 74,000 Soldiers that will be added to the force by 2011. Forts Bliss, Stewart and Carson are the major recipients of new Brigade Combat Teams (BCT), but Fort Leonard Wood also will receive a headquarters element for a Combat Support Brigade (Maneuver Enhancement). The main point to keep in mind as one compares the new force organization with the pre-transformation force is that the Army now is "brigade-centric", versus a legacy "division-centric" organization. While divisions remain, they no longer have habitual relationships with the same brigades. Two each BCT will be located at Bliss, Carson and Stewart, and there will be eight new Combat Support Brigades.One-third of the Army will be re-stationed according to the plan, and the total military construction program associated with all of this is approximately $66 billion. Some continue to argue that the Army will still be too small even with this significant increase. Time will tell.