By C. Todd Lopez
Army News Service
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2015 – When the Army's chief of staff
retires this August, one thing he'll be leaving for his successor is the
unfinished business of how big the Army will be and how it will be appropriated,
he told the Defense Writers Group yesterday.
"I thought by now we would have had that
resolved," Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said, adding that uncertainty
about the final size of the Army has brought "angst to our soldiers."
The final end strength of the Army -- the total number of
soldiers that will be allowed to serve -- is still "up in the air,"
Odierno said. It is "based on what happens with the Congress and the
president as they continue to wrestle what the budget would be."
He predicts the issue will still be a concern for the next
chief of staff for two to three years to come.
The general said that while popular consensus might hold
that the Army is now at rest because it is largely out of Iraq and Afghanistan,
in fact, the opposite is true. The Army has 143,000 soldiers forward-stationed
and deployed around the world today, he said.
Odierno told journalists that continued cuts to defense must
stop, "with the world the way it is today ... this is not the right time.
We've taken enough out of defense. Let's stop and move forward."
Continued cuts will damage the Army's modernization efforts
and readiness into the next decade, the general said.
"If we don't get the dollars and continue down the road
of sequestration, it's going to affect readiness. It's going to put us in a
readiness hole for five years. It's going to put us in a modernization hole for
10 years. And our ability to continue to meet the current mission is going to
be challenged."
The Return of Violence in Iraq
Security issues, such as the city of Ramadi being taken last
week by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- and Iraqi security forces
fleeing instead of fighting -- persist in Iraq. Just five years ago, the
general had been optimistic about the future of the country.
"The violence in Iraq was at the lowest levels it had
ever been. We saw the economics were starting to grow. Oil was being exported
at a higher rate. I felt very good. I thought we were on the right track,”
Odierno said. “But then again, the political piece of it has not taken. They
have not been able to overcome the mistrust they have between sects."
The general said that mistrust and conflict between Sunni
and Shia, for instance, represents the kind of fractures in Iraqi society that
demand a leader strong enough to pull them together to create a stable country.
That continued mistrust, he said, continues to degrade the
success that had been achieved in Iraq early on.
"It is incredibly disappointing to me personally what I
have watched happen," he said. "I felt in September 2010 when I left
that we were on the right track. And I really believed at that time, that in
five years, that Iraq would be doing very well. But frankly they have fallen
apart."
The general said he does not support sending combat
formations to provide security to the country -- a task he said the Iraqis
themselves are best suited for. He did say additional advisors would be okay,
if those on the ground who are observing the mission of those advisors were to
say that additional advisors are needed.
"Right now they feel we are okay with the numbers we
have," he said. "If they felt we need to increase that, I'd be
supportive."
Odierno also said that he believes that "embedded
advisors," which means U.S. soldiers embedded with Iraqi combat units,
could increase the effectiveness of those units -- and make the U.S. effort
there more successful.
"That puts us at much more risk. We have not made that
decision yet,” Odierno said, nor does he think that U.S. Central Command
Commander Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III has asked for that capability.
Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
The Army has said it plans to purchase 49,099 Joint Light
Tactical Vehicles, and Odierno said the Army has "not walked away"
from that commitment.
He said the JLTV is a vehicle the Army absolutely needs,
that it includes enough space for soldiers and communications gear, and that it
provides adequate protection for occupants.
"I feel really good about what we've done with the
JLTV," he said. "I think the way we've developed the requirements,
the way it is moving forward, is a really important step for us. I think as we
move forward it will be a central piece of the Army."
Odierno also said the Army might be looking for an
"ultralight" vehicle that will help move airborne soldiers who land
as part of forcible entry operations. Such a vehicle is being evaluated now at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Army might also be looking for a light
reconnaissance vehicle, as well as "mobile protected fire power" in
light, medium and heavy versions. He also mentioned vertical lift, an infantry
fighting vehicle, and "a lighter, tank-like vehicle."
Using the Army Operating Concept as a guide, the general
said, the Army has been reviewing 20 "warfighting challenges" and has
identified "where the gaps and seams are" in terms of capability.
The effort is more holistic than it has been in the past, he
said. The Army is looking across all branches and centers of excellence, rather
than at functional "stovepipes."
"I think we are coming up with much better solutions. I
think what you are going to see here, one of the things I am proud of is, we
have established this AOC, we've looked at these 20 warfighting challenges, and
I think now we can ease the way forward on how we start identifying near-team,
mid-term and long-term gaps that we can now invest in.
In terms of future modernization and acquisition, Odierno
criticized the Army's previous concepts of acquisition, saying that the service
had always looked for the best right up front.
"I think one of the problems we've had in the past is
that we tried to build a perfect vehicle," he said. "The requirements
are so high, and they were difficult to meet, and it ended up being over budget
and sometimes we found we couldn't meet them."
Now, he said, he believes that program development might
"leave room for improvement" in new systems and that the Army tries
to "become iterative in development of a program."
He suggested a new system where the first iteration of a new
system might meet 80 percent of what the Army wants. Later iterations would
reach a goal of 90 percent, and then 100 percent.
"That 80 percent is much better than what we have
today," he said. "And it's easier to attain."
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