US ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLLEGE
US Army Command and General Staff School
Command and General Staff Officer’s Course (CGSOC) Common Core
F103: Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) F103RB
Feb. 24, 2012 - Gen. Odierno AUSA Winter Symposium1
The position of strength that the Army has is that everyone has seen over the last ten years what our Army has done, and is capable of. Lots of people want to put the Army in a box. They want to say this is what the Army can do -- they can do this little thing over here. I am here to tell them that the Army is probably the most flexible, adaptable organization across all the services, and that we can respond and be capable anywhere any time to support any Combatant…show more content… This requires us to review a number of areas and adapt them in order to remain the most capable, most lethal, most dominant land force in the world. I will discuss a few of these, including force structure, alignment of forces and headquarters, force generation, and modernization.
By the end of FY17, the Army will decrease its end strength from 570,000 to 490,000 in the Active Army; from 358,000 to 353,500 in the National Guard; and from 206,000 to 205,000 in the Army Reserve. Actually, the Army Reserve has already reduced themselves to 205,000. But it is not just about the numbers themselves; it is about reducing our end-strength over a deliberate and gradual ramp through the end of FY17. Why do I want this? This allows me to ensure I can take care of our Soldiers and Families and Department of Army Civilians. We can continue to meet our contingency commitments, to include Afghanistan. And we can remain responsive for unforeseen contingencies and facilitate reversibility if necessary in this uncertain environment. As recently announced, this decreased end strength will result in at least eight fewer Active Component Brigade Combat Teams, going from 45 to 37. The first two BCT reductions occur in Europe, where the 170th BCT will inactivate in FY13, and the 172nd Brigade Combat Team will
