RECORD VERSION STATEMENT BY THE HONORABLE THOMAS E. WHITE AND GENERAL ERIC K. SHINSEKI BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON THE POSTURE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIRST SESSION, 108TH CONGRESS MARCH 12, 2003 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED BY THE STATEMENT BY THE HONORABLE THOMAS E. WHITE AND GENERAL ERIC K. SHINSEKI UNITED STATES ARMY Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to report to you today on the Posture of the United States Army. America's armed forces are the most powerful in the world. And America's Army remains the most respected landpower to our friends and allies and the most feared ground force to those who would threaten the interests of the United States. Since before the birth of the Nation, American Soldiers have instilled hope in a noble dream of liberty. They have remained on point for the Nation through nine wars, and the intervals of peace in the years between – defending the Constitution and preserving freedom. Magnificent in their selfless service, long in their sense of duty, and deep in their commitment to honor, Soldiers have kept the United States the land of the free and the home of the brave. This is our legacy. Our Soldiers who serve today preserve it. In October 1999, we unveiled our vision for the future - "Soldiers, on point for the Nation, transforming this, the most respected army in the world, into a strategically responsive force that is dominant across the full spectrum of operations." The attacks against our Nation on September 11, 2001, and the ensuing war on terrorism validate The Army's Vision - People, Readiness, Transformation – and our efforts to change quickly into a more responsive, deployable, agile, versatile, lethal, survivable, and sustainable force. While helping to fight the Global War on Terrorism, The Army is in the midst of a profound transformation. Readiness remains our constant imperative - today, tomorrow, and the day after. Transformation, therefore, advances on three broad axes: perpetuating The Army's legacy by maintaining today's readiness and dominance; bridging the operational gap with an Interim Force of Stryker Brigade Combat Teams; and fielding the Objective Force to fight and win conflicts in the years beyond this decade. As they have throughout The Army's 227-year history, Soldiers remain the centerpiece of our formations. Versatile and decisive across the full spectrum of joint missions, land forces have demonstrated time and again the quality of their precision in joint operations. Our responsibility is to provide Soldiers with the critical capabilities needed for the tough missions we send them on. After three and a half years of undiminished support from the Administration and the Congress, and the incredible dedication of Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians, we have begun to deliver The Army Vision. With continued strong support, we will win the war against global terrorism, meet our obligations to our friends and allies, remain ready to prevail over the unpredictable, and transform ourselves for decisive victories on future battlefields. We have achieved sustainable momentum in Army Transformation; the framework is in place to see the Objective Force fielded, this decade. THE ARMY-AT WAR AND TRANSFORMING The United States is at war, and The Army serves the Nation by defending the Constitution and our way of life. It is our nonnegotiable contract with the American people - to fight and win our Nation's wars, decisively. In the weeks immediately following the attacks of September 11,2001, Special Operations Forces (SOF) infiltrated Afghanistan, penetrated Al Qaida and Taliban strongholds, and leveraged all available long-range, joint fires, enabling the Northern Alliance to begin dismantling the Taliban. By January 2002, U.S. and Allied conventional force reinforcements began to set the stage for Operation Anaconda, where Soldiers, demonstrating courage and determination under the most challenging conditions, defeated Al Qaida at altitude on the escarpments overlooking the Shah-e-kot Valley. Today, more than 198,000 Soldiers remain deployed and forward stationed in 120 countries around the globe, conducting operations and training with our friends and allies. Decisively engaged in the joint and combined fight against global terrorism, Soldiers are serving with distinction - at home and abroad. Soldiers from both the Active and the Reserve Component have remained "on point" for the Nation in the Balkans for seven years, in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for 12 years, in the Sinai for 21 years, and in Korea and Europe for over 50 years. At the publication of the Army Posture Statement, there were more than 110,000 Reserve Component Soldiers mobilized for active federal service in support of Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom. Even as we transform, Soldiers will remain ready to answer the calls of the Nation to defeat well-trained, determined, and dangerous adversaries who miscalculate in taking on the best led, the best-equipped, and the best-trained army in the world. At war and transforming, The Army is accelerating change to harness the power of new technologies, different organizations, and revitalized leader development initiatives to remain at the head of the line. To accomplish this, Army Transformation advances along three major axes towards attainment of the Objective Force. We selectively recapitalize and modernize today's capabilities to extend our overmatch in staying ready to defend our homeland, keep the peace in areas important to the Nation, and win the war against global terrorism. Stryker Brigade Combat Teams - our Interim Force - will bridge the current operational gap between our rapidly-deployable light forces and our later-arriving heavy forces, paving the way for the arrival of the Objective Force. By 2010, The Army's Objective Force - organized, equipped, and trained for ground dominance, cyber-warfare, and space exploitation - will provide the Nation the capabilities it must have to remain the global leader, the strongest economy in the world, and the most respected and feared military force, by our friends and allies and our enemies, respectively. The surprise attacks against our Nation and Operation Enduring Freedom, in response to those attacks, validated The Army Vision and provided momentum to our efforts to transform ourselves into an instrument of national power that provides full spectrum operational capabilities that are strategically responsive and capable of decisive victory. In a little over three years, we have begun to realize The Army Vision - People, Readiness, and Transformation. The transforming Army is enriching as a profession and nurturing to families whose sacrifice has borne the readiness of the force for the past 10 years. Our Well-Being initiatives are our commitment to reverse this trend by giving our people the opportunity to become self-reliant; setting them up for personal growth and success; aggressively investing in family housing; and revitalizing Single-Soldier living space in our barracks. Our manning initiatives have filled our line divisions and other early deploying units to dampen the internal turbulence of partially filled formations and help put a measure of predictability back into the lives of our families. The Army has carefully balanced the risk between remaining ready for today's challenges and preparing for future crises. With unwavering support from the Administration, the Congress, our Soldiers, and Department of the Army Civilians, The Army has made unprecedented progress in its efforts to transform. We will achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the first Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) this summer and demonstrate the increased responsiveness, deployability, agility, verastility, lethality, survivability, and sustainability that SBCTS provide to Combatant Commanders. In a little over three years from initial concept to fielded capability, the SBCTs will allow us to glimpse the potential for acquisition reform in paving the way for delivery of the Objective Force. We have constructed the framework for achieving the Objective Force this decade: a Transformation Campaign Plan with Roadmap; the Objective Force White Paper; the Operational and Organizational plans for the Objective Force |