BALANCING TECHNOLOGY AND RISK IN THE FUTURE COMBAT SYSTEMS

While all the lessons of Operation Iraqi Freedom will not be known for some time, one already seems clear: large, well-armed ground forces are still needed for many expeditionary wars. Heavy U.S. Army forces, however, still lack the capacity to deploy overseas swiftly enough to wage these wars. The result is a deficiency in the capacity of U.S. military forces to prosecute modern wars in distant areas. This will be especially true for wars in which air power is not a cure-all and major ground combat operations must be launched. Addressing the problem of slow Army deployment rates, the Army Transformation Roadmap 2003 states the goal of transformation is to "identify and build required capabilities now and while developing future force capabilities essential to provide relevant, ready, responsive, and dominant land power to the Future Joint Force." Indeed, one aspect of the Army's transformation efforts is force redesign to develop an active component capable of deploying a responsive, agile expeditionary force in the first fifteen days of an operation.