[Stand-To!] Rapid Fielding Initiative - March 6, 2006

[stand-to at www.lists.army.mil]

Edition: Mon, March 06, 2006
Printable Version
SENIOR LEADERS ARE SAYING
The condition of the Army today can only be understood when one  
considers where we have been and where we are going.. The changes in  
the world have made us realize that to ultimately be successful in  
the Global War on Terror, we must transform our capabilities. We will  
not be ready and relevant in the 21st Century unless we become much  
more expeditionary, more joint, more rapidly deployable and adaptive,  
as well as enhance our capability to be successful across the entire  
range of military operations from major combat to the condition of  
stability.

Dr. Francis J. Harvey
Secretary of the Army
TODAY'S FOCUS
RAPID FIELDING INITIATIVE

What is it? Rapid Fielding Initiative RFI leverages current programs  
and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to give the Soldier  
increased survivability, lethality, and mobility capabilities. The  
RFI list is updated periodically by the U.S. Training and Doctrine  
Command (TRADOC) to keep the list relevant to the war and its lessons  
learned. The RFI list comprises two types of equipment:

• Equipment every Soldier receives (items such as helmet, clothing  
items and boots) and
• Additional unit equipment fielded only to Brigade Combat Teams  
(BCTs). The unit equipment kit includes lethality and specialty items  
not used by every Soldier, such as weapons optics and Military  
Operations on Urban Terrain kits. Several items are fielded  
simultaneously with, but are not part of, RFI. These include  
Interceptor Body Armor, Thermal Weapon Sights, Night Vision Goggles,  
and the Army Combat Uniform.

What has the Army Done? In October 2002, the Vice Chief of Staff,  
Army directed Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier to develop the  
RFI program to equip all deploying Soldiers with enhanced  
capabilities for the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). This directive  
initiated the U.S. Army's largest equipment fielding effort since  
World War II and is intended to supplement unit and Soldier equipment  
with essential capabilities required for success in the GWOT. The  
Army is fielding RFI equipment to every Soldier, regardless of  
component. Priority of fielding is to Soldiers deploying to Operation  
Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Horn of  
Africa, Balkans, and then the remainder of the operating Army until  
complete. As of November 2005, the Army has fielded RFI equipment to  
500,000 Soldiers worldwide. The RFI fielding facility in Iraq  
completed its mission in November 2004 and is now operating in  
Kuwait. The goal is to conduct RFI in accordance with the "Equip,  
Train, and Deploy" concept in order to maximize home station  
training. Every attempt is made to field RFI to units and Soldiers  
prior to deployment, however, an RFI fielding site remains in Kuwait,  
as well as Bagram and Kandahar, Afghanistan, to field RFI equipment  
to any OIF or OEF individual or unit that does not receive RFI at  
home station. The Defense Logistics Agency instituted an in-theater  
RFI sustainment strategy on October 13, 2004, to sustain  
Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment items at their  
forward warehouse in Kuwait for units to requisition. RFI fielding to  
the Army at large began in June 2005.

For more information on this topic, please visit http://www.army.mil/ 
aps/06/maindocument/infopapers/19.html
NEWS ABOUT THE ARMY
Army to Conduct Criminal Probe of Tillman's Death (DOD)
US Army in Flight on Production of (Re)New H-47 Chinooks (DID)
Bastogne Soldiers Foil Rocket Attack (ARNEWS)
Soldier Gets 15 Years, Discharge for Murder, Assault Charges (AT)
Eager to Serve in American Samoa (MSNBC)
WAR ON TERROR NEWS
Iraqi People Pulled Back From Civil War Abyss, Pace Says (DOD)
Abizaid: Iraq can expect more bombings (USAToday)
Separate Iraq Operations Net 62 Terrorism Suspects (DOD)
US Cast Wide Net in Terror War (Military.com)
Iraq Detainees Cite New Abuse (EB)
US Military Seeks To Conduct Zaytun-Like Operation In Iraq (EB)
OF INTEREST
General's War Comments Criticized (Military.com)
U.S. Troops Seeking Iraq Exit Strategy Too (CT)
The Court-Martial Of Willie Brand (CBS)
Did US Know Iraq Had No WMDs? (EB)
End Iraq Tragedy Before it Swallows the Entire Region (Aljazeera)
WORLD VIEW
Iraqi Jail Torture 'Increasing' (Aljazeera | Story)
‘We’ll Win Battle Against Terror’ (Arab News | Story)
Hamas Rejects Advice From Al-Qaida (VOA | Story)
A Place That Is Rougher and Bleaker Than Guantanamo (Arab News | Story)
100 Years on, U.S. Forces Still Rule the Roost in Jolo (NKT | Story)
WHAT'S BEING SAID IN BLOGS
What If They Held a Civil War and Nobody Came (SDP)
Is there a civil war going on in Iraq? (STJ)
Army's female pilots still facing hurdles (FB)


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