Stand-To!- Stationing--Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment - Thu, December 20, 2007

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Edition: Thu, December 20, 2007
Rich-text Version <http://www4.army.mil/news/standto.php?dte=2007-12-20> 

TODAY'S FOCUS


Stationing--Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment 

What is it? The Army has made critical stationing and fore structure
realignment decisions based on the President's plan to grow the Army by
approximately 74,200 Soldiers. These decisions were integrated with BRAC,
Global Defense Posture Realignment and force structure realignments. By
associating realignment actions with this latest growth plan, the Army will
redistribute and rebalance across all three components (Active, Guard, and
Reserve) to enhance strategic depth. The Army consolidated and reported the
planned growth and force structure realignment to Congress on Dec. 19, 2007
in the Grow the Army Stationing Plan. 

What has the Army done? The Army is undergoing the largest organization
change since World War II, transforming to a Brigade-centric modular force.
Our Army is executing a tightly-woven, operationally-synchronized
facilitated by Military Construction. In early 2007, the President
recommended to Congress to grow Army end strength by 74,200 (65,000 in
Active end strength; 8,200 in Army National Guard end strength; and, 1,000
in United States Army Reserve end strength) by 2013.

Meanwhile, the Army is stretched thin because the current global demands on
the force exceed the sustainable supply. To correct this imbalance, the
Secretary of Defense authorized the Army to accelerate growth to be
accomplished by 2010. The Grow the Army Stationing plan calls for:
* The building and stationing of six new Infantry Brigade Combat Teams
(IBCTs) by FY11.
* The building and stationing of eight Support Brigades / Headquarters by
FY13. 
* The restationing (not part of growth) of two multi-functional brigades
(Maneuver Enhancement Brigades)
* The extension of combat brigade capabilities in the European command for
an additional two years through the activation of two BCTs in Germany in
2008 and 2010. 
* The associated growth in smaller, various sized combat support (CS) and
combat service support (CSS) units. 

What continuing efforts does the Army have planned? The Army currently has
42 Active Component BCTs. Complying with the Record of Decision for the
Army's Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the Army will grow six
IBCTs for a total of 48 by: 
* FY08: Retain one IBCT at Fort Carson, Colo., as the 43rd BCT. 
* FY09: Activate the 44th BCT at Fort Bliss, Texas 
* FY10: Convert one heavy BCT to an IBCT at Fort Stewart, Ga., as the 45th
BCT. 
* FY11: Grow the 46th BCT at Fort Stewart, Ga.; the 47th BCT at Fort Carson,
Colo; and the 48th BCT at Fort Bliss, Texas. 
* The two BCTs stationed in Germany for two years will relocate in FY12 and
FY13 respectively. These units tentatively are to go to Fort Bliss, Texas,
and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

The Army will also activate eight active component support brigades and
restation two others as part of rebalancing the force at the following
locations: 
* FY08: an air defense artillery brigade headquarters activates at Fort
Hood, Texas, and an engineer brigade headquarters activates at Schofield
Barracks, Hawaii; 
* FY09, a maneuver enhancement brigade activates at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo; 
* FY10, a fires brigade activates at Fort Bliss, Texas, and a maneuver
enhancement brigade will be restationed to Fort Richardson, Alaska (pending
completion of supplemental environmental analysis in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act);
* FY11, an expeditionary sustainment command headquarters activates at Fort
Lewis, Wash., and a sustainment brigade activates at Fort Hood, Texas;
* FY13, a military police brigade will be retained at Schofield Barracks,
Hawaii, a battlefield surveillance brigade activates at Fort Polk, La., and
a maneuver enhancement brigade will be restationed to Fort Drum, N.Y.

To support these six IBCTs and eight support brigades, the Army is
stationing approximately 30,000 Soldiers in combat support and combat
service support units throughout the United States as well as various
overseas locations.

Why is this important to the Army? The Grow the Army Stationing plan will
enable accelerated growth and force structure realignment and will improve
readiness while complying with 2005 BRAC law, sustaining current global
commitments, and preparing to meet future challenges. The plan will enable
construction for new facilities, will limit the use of temporary relocatable
facilities, and will permit necessary maintenance and repair of existing
facilities; this will tremendously reduce the stress and turbulence on our
Soldiers and Families. The Grow the Army plan will help to bring our
stretched forces back into balance and will greatly aid in improving Soldier
and Family readiness in this era of persistent conflict.


INFORMATION YOU CAN USE


*	2007 Strategic Communication Guide
<https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/409993>  - Read the 2007 Army Strategic
Communication Guide for key messages and updates. 
*	Strategic Communication Coordination Group (SCCG) Workspace
<https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/303879>  
*	Army Public Affairs Portal
<https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/216363>  
*	Stories of Valor <http://www.army.mil/valor> 


NEWS ABOUT THE ARMY


*	Army announces stationing decisions for new troops (ARNews
<http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/12/19/6683-army-announces-stationing-decisio
ns-for-new-troops/> ) 
*	General orders review of cheating (EB
<http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20071220568954.html>  | BST
<http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/20/general_orders_review
_of_cheating/> ) 
*	Schweinfurt, Baumholder brigades to stay (SAS
<http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51137> ) 
*	Parents want Army officials held accountable in son's suicide (EB
<http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20071220569070.html>  | TBO
<http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/20/na-parents-want-army-officials-held
-accountable-in/> )


WAR ON TERROR NEWS


*	Al Qaeda feels pressure from operations, citizens (AFIS
<http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48470> ) 
*	Do U.S. prisons in Iraq breed insurgents? (EB
<http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20071220568775.html>  | CSM
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1220/p01s01-woiq.html> ) 
*	Iraqi refugees return, and are stranded (NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/world/middleeast/20refugees.html?_r=1&hp&
oref=slogin> ) 
*	Iraq still at risk of attacks by al-Qaida (KS
<http://www.kansas.com/news/nation_world/story/260082.html> )


OF INTEREST


*	Soldiers remembered for their effect on others (SAS
<http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51134> ) 
*	Loved ones stay positive in wartime calls home (USAT
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-19-war-phone-cover_N.htm?loc=in
terstitialskip> ) 
*	Inquiry cites friendly fire in deaths of two Soldiers (EB
<http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20071220568958.html>  | WP
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR200712190
2751.html?sub=AR> ) 
*	USO, Army Reserve spread good cheer to recovering Soldiers (SN
<http://new.savannahnow.com/node/418464> )


WORLD VIEW


*	U.S. Army 1st Corps opens new HQ in C Japan (XIN
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/>  | Story
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/19/content_7281845.htm> ) 
*	U.S. backs Turkish military attacks on northern Iraq (CC
<http://www.countercurrents.org/>  | Story
<http://www.countercurrents.org/symonds191207.htm> ) 
*	Pentagon approves slower U.S. force cut in Europe (GRD
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/>  | Story
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7165742> ) 
*	U.S. Soldiers find mass graves containing 26 bodies next to a
torture center in northern Iraq (IHT <http://www.iht.com/>  | Story
<http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/20/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq.php> )


WHAT'S BEING SAID IN BLOGS


*	"No slack!" in Samarra (BF <http://blackfive.blogs.com/> ) 
*	Iraq is not a model (MT <http://www.michaeltotten.com/> ) 
*	Enduring support for wounded warriors & their Families (SM
<http://soldiersmind.com/> ) 
*	FY08 defense auth bill, part 4 (ACG
<http://armchairgeneralist.typepad.com/> )

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