Mraps_in_to_Brigade_Combat_Team

As the Army moves toward stability and support operations in Iraq, so does the insurgents’ use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This causes the Army to change how it transportes its soldiers in the area of operations compared to past engagements. A way the Army is changing is incorporating MRAPs in to Brigade Combat Team (BCT). I will touch on the impact of incorporating the MRAPs into the BCTs and how it could impact the Army as a whole. Over the past few years, IEDs have proven to be the most lethal and challenging threat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The MRAP has multiple variations and continues to save many lives by providing essential mobile protections for soldiers and personnel operating on the ground. As the Department of Defense spends heavily in research and developing counter measures for the continuously evolving IED threat, the MRAP is here to stay in Army formations for the future. “The Army will incorporate packaged sets of MRAPs into BCTs and other formations as part of the ARFORGEN cycle”, according to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates in his February 2010 report to Congress.(1) Currently, of the 15,000 Army MRAPs, according to a June 2010 Army briefing, about 5,750 will be assigned to infantry brigade combat teams, 1,700 to heavy brigade combat teams, and about 165 to Stryker brigades. Also support units such as sustainment brigades, medical, route clearing and explosive ordnance units will be assigned about 5,350 vehicles. About 1,000 MRAPs will be used for home station and major training centers and approximately 1,000 MRPs will be assigned to war reserve stocks. (2) The importance of these numbers will be seen at the unit levels. As units return from deployments and begin rest and retraining, they will have access to MRAPs for qualification in preparation for future deployments. These new equipment will help training and familiarization to be incorporated into new training programs and branch specific courses for both officers and NCOs. Also BCTs will have to revise and ensure that qualified operators are available to support the arrival of the MRAPs assigned to the BCTs. Certain enlisted MOS such as Motor Transport Operators (88M), Armor Crewman (19K) and Cavalry Scouts (19D) could go through a reclassification because of the inception of the MRAPs vehicles in the midst of tactical formations. Another impact is the unit’s tactical organization, with the allocation of the MRAPs. Units will need to revise their organizational structure in order to effectively integrate the MRAP capabilities. An example of this is a route clearance team made up from a Brigades Engineer Company. It could be used like a Fire Support Team in BCTs which are normally attached to maneuver battalions for training. Other organizations could similarly attach clearance teams, along with related equipment to various units depending on its mission. A task force commander with a field artillery battalion on deployment that has large howitzers that have limited use can now have the flexibility to reorganize the howitzers sections to develop an internal route clearance capability using his organic MRAPs. The commander is given the flexibility to evaluate Full Spectrum Operations Mission and prioritize his training program to ensure the howitzers section could now function as a route clearing team with MRAP vehicles and associated equipment. The Army is committed to developing and incorporating capabilities into the force more effectively and efficiently than in the past. Integrating MRAPs into formations, fielding capability packages enable the Army to fill prioritized capability gaps into the operational force- based technological readiness, testing and soldier needs.(3) Despite the challenges of incorporating MRAPs with the cost of both manpower and resources being enormously high, the Army is committed and has considered both issues as required under the acquisition process and found a reasonable balance to meet the need of increased survivability and the mission effectiveness of soldiers. On July 31, 2007, the Administration asked Congress for an increase of 5.3 billion for MRAPs in FY2008. This increase would procure an additional 1,520 MRAPs, provide $30 million for research efforts to protect MRAPs from emerging threats, $56 million for add on armor to protect against EFP, and $748 million to airlift newly produced MRAPs to Iraq. (4) There is no doubt that MRAP vehicles are well suited for a variety of operations. The Secretary of Defense stated that” U.S. forces must be sized and shaped to provide the maximum possible versatility for the broadest plausible range of conflicts.” (5) In a recent National Security Strategy, the President acknowledged that in the past 20 years the potential threats to the nation has shifted and while competition among the nation’s states endures, we have to be prepared to face a diverse array of asymmetric threats. It is clear what our leaders are suggesting; the Army’s imperative is continuous and aggressive modernization of our capabilities to ensure we remain the dominate force capable of operating in all environments while conducting full spectrum operations. Incorporating the MRAP into brigade combat teams (BCTs) is one way of meeting these recommendations from our leaders. BCT commanders will be challenged from an organizational and personnel perspective to receive and integrate this capability. It will also allow greater flexibility to operational planners to be able to balance the force and allow the Army to rapidly deploy its brigades and project its forces throughout the world without significant reorganization. 1. www.bctmod.army.mil/.../Army_Brigade.Combat.Team.Modernization Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization: Versatile Capabilities for an Uncertain Future by Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey Jr. 2. Information in this section is taken from an Army Briefing given to CRS, “ Operational Adaptability Through Affordable Force Modernization, June 17, 2010 3. www.fas.org/sgp/cr/weapons/RS22707.PDF Mine_Resistant,ambush_protect(MRAP)vehical 2010 Army Modernization Strategy 4. Information in this section is taken from OSD FY2008 Global War on Terror Budget Amendment Request for MRAP Vehicles, July 30, 2007 5. www.bctmod.army.mil/.../Army_Brigade.Combat.Team.Modernization Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization: Versatile Capabilities for an Uncertain Future by Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey Jr.