Army Force Structure

In response to rapid geopolitical changes around the globe, the Army plans to downsize to a level not seen since before the Korean War. GAO reviewed the Army's planned force reductions and the roles that will be assigned to Army Reserve and National Guard forces. Specifically, this report discusses the factors influencing the Army's decisions on future reserve roles, rationale behind its planned reserve force reductions, and opportunities to more effectively use the reserves in the smaller force of the future.

GAO found that: (1) in response to budgetary pressures and changing international relations, the Army began planning major force reductions in 1989; (2) the Army plans to staff National Guard cadre divisions at lower levels in peacetime and reconstitute the divisions with contingency reserve forces for deployment missions; (3) the Department of Defense's (DOD) Base Force Plan mandated specific active and reserve force end strengths and a specific divisional mix for the Army's forces; (4) although DOD assumptions regarding the occurrence of global war have changed, DOD has not modified its Base Force Plan; (5) the Army believes that its planned reductions will ensure a balanced future force, missions for all reserve units, and fewer undue costs, but it has not adequately considered all relevant factors; and (6) the Army could expand the use of its reserve support forces by filling force structure vacancies, restructuring some National Guard divisions into smaller combat units that could be more quickly deployed, and converting some reserve combat units to support units.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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