THE FUTURE OF THE ARMY

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THE COMMISSION’S MISSION AND METHOD FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT The Congress created the NCFA as a federal advisory committee subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972 (Public Law 92-463). FACA, while outdated in many ways by advances in technology (e.g. maintaining records for “public inspection and copying at a single location in the offices of the advisory committee”), guided the Commission in striking a balance between being inclusive and transparent with the public, yet protective of information in the interests of national security. FACA committees must be sponsored by a federal agency that would be responsibile for ensuring compliance with the law, from the creation of the committee through its expiration. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) sponsored the NCFA, and by working in close coordination with the Department of the Army, did much to ensure the Commission’s success. With the benefit of having learned from the experience of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force (NCSAF), former Secretary of the Army John McHugh nominated Mr. Don Tison, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, to serve as NCFA’s Designated Federal Officer (DFO). This was important because the DFO is the sponsoring agency’s representative and is responsibile for ensuring compliance with FACA and all other legal requirements. As such, a senior individual with deep understanding of the Army and its culture was vital to assessing the most practical means of applying the requirements of FACA and facilitating the work of the NCFA. Moreover, the OSD appointed the NCFA’s DFO prior to the Commission beginning its work, which provided valuable lead time to organize for success. As the DFO, Mr. Tison, with the support of former Secretary McHugh and current Army leaders, selected a versatile staff, as well as a few alternate DFOs to assist him in executing his responsibilites. The DFO staff worked handin-hand with the NCFA staff and OSD in facilitating the commissioners’ efforts. The assembled DFO team had the flexibility to expand and contract as needed to support the Commission in executing its mission. Figure 4 depicts the relationships among OSD, the Army, commissioners, NCFA staff, DFOs, and the legal, ethics, policy, and logistics elements of support. Aside from compliance with FACA, a primary objective of the DFO was to support the commissioners’ desire for achieving as much transparency with the public as possible. To that end, the proactive efforts to prepare for the NCFA ensured that the Commission and its staff would immediately demonstrate inclusiveness and transparency with the public. Nevertheless, compliance with FACA comes at a cost in terms of personnel and resources. The Commission realized that several of the goals of FACA could be accomplished in a much more efficient manner without compromising the desired goals of the law. For example, the NCFA maintained a thorough and comprehensive website (www.ncfa.ncr.gov) that made available every aspect of NCFA activities, including minutes from proceedings. This allowed the public to track the Commission’s progress and interact with the Commission through public comment and news announcements. Yet, the NCFA, via its supporting DFO team, also had to enter information into the General Services Administration website, an antiquated site at best. This type of redundancy is unnecessary, given the relative ease with which websites can now be established and maintained. Moreover, FACA still requires a physical reading room when a virtual reading room is not only easier to maintain, but also easier for the public to access. No one registered a visit to the NCFA reading room. In short, from how meetings are conducted to how records are kept, FACA needs to be updated to reflect the advances in technology since the law’s inception in 1972. Ultimately, a sound understanding and application of the relevant laws, specifically the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-409), and its interplay with FACA and the law establishing the Commission, as amended, provided the protections necessary to allow the commissioners to freely and thoroughly discuss and analyze the voluminous amount of classified and sensitive information provided them in OSDapproved closed meetings and in a classified setting. The Commission did not have to draft its report in compliance with all FACA requirements. A provision (section 1061) of the NDAA FY16 (Public Law 114-92) permitted the NCFA to conduct expedited meetings. This meant FACA did not apply to a meeting of four or fewer commissioners, a change that greatly aided the drafting process. Recommendation 2: Congress should apply the Federal Advisory Committee Act provisions of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act’s Section 1061 to all similar commissions. Recommendation 3: Congress should update the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s requirements in a way that reflects changes in information technology, allowing commissions to use their own websites to post minutes, testimonies, and public comments and provide a public reading room. 16 National Commission on the Future of the Army
THE COMMISSION’S MISSION AND METHOD Figure 4 THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE OF THE ARMY THE SPONSOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (OSD) THE SERVICE (ARMY) OSD COMMISSION SUPPORT THE COMMISSION Commissioners Executive Director Staff Director Logistics Legal Policy Ethics ARMY COMMISSION SUPPORT TEAM Department of the Army National Guard Bureau Office of the Chief, Army Reserve DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER Designated Federal Officer Alternate Designated Federal Officers Functional Advisors THE COMMISSION’S ORGANIZATION The commissioners decided early on to have a multidisciplinary operating staff with all components well represented; indeed, both Army Reserve and Army National Guard staff outnumbered Regular Army staff. OSD, the Joint Staff, and Congressional Research Service contributed staff as well. Overall, the staff included a mix of direct hires, employees detailed to NCFA from government entities, and contract employees. They came to NCFA with a wide range of operational and institutional experience and were encouraged to speak with candor and rely on evidence in their reasoning. The experience of the NCSAF informed many of the NCFA’s organizational decisions, allowing this Commission to get up and running in short order. The Commission is appreciative of the advice and information provided by NCSAF alumni. Congress mandated a broad set of tasks for the Commission. To better manage that workload, the Commission established five subcommittees: Operational, Institutional, Force Generation, Aviation, and Drafting (Figure 5). Each subcommittee had a membership of three to four commissioners and its own dedicated staff and DFO. The OSD approved all subcommittees and their terms of National Commission on the Future of the Army 17
Page 1: NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE O
Page 4 and 5: TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 7 and 8: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “Not later than
Page 9 and 10: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Developing One Ar
Page 11 and 12: U.S. Army National Guard photo by S
Page 13 and 14: WHY THE NATION NEEDS AN ARMY CIVILI
Page 15 and 16: WHY THE NATION NEEDS AN ARMY Figure
Page 17 and 18: WHY THE NATION NEEDS AN ARMY “The
Page 19 and 20: National Commission on the Future o
Page 21: THE COMMISSION’S MISSION AND METH
Page 25 and 26: THE COMMISSION’S MISSION AND METH
Page 33 and 34: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard W.
Page 35 and 36: FUTURE CHALLENGES Figure 7 ARMY IN
Page 37 and 38: FUTURE CHALLENGES Iran poses a mult
Page 39 and 40: FUTURE CHALLENGES terrorists or oth
Page 41 and 42: FUTURE CHALLENGES anti-Americanism,
Page 43 and 44: FUTURE CHALLENGES to prevent the So
Page 45 and 46: U.S. Army photo. “The Commission
Page 47 and 48: FISCAL CHALLENGES Figure 8 BUDGET U
Page 49 and 50: FISCAL CHALLENGES if the Army is to
Page 51 and 52: FISCAL CHALLENGES MEASURING COSTS A
Page 53 and 54: “The Commission shall…make reco
Page 55 and 56: THE ARMY FOR THE FUTURE A WORD ABOU
Page 57 and 58: THE ARMY FOR THE FUTURE Recommendat
Page 59 and 60: THE ARMY FOR THE FUTURE Bradley Fig
Page 61 and 62: THE ARMY FOR THE FUTURE Recommendat
Page 63 and 64: THE ARMY FOR THE FUTURE POSSIBLE ST
Page 65 and 66: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class B
Page 67 and 68: DEVELOPING ONE ARMY Figure 9 ARMY F
Page 69 and 70: DEVELOPING ONE ARMY Operational emp
Page 71 and 72: DEVELOPING ONE ARMY integration of
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY Furthermore, th
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY authorities wit
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY Reserve). The I
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY unity of effort
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY across all Army
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY Due to much sho
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DEVELOPING ONE ARMY “When you joi
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Photo by Capt. Jesse Paulsboe “Th
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APACHE TRANSFERS AND RELATED ISSUES
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National Commission on the Future o
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ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ALLOCATION Figu
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ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ALLOCATION Nati
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ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ALLOCATION proc
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ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ALLOCATION the
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APPENDIX A: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CO
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APPENDIX A: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CO
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APPENDIX B: RECOMMENDATIONS BY RESP
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APPENDIX C: OFFSITE AGREEMENT Natio
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APPENDIX D: ARMY BUDGET AND END STR
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APPENDIX D: ARMY BUDGET AND END STR
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APPENDIX F: GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AA
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APPENDIX F: GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS PD
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APPENDIX G: TESTIMONIES AND COMMENT
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APPENDIX H: COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF
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APPENDIX I: SUBCOMMITTEES OPERATION
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APPENDIX I: SUBCOMMITTEES FORCE GEN
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APPENDIX I: SUBCOMMITTEES DRAFTING
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APPENDIX J: SOURCES CONSULTED Defen
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APPENDIX J: SOURCES CONSULTED Pippi
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APPENDIX J: SOURCES CONSULTED U.S.
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APPENDIX J: SOURCES CONSULTED U.S.
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THE FUTURE OF THE ARMY

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