From TransFormaTion To CombaT The First stryker brigade at War

Analysis
At the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Chief of Staff of the Army,
General Sullivan, understood that the future held many dangers and
that the Army would have to transform itself to fit a new strategic mold.
Sullivan’s successor, General Reimer, expanded upon the concept. Concerned
that the Army’s combat units relied solely upon vehicles such as
the M1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley fighting vehicle that were too
heavy for rapid deployment, Reimer took the first steps to create medium-weight
units capable not only of fighting traditional wars but also
of responding quickly and effectively to smaller emergencies.
The job of completing this effort fell to Reimer’s successor, General
Shinseki. Since no one could predict with certainty where conflicts would
occur or how extensive they would be, the general sought to create a force
that would be easy to deploy and supply anywhere in the world and as
lethal as in the past. Able to meet a broad range of challenges, it would be
versatile enough to shift from irregular to conventional warfare should the
need arise. To achieve these goals, Shinseki’s planners decided to equip
light infantry units with medium-weight armored systems. The reconfigured
forces would possess improved logistical capabilities and the latest communications
and intelligence-gathering devices. Their troops would receive
arms and equipment designed to enhance their effectiveness in combat.
When the War on Terror began in September 2001, the Army found
that to respond effectively it would have to accelerate its efforts to
field medium-weight units. This involved much more than downsizing
heavily armed brigade combat teams or reequipping light infantry units
with medium-weight vehicles. Doctrinal changes also had to occur,
particularly the creation of a basic unit that commanders could deploy
quickly and customize to meet particular problems. Since World War I
the service’s building block had been the division. Brigades, regiments,
and battalions had been divisional components, and field armies and
corps had been groups of divisions and their supporting organizations.
In the new Army of 2001, however, the ideal component would be the
brigade, an organization normally less than one-third of a division, highly
adaptable, and easy to deploy.
The Army also altered its outlook on fighting alongside other services.
It was no longer sufficient for its forces to accept joint interoperability,
an approach that emphasized improving communications between the
various services and establishing common doctrine. To function properly,
the transformed brigade had to be organized, equipped, and trained along
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