By Ann Roosevelt
On Monday, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli hosts a workshop where interested parties will present ideas and information to a blue ribbon panel of senior Army and Defense Department leaders.
At a later date, the panel will make a recommendation to senior Army leaders on requirements for a new ground combat vehicle.
“We will work to include both lessons from the current fight and what we’ve learned from technology and build a better vehicle,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said in a DoD statement. “Our goal is to move forward.”
Chiarelli said: “The ground combat vehicle blue ribbon panel is in response to the recent decisions regarding the Future Combat Systems (FCS) manned ground vehicle program.”
On April 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced his intent to bring to an end the manned ground vehicle portion of the Army’s major modernization program, the Future Combat System, followed by budget actions that pointed to initiating a new ground vehicle effort (Defense Daily, May 8).
In late May, Casey pledged before the Senate Armed Services Committee to fight requirements growth in a new ground combat vehicle (Defense Daily, May 20).
Chiarelli said the Army still needs a vehicle that can protect soldiers and cope with 21st century operational requirements.
“The blue ribbon panel will take a fresh look at these requirements including capabilities, technologies and lessons learned from the FCS program,” he said.
The directed workshop approach intends to “allow multiple interested parties to input ideas into an operational concept for the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) using a directed workshop approach,” Chiarelli’s intent stated. Additionally, the workshop will allow “maximum input and transparency with a desired output that informs the Army Training and Doctrine Command’s (TRADOC) draft Capabilities Development Document (CDD).”
There will be six focus areas: operational environment; platform characteristics; platform threats; commercial-off-the-shelf versus research and development, with an initial operating capability of 2017; realistic requirements for tomorrow; and network considerations, the workshop website said.
For those attending, there are two read-ahead documents, the Operational Environment Paper, generated by TRADOC, and the Comprehensive Lessons Learned White Paper.
Participants in the workshop are expected to represent a broad spectrum of expertise, though the Army said “none should have direct ties to major Department of Defense contractors,” thus, no one from industry will be attending.
Participants will include representatives from think tanks, retired general officers, currently serving officers, senior non-commissioned officers, and program managers.
Those invited and expressed interest in attending are: retired generals Scott Wallace, Gordon Sullivan, John Tillelli, and William Hartzog; retired lieutenant generals, James Dubik, David Barno, Paul Funk, Patrick Hughes, Joseph Yakovac, Bill Campbell, and Robert Donahue; Maj. Gen. James Terry; retired major generals David Fastabend, Waldo Freeman, Robert Armbruster, Bill Troy and Robert Scales; John Nagl; Thomas Szayna; CSM Matthew Walker; CSM John Troxell; CSM John Sparks; CSM Cynthia Pritchett; SFC Paul Marler; SFC Nathan Tiemeier; Dave Oskey; Tom Donnelly; Marine Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, Col. Reginald Allen; David Markowitz; Bob Holcomb; U.K. Brig. Phil Jones; Jeff Martin; Don Sando; Col. David Teeples; Col. Steve Hood; Colin Agee; David Johnson; SGM Richard Jones; MSG Victor Vincente; Hon Nelson Ford; Anthony Melita; Scott Badenoch; James Quinlivan; U.K. Lt. Col. Mark Sullivan; Andrew Hoehn; Lawrence Keith; Dan Goure; Anthony Cordesman; Matthew Schaffer; Joe Braddock; SFC Freddie Housey; Col. Bill Burleson; SGM Greg Larsen; Col. Ricardo Love; Jim Arkedis; CSM Russell Reimer; SGM Jeff Brown; CSM Dennis Defreese; and SSG Everett Vantonio.