A key Army general is calling for the service to invest in close combat capabilities as the Army is set to emerge from a modernization pause.
Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) and Army Training and Doctrine Command, Futures, Deputy Commanding General Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster told reporters Tuesday modernization in close combat capabilities concerns him the most as he believes the service has invested in everything but close combat capabilities for years. Close combat, he said, is also where the Army takes the most casualties and where the fight is the fairest, which the Army wants to avoid.
After years of declining to invest in modernization, McMaster said the service has an upcoming “bow wave” of modernization spending to deal with in spite of a declining top-line figure. He hopes the Army will fight its instinct to spread fewer dollars over the same amount of programs and, instead, prioritize areas like command and control (C2), mission command capabilities and combat vehicles.
“Some people will say that Army capability is kind of expensive,” McMaster joked, citing the XM25 that is under scrutiny by the Defense Department inspector general, which recommended the program be canceled due to cost overruns. “Expensive compared to what, a nuclear submarine? I don’t think so.”
A semiautomatic, shoulder-fired weapon that fires 25mm high-explosive, air-burst ammunition, the XM25 is designed to allow soldiers to fire at enemies in concealed positions at up to 500 meters. The program has experienced considerable delays, cost increases and performance failures since entering engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) in December 2010, according to DoD IG (Defense Daily, Sept. 1).
McMaster said the Army needs do a better job of not only explaining what it wants to do 10 years from now but especially arguing for modernization and modernization priorities. To change this, McMaster said the Army hopes to publish later this year a future force development strategy that can easily be understood by the public. He wants this strategy to explain why a modernized army is important to United States security and the ability of the joint force to accomplish its mission. McMaster also wants it to describe the risks of deferring modernization in key areas.
The Army is undergoing a number of studies exploring how to approach the future fight. McMaster said the service has drafted a family of functional concepts and a “tight set” of required capabilities for the future force that will serve as the foundation for learning. McMaster said Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Commanding General Maj. Gen. Eric Wesley is leading an effort to re-write the movement and maneuver concept, which will serve like a keystone of functional concepts. McMaster said the Army plans to revise these functional concepts by January.