Michael Peck
The U.S. Army’s new plan to become a leaner, more modern force may actually undercut combat readiness, warns a congressional watchdog.
The Army Transformation Initiative, or ATI, could affect “the availability of Army forces to support Combatant Command requirements and the effectiveness of Army ground operations, as well as the effectiveness of ATI-proposed changes to existing headquarters units,” according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, which is Congress’ in-house think tank.
The specifics of ATI have yet to be finalized in the wake of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s April directive that called for transforming the Army “at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems.”
Hegseth’s directive was quickly followed by a letter to the force from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, which outlined a plan to convert Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, or IBCTs, to Mobile Brigade Combat Teams “to improve mobility and lethality in a leaner formation.”
The letter also vowed to cancel the procurement of “outdated crewed attack aircraft such as the AH-64D [helicopter], excess ground vehicles like the HMMWV [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] and JLTV [Joint Light Tactical Vehicle], and obsolete UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] like the Gray Eagle,” as well as canceling programs “that deliver dated, late-to-need, overpriced, or difficult-to-maintain capabilities.”
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