2013

Army Posture Statement 

AMERICA’S aRMY: 

Service to the Nation, Strength for the Future
service to the nation,

strength for the future

America’s Army:

medal of honor recipient

Daniel Inouye

1924 -2012

 U.S. Senator

 World War II Veteran

 U.S. Army Soldier
A STATEMENT ON THE 

POSTURE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY 2013

submitted by

THE HONORABLE JOHN M. McHUGH and

GENERAL RAYMOND T. ODIERNO

to the Committees and Subcommittees of the 

UNITED STATES SENATE

and the

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

1ST SESSION, 113th CONGRESS

May 2013
On July 4, 1776, we became an independent nation. The phrase “This We’ll Defend” traces back to the founding 

of the “War Office” of the Continental Congress the following year during the Revolutionary War. The War 

Office was established by Congress to be its intermediary with the Army and the states, and manage the staff 

functions that supported the Army in the field.

For those of us in uniform, the motto remains as relevant today as it did at our Nation’s founding. The pronoun 

“We” reinforces our collective or team effort, and “Defend” remains our Army’s main mission. The Army 

continues this pledge into the future, as we have done for 237 years.

GEN Raymond T. Odierno 

Chief of Staff of the Army

The Army Emblem

ROMAN CUIRASS

A symbol of integrity, strength, and protection

PHRYGIAN CAP ON SWORD

Signifying the Army’s constant readiness 

to fight to preserve the Nation

MUSKET & BAYONET

Weapon of Soldiers

1775

Army established June 14, 1775

ESPONTON

Symbol of rank of 

subordinate leaders

Army Birthday, 14 June 2012
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Landpower for the Nation

Fiscal Challenges

America’s Army Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Operations Around the World

Operations in Afghanistan

Missions as a Member of the Joint Force

Missions at Home and Support of Civil Authorities

The Army for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Army Vision

Globally Responsive, Regionally Engaged Strategic Land Forces

Training for Operational Adaptability

People

Ready and Resilient

Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention Program

Develop Adaptive Leaders

Equipment Modernization and Reset

Organic and Commercial Industrial Base

Acquisition Reform

Modernization Strategy

- Soldier Systems

- The Network and Investment in Cyber Capabilities

- Ground Combat Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle

Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2013 Army Posture Statement 1

National Guard from 358,000 to 350,000, the Army Reserve from 206,000 to 205,000 and the Civilian workforce 

from 272,000 to 255,000 all by the end of FY 17. These 

reductions, which began in FY 12, represent a net loss of 

106,000 Soldier and Civilian positions.

The implementation of sequestration in FY 13 created a 

significant shortfall in Army funding, estimated at $8.3 billion 

for the remaining months of the fiscal year, which includes 

nearly $5.5 billion in the Operation and Maintenance 

account for active and reserve component forces. We also 

face up to a $7.8 billion shortfall in Overseas Contingency 

Operations funding due to increasing costs related to the war 

in Afghanistan. The sharp decline over a short period of time 

significantly impacts readiness which will cascade into the 

next fiscal year and beyond. 

Introduction

The Army has been in a state of continuous war for the past 

twelve years, the longest in our Nation’s history. More than 

167,000 Soldiers are deployed or forward stationed in nearly 

160 countries worldwide. The global security environment 

points to further instability, and the Army remains a key 

guardian of our national security.

The Army’s ability to perform this vital role, and field a 

ready and capable force that meets mission requirements, 

has been placed at risk by fiscal challenges in FY 13. The 

combined effects of funding reductions due to sequestration, 

the fiscal uncertainty of continuing resolutions and resulting 

shortfalls in Overseas Contingency Operations funding has 

significantly and rapidly degraded Army readiness, which 

will translate directly into FY 14 and beyond. This lack of 

predictability makes it difficult to address the posture of 

the Army in FY 14 with certainty and specificity. However, 

this document will address some of the potential long term 

effects that fiscal uncertainty will have on the Army.

Landpower for the Nation

America’s Army is the best-trained, best-equipped and bestled fighting force in the world, providing a credible and 

capable instrument of national power. Army forces play a 

fundamental role in all but one of the missions specified by 

the defense strategic guidance, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense. The Army’s ability to provide strategic landpower for the Nation makes it 

uniquely suited to meet these requirements. Army forces are 

tailorable and scalable to meet mission requirements. The 

Army’s ability to rapidly deploy task organized forces, from 

company to corps level over extended distances, sustain 

them and deliver precise, discriminate results is unmatched. 

Highly ready, responsive and capable ground forces prevent 

conflict through deterrence, by shaping Combatant Commanders’ operational environment and, when necessary, 

winning the Nation’s wars.

Fiscal Challenges

The Budget Control Act of 2011 reduces defense spending 

by $487 billion over 10 years. As a result of these spending cuts, we are reducing Active Army end strength from 

a wartime high of about 570,000 to 490,000, the Army 

Missions of the U.S. Armed Forces

From Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: 

Priorities for 21st Century Defense.

In all but one mission – maintain a nuclear deterrent 

– the Army is a vital contributor to the Joint Force:

• Counter terrorism and irregular warfare

• Deter and defeat aggression

• Project power despite anti-access/area denial challenges

• Counter weapons of mass destruction

• Operate effectively in cyberspace

• Operate effectively in space

• Maintain a safe, secure, and effective 

nuclear deterrent

• Defend the homeland and provide support to civil authorities

• Provide a stabilizing presence

• Conduct stability and counterinsurgency operations

• Conduct humanitarian, disaster relief, 

and other operations
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE 2

America’s Army Today

Beyond combat operations in Afghanistan, the Army 

conducts many missions worldwide in support of national 

security objectives, as well as within the United States in 

support of civil authorities. The Total Force provides the 

foundation for Joint operations. Demand for Army forces 

in Afghanistan will continue to decrease. However, the 

requirement for strategic landpower capable of worldwide 

deployment will endure.

Operations Around the World

The Army has nearly 80,000 Soldiers currently committed 

to operations around the world – in Afghanistan, Kosovo, 

the Philippines, Horn of Africa, Turkey, Sinai Peninsula 

and throughout the Middle East. Forward-stationed 

Army forces, in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Europe and 

elsewhere, provide Geographic Combatant Commands 

with an unparalleled capability to prevent conflict, shape 

the environment and, if necessary, win decisively. About 

77,000 Soldiers are postured to support operations and 

engagements in the Asia-Pacific region. During 2012, these 

Soldiers participated in security cooperation engagements 

in 23 countries across the Pacific. Reductions to our force 

posture in Europe are underway, but a significant Army 

presence and commitment remains. Army forces in Europe 

remain a critical source of timely operational and logistical 

support for operations in other theaters, such as Southwest 

If sequestration is implemented from FY 14 through 

FY 21 the Army will not be able to execute the current 

defense strategic guidance as planned. This may compel 

actions that break faith with our Soldiers, Civilians and 

Families. Full implementation of sequestration will require 

further force structure reductions that will greatly increase 

strategic risk. To maintain balance between force structure, 

readiness and modernization, the Army may have to reduce 

at least 100,000 additional personnel across the Total Force 

– the Active Army, the Army National Guard and the Army 

Reserve. When coupled with previously planned cuts to end 

strength, the Army could lose up to 200,000 Soldiers over the 

next ten years. If steep cuts are required in FY 14 and beyond, 

this will create imbalance and significantly compound risk. It 

will cause a disproportionate investment across manpower, 

operations and maintenance, modernization and procurement, 

challenging our ability to sustain appropriate readiness in the 

near term in support of our current defense strategy.

To some extent, the impact of spending reductions can be 

mitigated if funding is timely and predictable, and cuts 

are back-loaded, enabling the Army to plan, resource and 

manage the programs that yield a highly trained and ready 

force. Continued fiscal uncertainty, on the other hand, poses 

considerable risk to our ability to maintain a ready force. 

Each continuing resolution prevents new starts for needed 

programs, limits reprogramming actions, creates inefficiency 

and often results in wasteful funding for accounts that we 

no longer want or need. Resource predictability affords the 

Army the opportunity to plan and shape the Army’s force for 

the future within identified budgetary constraints.

The FY 14 Budget is designed to meet current operational 

requirements and allows us to build an Army to meet our 

future needs by balancing force structure, readiness and 

modernization. It fully supports the Army’s central role in 

the defense strategic guidance. The budget request funds 

balanced readiness across the Total Force while retaining 

agility and capacity. It supports reset and replacement of battledamaged equipment, as well as modernization priorities. 

A 4 percent reduction from the FY 13 Base Budget 

request reflects the Army’s acceptance of measured risk, 

accommodating a tightening fiscal environment.
2013 Army Posture Statement 3

Army can provide the theater logistics, transportation, medical and communications infrastructure necessary to support 

operations of this size, complexity and duration. The Army 

has also begun the challenging task of equipment and materiel retrograde and refit from Afghanistan. It is a daunting 

task by virtue of the sheer volume of the equipment that 

must be brought home as well; this challenge is compounded 

by harsh geography, adverse weather and ongoing combat 

operations. Funding shortfalls threaten to further extend the 

timeline and increase overall costs.

Asia and Africa. The long-term impacts of full sequestration, 

particularly to force structure and readiness, threaten the 

Army’s ability to provide trained and ready forces to perform 

these enduring and vital missions. 

Operations in Afghanistan

The approximately 60,000 Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan, 

in both conventional and special operations units, remain 

our top priority. The Army provides the corps-level headquarters that form the basic structures for conventional forces in the theater, and provides two division-level headquarters that control the majority of operational activities in the 

country. The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force 

is built on a foundation of an Army Special Forces Group. 

The majority of combat units in theater are U.S. Army, and 

some of the most critical enablers such as tactical unmanned 

aerial vehicles and route clearance units are almost exclusively 

U.S. Army. The critical transition to Afghan leadership in 

security is being enabled by thousands of Army NCOs, Officers and Soldiers who have been re-missioned to advise 

and assist the increasingly capable Afghan National Security 

Forces. The Army also provides essential logistics capabilities 

that sustain the land-locked Afghan theater. In fact, only the 

SOLDIERS DEPLOYED AND FORWARD STATIONED

EUROPE

33,830 SOLDIERS

EUROPEAN COMMAND CENTRAL COMMAND PACIFIC COMMAND NORTHERN COMMAND

AFRICA COMMAND SOUTHERN COMMAND

AFGHANISTAN

54,370 SOLDIERS

IRAQ

120 SOLDIERS

KUWAIT

10,640 SOLDIERS

QATAR

1,920 SOLDIERS

HORN OF AFRICA

1,000 SOLDIERS

SINAI

630 SOLDIERS

BALKANS

800 SOLDIERS

HOMELAND SECURITY

2,550 SOLDIERS

GUANTANAMO

1,140 SOLDIERS

CENTRAL AMERICA

360 SOLDIERS

SOUTH KOREA

19,880 SOLDIERS

JAPAN

2,420 SOLDIERS

OTHER OPERATIONS 

& EXERCISES

2,850 SOLDIERS

PHILIPPINES

400 SOLDIERS

HAWAII

22,170 SOLDIERS

168,520 SOLDIERS IN NEARLY 150 COUNTRIES

ALASKA

13,440 SOLDIERS
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE 4

Missions at Home and 

Support of Civil Authorities

The Total Force is prepared to defend the Homeland 

and routinely conducts critical Defense Support of Civil 

Authorities operations. As this past year demonstrated 

through wildland fires, two major Hurricanes (Isaac and 

Sandy), floods in the heartland and multiple winter storm 

emergencies, the Army is always ready to respond to the call 

of its citizens. The Army does so by performing a wide range 

of complex tasks in support of civil authorities during natural 

and man-made disasters, including Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, or Nuclear incidents, and for counterdrug 

operations within each State, as well as along the approaches 

to the United States. After Hurricane Sandy struck the 

eastern United States, more than 22,000 active and reserve 

component Soldiers, which included over 10,000 Army 

National Guard Soldiers from 19 states, provided immediate 

and sustained relief. Army Corps of Engineers Soldiers and 

Civilians pumped more than 475 million gallons of water 

from the New York City subway system and all tunnels 

connecting Manhattan.

The Army for the Future

The Army for the future will feature regionally aligned and 

mission-tailored forces designed to respond to combatant 

commander requirements to prevent conflict, shape the 

strategic environment and, when necessary, win decisively. 

Maintaining credible strategic landpower requires the Army 

Missions as a Member of the Joint Force

The Army provides a wide range of capabilities as an indispensable member of the Joint Force. Every day, the Army 

maintains deployable contingency forces, employs forwardbased capabilities, delivers humanitarian assistance and 

conducts multilateral exercises with partners and allies. The 

Army maintains a Global Response Force at constant high 

readiness providing the Nation its only rapid response, inland forcible entry capability for unforeseen contingencies. 

Army forces set theaters for the Combatant Commanders 

maintaining constantly the critical logistical, communications, intelligence, medical and inland ground transportation infrastructure to support all plans and contingencies. 

We maintain partner relationships that ensure access to critical regions around the world. Army commanders and headquarters lead Joint Task Forces, plan operations and exercise 

mission command of units across the full range of military 

operations. Army units provide space, air and missile defense 

capabilities for the Joint Force. We build and operate the 

space and terrestrial communication networks that connect our own units, the Joint community, and interagency 

and multinational partners. Soldiers provide essential logistics infrastructure, delivering food, fuel, ammunition, materiel 

and medical support that sustain Joint operations ranging from 

combat to humanitarian assistance. In addition, the Army collects and analyzes the intelligence that informs our actions and 

measures our progress, and provides the majority of the forces 

in U.S. Special Operations Command.

The Army Vision

The Army is regionally engaged and globally 

responsive; it is an indispensible partner 

and provider of a full range of capabilities to 

Combatant Commanders in a Joint, Interagency, 

Intergovernmental and Multinational environment. 

As part of the Joint Force and as America’s 

Army, in all that we offer, we guarantee the agility, 

versatility and depth to Prevent, Shape and Win.
2013 Army Posture Statement 5

meeting operational requirements – such as those deployed 

to Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Horn of Africa or forward 

stationed in the Republic of Korea – will be prepared and 

ready. We will fund programs related to Wounded Warrior 

care. Although we prioritized resources to ensure we could 

meet Global Response Force and deploying unit training 

requirements, the rest of the Army will experience significant 

training and sustainment shortfalls that will impact readiness 

this year and will be felt for years to come. The Army’s ability 

to perform its missions, as directed in the defense strategic 

guidance, will inevitably be degraded.

Globally Responsive, Regionally Engaged 

Strategic Land Forces

Regional alignment will provide Geographic Combatant 

Commands with mission-trained and regionally focused 

forces that are responsive to all requirements, including 

operational missions, bilateral and multilateral military exercises and theater security cooperation activities. Regionally aligned forces are drawn from the Total Force, which 

includes Active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve capabilities. Aligned Corps and Divisions will provide 

Joint Task Force capability to every Geographic Combatant Command. Through regional alignment, the Army will 

maintain its warfighting skills and complement these skills 

with language, regional expertise and cultural training. For 

example, 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed 

at Fort Riley, Kansas, is aligned with U.S. Africa Command 

for FY 13. In support of U.S. Africa Command objectives, 

the brigade will conduct engagement activities in 34 African 

nations over the coming year.

to continually assess and refine how we operate, manage 

our human capital and increase our capabilities, all while 

mitigating the effects of significant reductions in funding. 

We must exploit our advantages in some key areas such 

as leader development; strategic, operational and tactical 

mobility; command, control, communications, computers 

and intelligence (C4I) and logistics. As we transition over 

the next five to ten years, this effort will be underpinned by 

a strong institutional Army. This institutional Army mans, 

trains, equips, deploys and ensures the readiness of all Army 

forces. It generates the concepts and doctrine that guides the 

way we operate. It runs the professional military education 

system, that provides our country unparalleled thinkers 

and leaders at the tactical operational and strategic levels. It 

recruits our Soldiers and prepares them for military service. 

It is the foundation upon which readiness is built, enabling 

the operational Army to provide landpower capability to 

the combatant commander. The institutional Army takes a 

deep look at the future strategic environment to formulate 

concepts and plans for the best mix of capabilities to 

meet the Nation’s land warfare challenge – the right skills, 

right doctrine, right equipment and the right qualities in 

our adaptive leaders. 

The Army must strike a balance between force structure, 

readiness and modernization, in a manner that is mindful of 

fiscal realities yet also provides the Nation with optimized but 

capable landpower. The decisions we have made in response 

to FY 13 budget reductions will have far reaching impacts on 

the Army. Clear priorities guided these decisions. All Soldiers 
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE 6

level Decisive Action rotations at our Maneuver Combat 

Training Centers unless additional funds become available. 

Training in FY 14 and beyond remains at risk as well. With 

sequestration, the Army will not be able to fully train our 

Soldiers, whether through professional military education or 

collective unit training, in a way that enables them to operate 

successfully in a complex environment across the full range 

of military operations. The long-term readiness impacts 

of the resulting deficit in trained forces will jeopardize the 

Army’s ability to meet war plan requirements.

People

The Soldiers of our all-volunteer force are the Army’s greatest 

strategic asset. These professional men and women provide 

depth and versatility throughout the Total Force – the Active 

Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. As 

the Army gets smaller, it becomes even more important that 

we retain and recruit only the highest quality Soldiers. With 

the support of Congress, we will maintain a military pay 

and benefits package – to include affordable, high-quality 

health care – that acknowledges the burdens and sacrifice 

of service while understanding our future fiscal environment. During 2012, 96 percent of the Army’s recruits were 

high school graduates, exceeding the goal of 90 percent. The 

FY 12 active component recruiting effort produced the highest 

quality enlisted recruits in our history, based on test scores 

and waivers issued. We are also on track to sustain the high 

retention rate of the past 3 years. While the Army draws 

down, it is important that we do so at a pace that will 

Regionally aligned, mission tailored forces play an essential 

role in the defense strategic guidance, which rebalances to 

the Asia-Pacific region while maintaining our commitment 

to partners in and around the Middle East. Lessening demand for forces in Afghanistan allows our aligned units in 

the Asia-Pacific theater to refocus on supporting U.S. Pacific 

Command’s objectives. In addition, U.S. Army Pacific will 

be elevated to a four-star headquarters in 2013. I Corps, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, is developing Joint Task Force command capability, which will provide a deployable headquarters that can meet contingencies 

across the full range of military operations. These initiatives 

will enhance the capability and responsiveness of our forces. 

However, the training shortfalls and readiness impacts of full 

sequestration places the Army’s ability to provide these critical capabilities at risk.

Training for Operational Adaptability

In recent years the Army has deliberately focused training 

on counterinsurgency and stability operations to support 

requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will build upon 

that expertise while transitioning to a more versatile Army, 

with operationally adaptable land forces that will take on a 

broader range of missions in support of the national defense 

strategy. Innovative training methods produce ready and 

responsive forces while optimizing our resources. Army units 

train at Combat Training Centers, while deployed and at home 

station. Live, virtual and constructive training enables Army 

commanders to conduct multi-echelon events in a complex 

environment at home station. The 

Army’s Decisive Action Training 

Environment (DATE), which has 

been incorporated by each of our 

three maneuver Combat Training 

Centers, creates a realistic training 

environment that includes Joint, 

Interagency, Intergovernmental and 

Multinational partners against a 

wide range of opportunistic threats.

Sequestration has had an immediate 

impact on the Army’s ability to 

train at every level – individual 

Soldier, Brigade Combat Team 

and deployable headquarters. We 

may be forced to cancel all but 2 

of the remaining FY 13 brigade-
2013 Army Posture Statement 7

The Army’s Ready and Resilient Campaign enhances readiness 

for the Total Force by tailoring prevention and response 

measures to promote physical and mental fitness, emotional 

stability, personal growth and dignity and respect for all. An 

integral part of this campaign is the Comprehensive Soldier 

and Family Fitness Program, which strengthens Soldiers, 

Family members and Army Civilians by addressing physical, 

emotional, family, spiritual and social fitness collectively. 

Healthy Soldiers, Families and Civilians perform better, are 

more resilient and improve unit readiness. 

The challenges associated with suicide directly affect the force. 

It is a complex phenomenon that reflects broader societal 

problems and defies easy solutions. To better understand 

psychological health issues, the Army has partnered with 

a number of agencies to assess mental health risk and help 

commanders effectively address this persistent problem. 

In collaboration with the National Institute of Mental 

Health, the Army is examining risk and resilience factors 

among Soldiers in the largest behavioral health study of its 

kind ever undertaken. The study will develop data-driven 

methods to reduce or prevent suicide behaviors and improve 

Soldiers’ overall mental health. The objective is to identify 

the most important risk and protective factors, and then act 

on them. Programs that improve Soldier and Family access 

to care, while reducing stigma, are essential to our efforts. 

The Embedded Behavioral Health program, which is being 

established for all operational units in the Active Army, is a 

leading example of how we are redesigning behavioral health 

services to improve the care that our Soldiers receive.

The Army is committed to providing quality care for our 

wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and their Families. During 

2012, six new warrior transition complexes were completed, 

allow us to continue to recruit and retain these high quality 

Soldiers. A precipitous drawdown, which may be necessary 

if sequestration is fully implemented over the coming years, 

will have lasting impacts on the quality of the force.

The Army is committed to ensuring that female Soldiers are 

provided career opportunities that enable them to reach their 

highest potential while enhancing overall Army readiness. 

Over the last year, the Army opened more than 13,000 

positions to women. In January 2013, the Department of 

Defense rescinded the Direct Ground Combat Definition and 

Assignment Rule, thus enabling the elimination of unnecessary 

gender-based restrictions for assignment. The Army is currently 

developing, reviewing and validating occupational standards, 

with the aim of fully integrating women into occupational 

fields to the maximum extent possible. We are proceeding in 

a deliberate, measured and responsible way that preserves unit 

readiness, cohesion and morale.

Ready and Resilient

Caring for the Army means doing our best to prepare 

Soldiers, Civilians and Families for the rigors of Army life. 

The Army remains committed to providing Soldiers and 

Families with a quality of life commensurate with their service. We continue to review our investments and eliminate 

redundant and poor performing programs. But a difficult 

fiscal reality may also require us to cancel or underfund essential programs that are among the most beneficial to our 

Families. The Army will make every effort to protect essential Army Family Programs, but they will be unavoidably 

affected by workforce reductions, cuts to base sustainment 

funding and the elimination of contracts.
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE 8

Develop Adaptive Leaders

One of our greatest advantages is our officers and noncommissioned officers, and the Army’s ability to provide 

strategic landpower depends on the quality of these leaders. 

While we can recruit and train Soldiers in relatively short 

order, the Army cannot build leaders in a similar timeframe. 

Army leaders must be innovative, possess a willingness to 

accept prudent risk in unfamiliar, highly complex and 

dangerous environments and display an ability to adjust 

based on continuous assessment. As we face an uncertain 

future with an uncertain level of resources, we must prudently 

commit to the one certain, high-payoff investment – our 

leaders. Training, education and experience are the pillars of 

our leader development strategy, and we have many initiatives 

underway to ensure we cultivate, manage and optimize the 

talent of our leaders. We are instituting a program to match 

personal history and informal skills to duty assignments. We 

are implementing and improving our 360-degree assessment 

programs for officers and are making 360-degree assessments 

prerequisites to assume command at the lieutenant colonel 

and colonel levels. We are dramatically increasing the 

opportunity for and emphasis on broadening experiences 

and have increased the number of fellowships for our officers 

in government, industry and academia. Cuts to institutional 

and unit training, due to sequestration and continuing fiscal 

uncertainty, will degrade our ability to develop leaders and 

will have long-term impacts on the readiness of the force.

which consist of barracks, administrative facilities and a 

Soldier and Family Assistance Center. Medical innovation 

and groundbreaking research in areas such as traumatic 

brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder are helping 

us improve the care we provide our wounded Soldiers. Our 

command climate must foster an environment in which 

Soldiers can seek assistance without stigma.

Sexual Harassment / Assault 

Response and Prevention Program

The Army continues to employ the Sexual Harassment / 

Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP) to 

eliminate sexual assault and harassment within our ranks. 

Active and engaged leadership is central to helping the Army 

community understand that a climate that respects and 

grants dignity to every member of the Army family increases 

our combat readiness. The Army will reinforce a culture in 

our basic training units, our officer training courses and 

our operational units in which sexual harassment, sexual 

assault and hazing are not tolerated, and if they occur are 

dealt with rapidly and justly. We are adding 902 full-time 

military and civilian sexual assault response coordinators and 

victim advocates to each brigade level unit, certifying those 

personnel, and executing more frequent command climate 

surveys in units. We have begun the hiring process for the 

446 civilian positions.

The Army has increased emphasis on investigations, 

prosecutions and laboratory resources needed to effectively 

build cases in order to ensure each alleged incident is 

adequately investigated, and if found credible, prosecuted 

to the full extent of the law. All unrestricted sexual assault 

allegations are referred to the Criminal Investigation Division, 

where we have added four highly qualified expert criminal 

investigators and six expert military attorneys and 20 specially 

trained agents who pursue their investigations independent 

of the command. We have also hired 30 additional Lab 

Examiners. Our 20 Special Victim Prosecutors educate 

and support the victim and provide advice and counsel to 

the criminal investigators as well as commanders. 

Sequestration and associated Civilian furloughs will degrade 

all aspects of our SHARP efforts, from slowing hiring 

actions, to delaying lab results which hinders our ability to 

provide resolution for victims.
2013 Army Posture Statement 9

Organic and Commercial Industrial Base

The Army will deliberately draw down force and production 

levels to fulfill the strategic guidance we have received. Aware 

that the future may bring unexpected crises, we must retain 

the ability to regenerate capabilities quickly in response to 

unforeseen emergencies. It is critical that we find the right 

balance between our organic and the commercial industrial 

bases. The ability to reduce the industrial base in times of 

peace but surge as required remains essential to equipping 

the Army, the Joint Force, and, in many cases, our allies and 

coalition partners. The current fiscal environment threatens 

the retention of critical skill sets in our depots, arsenals 

and ammunition plants. Fiscal uncertainty in FY 13 led to 

delays in awarding many new contracts. Industry also began 

laying off workers and postponed hiring actions due to the 

slowdown in funding.

Acquisition Reform

The Army continues to reform the way it develops and 

acquires services and materiel through a capability portfolio 

review process. This approach exposes redundancies and 

ensures that funds are properly programmed in accordance 

with Combatant Commanders’ requests, wartime lessons 

learned, progressive readiness and affordability. The 

Army develops capabilities through Army research and 

development processes, collaborating with other Services, 

industry, academia and international partners to identify and 

harvest technologies suitable for transition to the force.

Modernization Strategy

The Army must maintain the technological edge over 

potential adversaries, enabling the force to prevail in all 

domains. The Army for the future requires capabilities that 

are versatile and tailorable, yet affordable and cost effective. 

The Army modernization effort goes beyond materiel 

and equipment solutions. It is a comprehensive strategy 

that includes doctrine, organizations, training, leadership, 

personnel and facilities. The heart of the strategy is the 

use of mature technologies and incremental upgrades of 

existing equipment, while balancing research investments 

between evolutionary and disruptive technologies. The 

modernization strategy is also supported by a risk-based 

assessment to identify candidate capabilities for complete 

divestiture. Divestiture decisions will reduce total costs and 

preserve our ability to sustain the force.

Equipment Modernization and Reset

As we prepare for the future, we will need to invest 

considerable time and resources to restore equipment used in 

combat operations to an acceptable level of readiness through 

reset operations, a combination of repair, replacement, 

recapitalization and transition. At the same time, other 

pressing modernization needs require attention and 

investment. The long-term nature of sequestration budget 

reductions puts each of the Army’s investment priorities 

at risk. All acquisition priorities and many equipment 

modernization programs may face unanticipated schedule or 

cost impacts in the out years.

The Army will require Overseas Contingency Operations 

funding for equipment reset for 3 years after the last piece 

of equipment has been retrograded from Afghanistan. This 

funding will support the substantial workload required for 

equipment retrograde, induction and repair, a process that can 

take up to 3 years for some items such as crash and battle 

damaged aircraft. FY 13 budget reductions have already placed 

the Army at a disadvantage, forcing the cancellation of depot 

maintenance that will delay required repairs and upgrades.
America’s Army: sERVICE TO THE NATION, STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE 10

must have the right information at the right time to make 

the decisions essential to mission success. Consequently, the 

Army is building a single, secure, standards-based, versatile 

network that connects Soldiers and their equipment to vital 

information and our Joint, interagency, intergovernmental 

and multinational partners. It is critical that network 

modernization and sustainment efforts meet the ever-growing 

demand for tactical and business-related information and 

enterprise services in a timely manner and at an affordable cost.

Ensuring freedom of maneuver in cyberspace and protecting 

our information and the Network is a continuing Army 

priority. The Army must strengthen its cyber security 

and network defense by building secure and resilient 

network environments, providing greater situational 

awareness, expanding programs for ensuring compliance 

with information assurance policies and best practices, 

and increasing training for all technical and non-technical 

personnel. To ensure the Army can dominate adversaries 

in both land and cyber domains, a full range of cyberspace 

capabilities must be available in support of the combatant 

commander, including well-trained cyber warriors, cyberspace 

operational freedom and assured mission command. This 

will require investment not only in technology, but also in 

people and process improvement.

Ground Combat Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle

The Army’s top two vehicle modernization programs are the 

Ground Combat Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. 

As a replacement for the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, 

the Ground Combat Vehicle will accommodate a full nineman infantry squad in a vehicle that features increased 

underbelly and ballistic protection with scalable armor that 

provides maximum mission flexibility. The Ground Combat 

Vehicle will also provide sufficient space and power to host 

the Army’s advanced network, increasing the effectiveness 

of the vehicle in any threat environment. The Army is 

developing the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to fill capability 

gaps in the light wheeled vehicle fleet, carefully balancing 

payload, performance and protection. The Joint Light Tactical 

Vehicle combines an increased level of protection with 

improved mobility and transportability. It is also the Army’s 

first network-ready vehicle. Together, this integrated team of 

vehicles will be capable of dominating across the range of 

military operations and allow for incremental improvements.

Soldier Systems

The centerpiece of the Army Modernization Strategy is the 

Soldier and the squad. The Soldier portfolio focuses on 

equipment vital for squad success and empowers and enables 

squads with improved lethality, protection and situational 

awareness. It also includes resources to develop leaders 

and train Soldiers to take advantage of new or improved 

capabilities. Planned improvements for dismounted Soldiers 

include a mission command system that allows Soldiers 

to see each other’s positions, mark hazards collaboratively 

and access on-the-move broadband voice, data and video 

capabilities. This unprecedented situational awareness, 

coupled with the continued fielding of advanced sensors and 

lightweight small arms systems, will ensure that our Soldiers 

and squads remain the best in the world.

The Network and Investment in Cyber Capabilities

The Network, also known as LandWarNet, is critical to 

empowering our Soldiers. Our senior leaders and Soldiers 
2013 Army Posture Statement 11

Sequestration budget cuts and continuing fiscal uncertainty 

have placed us on the outer edge of acceptable risk for 

our future force. The Army must be capable of providing 

strategic landpower that can prevent conflict, shape the 

environment and win the Nation’s wars. Preventing conflict 

demands presence, shaping the environment demands 

presence, restoring the peace demands presence, and more 

often than not, that presence proudly wears the uniform of 

an American Soldier.

Closing

The American people have learned time and again that they 

can trust their Army to protect our national interests at home 

and abroad. Over the past 12 years of conflict, our Army has 

proven itself in arguably the most difficult environment we 

have ever faced. Our leaders at every level have displayed 

unparalleled ingenuity, flexibility and adaptability. Our 

Soldiers have displayed mental and physical toughness and 

courage under fire. They have transformed the Army into 

the most versatile, agile, rapidly deployable and sustainable 

strategic land force in the world.

We live in an uncertain world, which often requires a military 

response to protect our national security interests. When that 

time comes, the Army must be ready to answer the Nation’s 

call. We cannot take the readiness of the force for granted. 
Medal

ofHonor

Medal

ofHonor

Recipient: Staff Sergeant

Clinton L. Romesha

United States Army

John McHugh

Secretary of the Army

www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3482/romesha-clinton-l.php

“And no medal in American history casts a greater shadow than that of the Medal of Honor. It is 

recognition of uncommon courage, a tribute to extraordinary valor; and its size and its weight are not 

measured in inches and not measured in ounces -- but, rather, in deeds and in history”

“And no medal in American history casts a greater shadow than that of the Medal of Honor. It is 

recognition of uncommon courage, a tribute to extraordinary valor; and its size and its weight are not 

measured in inches and not measured in ounces -- but, rather, in deeds and in history”
Soldiers Deployed and Forward Stationed

168,520 SOLDIERS IN NEARLY 150 COUNTRIES

NORTHERN COMMAND PACIFIC COMMAND CENTRAL COMMAND EUROPEAN COMMAND

800 Soldiers Deployed

33,830 Forward Stationed

34,630 Total in Region

67,680 Soldiers Deployed

0 Forward Stationed

67,680 Total in Region

400 Soldiers Deployed

57,910 Forward Stationed

58,301 Total in Region

2,550 Soldiers Deployed

0 Forward Stationed

2,550 Total in Region

800

33,830

34,630

67,680

0

67,680 

0

2,550

2,550 400

57,910

58,310

1,000 Soldiers Deployed 1,500 Soldiers Deployed

1,500 Total in Region

AFRICA COMMAND SOUTHERN COMMAND

EUROPE

33,830 SOLDIERS

AFGHANISTAN

54,370 SOLDIERS

IRAQ

120 SOLDIERS

KUWAIT

10,640 SOLDIERS

QATAR

1,920 SOLDIERS

HORN OF AFRICA

1,000 SOLDIERS

SINAI

630 SOLDIERS

BALKANS

800 SOLDIERS

HOMELAND SECURITY

2,550 SOLDIERS

GUANTANAMO

1,140 SOLDIERS

CENTRAL AMERICA

360 SOLDIERS

SOUTH KOREA

19,880 SOLDIERS

JAPAN

2,420 SOLDIERS

OTHER OPERATIONS 

& EXERCISES

2,850 SOLDIERS

PHILIPPINES

400 SOLDIERS

HAWAII

22,170 SOLDIERS

1,000

0

1,000

1,500

0

ALASKA

13,440 SOLDIERS

0 Forward Stationed

1,000 Total in Region

0 Forward Stationed

1,500