Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
DefenseNews.com
September 30, 2008
By Kris Osborn
The U.S. Army will launch a wide-ranging energy-efficiency initiative that will, for example, try to reduce vehicles' fuel use and put related issues squarely in sights of Army acquisition officials, Army Secretary Pete Geren said.
"We want to think about energy efficiency when thinking about acquisition," Geren said Sept. 29 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "How do you look at the life cycle cost of a weapons system? What is the challenge of delivering fuel to some remote area of Afghanistan? That is one of the issues that is driving requirements for FCS," or Future Combat Systems.
"Last Friday, I signed a charter to create a senior energy executive in the Army and to build a team that will work across the Army and try to break down the stovepipes," the secretary said.
Details are still being finalized, but one aim is to reduce the logistical and financial burden associated with transporting fuel across the battlefield.
Geren expressed also concern that funds for Army modernization, reset, personnel and continued conflict could be reduced in years to come.
"If you look back over our nation's history, we tend at the end of every conflict to draw down our defense budget and spend our money elsewhere. I think that is a real challenge for some of these long-term programs. It's a challenge for FCS, a challenge for tactical vehicles and a challenge for these helicopter modernization programs as well. As an Army, we have to be very concerned about this," said Geren.
The Army transformation, which has taken place over the last seven years of war, needs to continue, Geren said.
"We need to modernize and reset. We are going to have to learn to do things more cost effectively and more efficiently. We have to look at the next eight or nine years as involving considerable risk. We need to make sure we don't end up with bunch of half-done systems," he said.
Citing the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP), OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter and Abrams main battle tank, Geren said reset and modernization efforts need to continue.
"The innovation of war allows us to push at a rapid pace allows us to transform. I think this will continue because this is driven the evolving threat. We have a very adaptive enemy and we need to stay ahead of it. Soldiers today are equipped differently, trained differently than they were seven years ago. That transformation can never stop," said Geren.
Geren also emphasized the full-spectrum of operations outlined in the Army's FM3-0 field manual, saying that information operations, strategic communications and elements of nation-building will be needed alongside traditional combat operations.
"In the 21st century, wars are not won when the enemy is Army is defeated in a battle. Today, a war may not be one until the conditions that spawn hostility change. That is asking a lot of our soldiers, but they are missions that are critical to the safety of our nation and our citizens," said Geren.
In fact, part of the full-spectrum approach includes finding ways to deal with emerging threats from cyberspace.
"Anyone with a laptop, a digital camera and a cell phone can have worldwide reach. The enemy has learned to exploit that reach and our enemy is using strategic communications to kill American forces.
"We must learn to dominate that domain as well as we can operate an Abrams tank. The enemy has a tactical edge because the enemy is unconstrained by the truth. We see today how Al Qaeda can launch a self-serving lie and often we're playing catch up. We must cultivate a sense of urgency, proactive and anticipatory, in the information domain comparable to that of the kinetic battlefield," Geren said.
Geren also said that in the event of a new crisis, the Air Force and Navy would be able to take on new missions if large portions of the Army were already deployed.
"If an enemy thinks that this [being largely deployed] provides an opportunity for them, they should know we have other capabilities in our national arsenal. If we were challenged, some missions that might be given to the Army would be given to the Air Force and Navy. They might do things differently, but they certainly have the power to deliver lethal force upon any enemy that might challenge us," Geren said.
September 30, 2008
By Kris Osborn
The U.S. Army will launch a wide-ranging energy-efficiency initiative that will, for example, try to reduce vehicles' fuel use and put related issues squarely in sights of Army acquisition officials, Army Secretary Pete Geren said.
"We want to think about energy efficiency when thinking about acquisition," Geren said Sept. 29 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "How do you look at the life cycle cost of a weapons system? What is the challenge of delivering fuel to some remote area of Afghanistan? That is one of the issues that is driving requirements for FCS," or Future Combat Systems.
"Last Friday, I signed a charter to create a senior energy executive in the Army and to build a team that will work across the Army and try to break down the stovepipes," the secretary said.
Details are still being finalized, but one aim is to reduce the logistical and financial burden associated with transporting fuel across the battlefield.
Geren expressed also concern that funds for Army modernization, reset, personnel and continued conflict could be reduced in years to come.
"If you look back over our nation's history, we tend at the end of every conflict to draw down our defense budget and spend our money elsewhere. I think that is a real challenge for some of these long-term programs. It's a challenge for FCS, a challenge for tactical vehicles and a challenge for these helicopter modernization programs as well. As an Army, we have to be very concerned about this," said Geren.
The Army transformation, which has taken place over the last seven years of war, needs to continue, Geren said.
"We need to modernize and reset. We are going to have to learn to do things more cost effectively and more efficiently. We have to look at the next eight or nine years as involving considerable risk. We need to make sure we don't end up with bunch of half-done systems," he said.
Citing the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP), OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter and Abrams main battle tank, Geren said reset and modernization efforts need to continue.
"The innovation of war allows us to push at a rapid pace allows us to transform. I think this will continue because this is driven the evolving threat. We have a very adaptive enemy and we need to stay ahead of it. Soldiers today are equipped differently, trained differently than they were seven years ago. That transformation can never stop," said Geren.
Geren also emphasized the full-spectrum of operations outlined in the Army's FM3-0 field manual, saying that information operations, strategic communications and elements of nation-building will be needed alongside traditional combat operations.
"In the 21st century, wars are not won when the enemy is Army is defeated in a battle. Today, a war may not be one until the conditions that spawn hostility change. That is asking a lot of our soldiers, but they are missions that are critical to the safety of our nation and our citizens," said Geren.
In fact, part of the full-spectrum approach includes finding ways to deal with emerging threats from cyberspace.
"Anyone with a laptop, a digital camera and a cell phone can have worldwide reach. The enemy has learned to exploit that reach and our enemy is using strategic communications to kill American forces.
"We must learn to dominate that domain as well as we can operate an Abrams tank. The enemy has a tactical edge because the enemy is unconstrained by the truth. We see today how Al Qaeda can launch a self-serving lie and often we're playing catch up. We must cultivate a sense of urgency, proactive and anticipatory, in the information domain comparable to that of the kinetic battlefield," Geren said.
Geren also said that in the event of a new crisis, the Air Force and Navy would be able to take on new missions if large portions of the Army were already deployed.
"If an enemy thinks that this [being largely deployed] provides an opportunity for them, they should know we have other capabilities in our national arsenal. If we were challenged, some missions that might be given to the Army would be given to the Air Force and Navy. They might do things differently, but they certainly have the power to deliver lethal force upon any enemy that might challenge us," Geren said.