Planning difficult with deployments, Army chief says
Service leader also acknowledges that soldiers don’t get enough time off between deployments.
Army Chief of Staff George Casey on Tuesday said his heavily deployed force is "out of balance" after six years of operations overseas.
The Army is "consumed" with meeting current demands, making it difficult to prepare forces as rapidly as service leaders would like for future contingencies, Casey said during a speech at the National Press Club. Casey, who served as the top military commander in Iraq before taking over as Army chief in April, also acknowledged that soldiers do not have "acceptable" time off between deployments.
"This is a temporary state and one we must pass through quickly if we are to preserve and maintain our all-volunteer force," Casey said. Despite the strain of constant deployments, Casey said his force still can meet the demands of what is expected to be a "period of protracted confrontation" over the next several decades.
"Over time, these operations have stretched and, as a result, have stressed our all-volunteer force," Casey said. "But we remain a resilient and committed professional force."
Efforts to grow the size of the Army by 65,000 troops will require "considerable resources and sustained national commitment" but will ease deployment pressures, Casey added.
Casey also stressed that Army officials do not plan to reinstate a military draft, even as the weight of constant deployments bears down on the all-volunteer Army. "Right now, there is absolutely no consideration, at least within the Army, being given to reinstating the draft," Casey said. "We are not to that point."
Casey's comments come just days after White House Deputy National Security Adviser Douglas Lute said in a National Public Radio interview that the draft has always been "an option on the table."
Casey said the Army must continue to transform into a more versatile and agile fighting force for future contingencies. The service is transforming brigades into more modular units, while also developing the $160 billion Future Combat Systems, the most expensive and ambitious technological undertaking in the Army's history.
The future Army, Casey said, must be able to deal with uncertainties and respond to a wide range of operations against state and non-state enemies. "One thing we know is that we won't get the future exactly right," he said.