Military readies plans to reinforce troops in Afghanistan

The Joint Forces Command, which has the responsibility of providing the forces the combat commanders need, has identified units and capabilities that could meet the demand for additional troops in Afghanistan and has provided the Joint Chiefs of Staff with options to meet those requirements, the deputy commander said on Tuesday.

"When it comes to requirements for the combatant commanders ... we are able to drill down and know the readiness of each unit" and know which are available to deploy, Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward said. "We're able to identify with great specificity what units are available" and are "in a better position to allocate those resources," Harward said at a breakfast with defense writers.

Harward said he believed the command could meet Army Gen. David McKiernan's request for 20,000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year. He would not identify which units could go, because that decision will be made by the Joint Chiefs and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. But he said the command has identified both "enablers" -- such as engineers, Navy Seabees, explosive ordnance disposal teams and communications personnel -- and combat units.

The admiral also would not comment on whether it would require a faster drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq to provide more troops for Afghanistan, noting that was for his superiors to decide. "We're able to frame the options," and describe the risks involved in the different choices, said Harward, a veteran Navy SEAL who has served several combat tours in Afghanistan.

His command has recently enhanced authority to make recommendations on requirements for new weapons and Harward emphasized the need for additional unmanned aerial vehicles and other intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. "UAVs and ISR are growth industries" and capabilities "we all need," he said. "I don't see future military operations without them."

Harward said they had doubled the number of UAV flights in the two combat theaters in the last year, but "we don't meet the requirements." Another procurement priority he cited was simulation systems to help train ground forces. Although large sums have been spent on simulators to train pilots, he said the technology would greatly improve training for ground units and reduce the need for costly maneuvers by large forces.

Harward discussed the command's recently released publication that explores the world conditions, threats and challenges that U.S. joint forces would face and the implications for the future force. The Joint Operating Environment 2008 document predicts U.S. forces will be engaged frequently in combat, most of which will be irregular conflicts against "non-state actors" such as terrorists. In those engagements, human factors such as flexible, well-trained leaders will be more important than technology, the report said.

But the report also warns that to reduce the threat of war, the United States must be prepared to wage a major war against a strong nation or coalition of states. It identifies China as perhaps the biggest potential threat and notes the re-emergence of Russia. That call for the capabilities to fight a major conventional war could clash with Gates' focus on the irregular conflicts and his protest of the services' requests for expensive new weapons, which he calls "next-waritis."

The report argues for retaining a strong nuclear deterrent force because of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. President-elect Barack Obama has urged reduction in U.S. nuclear weapons to promote a "nuclear-free world."