Association of the United States Army Voice for the Army—Support for the Soldier April 2015

The U.S. Army in Motion in the Pacific

One of the things that’s changed in the world is the velocity of instability and the necessity to deploy our capabilities simultaneously to several different continents at the same time. General Raymond T. Odierno Chief of Staff, Army1

Introduction Today’s U.S. Army—active, Guard, Reserve— faces an extremely complex and uncertain strategic operating environment. Coming decades are likely to be marked by persistent engagement and conflict— confrontation by state, nonstate and/or individual actors who use violence to achieve their political and ideological ends. Globalization and technology, radicalism, population growth, resource competition, climate change and natural disasters, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and safe havens are but some of the major trends of the 21st century security environment. The potential for cascading effects from combinations of events or crises arising from these is critical, both for the operational and the in- formidable trends compounds the risks and implica- stitutional Army.2 tions for the nation and its allies and partners. In this The Army’s senior leadership has added “set the environment, the Army—as part of the joint force— theater” (i.e., presence with the purpose of increasing will continue to have a central, enduring role in im- capabilities and capacities) and “shape security en- plementing the national security strategy, resulting in vironments” (i.e., work to further partner and allied a high demand for Army forces and capabilities. relationships and foster understanding and coopera- Army forces will be essential components of tion) as core competencies to emphasize the Army’s joint operations to create sustainable political role in providing options to joint force commanders outcomes while defeating enemies and ad- across the range of operations, including large-scale versaries who will challenge U.S. advantages combat operations, limited contingencies, security in all domains: land, air, maritime, space and force assistance, humanitarian assistance and disas- cyberspace. Joint operations are critical to ter relief. This is in keeping with the Army Operating cope with such complexity, and the Army’s Concept (AOC), which calls for regionally engaged contribution must provide unique capabilities and aligned Army forces to establish a “global land- and multiple options to the President, Secre- power network,” shape security environments and tary of Defense and combatant commanders. prevent conflict. The presence or arrival of credible These capabilities include tailorable and scal- Army forces demonstrates U.S. resolve and commit- 3 able combinations of special operations and ment to partners and adversaries. conventional forces, regionally aligned and While developing this concept, Army senior lead-

The U.S.The Army in Motion in the Pacific globally responsive combined-arms teams ership began to prudently invest Army resources in and foundational theater capabilities to en- the Indo–Asia–Pacific region to meet current require- able joint operations. To do this, innovation ments and build flexibility for the future. The 2012

1 Michelle Tan, “Many Missions, Fewer Soldiers,” Army Times interview with General Raymond T. Odierno, 25 September 2014. 2 General Raymond T. Odierno, Foreword, “Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World,” U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Pamphlet 525-3-1, 31 October 2014. It describes how future Army forces will prevent conflict, shape security environments and win wars while operating as part of the joint force and working with multiple partners. 3 General David G. Perkins, Preface, “Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World,” TRADOC Pam 525-3-1, 31 October 2014. and other commands such as the 351st Civil Affairs Com- Army Forces in the Pacific mand, an Army Reserve command headquartered in Moun- The Army is a global force which currently has 45,000 Sol- tain View, California. The Army “fenced” USARPAC forces diers deployed and 80,000 forward-stationed worldwide in from the global force management pool and increased man- 150 countries. The Pacific theater, with its vast distances and ning priorities in Korea. It bolstered and made available its diverse climates and populations, serves as a perfect test-bed Indo–Asia–Pacific regionally aligned forces—defined as all for the Army Operating Concept. The Indo–Asia–Pacific region forces focused on that area of responsibility (AOR), includ- spans 9,000 miles from the Maldives to California, covering ing permanently-based, forward-positioned and rotational 13 time zones, 105 million square miles and 50 percent of the forces—for use by the commander, U.S. Pacific Command Earth’s surface area. The region encompasses more than 1,000 (USPACOM). Today USARPAC is the Army’s largest Army languages and every type of climate. USPACOM’s AOR comprises service component command (ASCC). The Army now has 36 nations and territories (27 of which have armed forces), as well as six of the world’s 10 largest armies and five of seven U.S. an opportunity—through an innovation called Pacific Path- mutual-defense treaty alliances. USPACOM, through its assigned ways—to put its new concept into practice. forces, enhances stability in the region by promoting security Pacific Pathways cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, For many decades, Army forces in the Pacific have con- fighting to win. This approach is based on partnership, presence ducted exercises and engagements with allies and partners and military readiness. to enhance training opportunities and sustain expeditionary skills. These have been so successful that allies and partners Since the Army has made a significant investment in rebalancing to the AOR, USARPAC, as the Army service component command requested additional exercises of increased complexity as to USPACOM, now has approximately 106,000 active and reserve well as more bilateral training and exchanges. Just as im- component Soldiers assigned and/or aligned to the command. portant, U.S. interests have been strengthened by them. Un- USARPAC engages with regional partners and allies in more like previous postwar periods, the Army is not required to than 130 events in 34 countries annually. The largest service establish new permanent bases; in fact, it is facing unprece- component command in the theater, the Army in the Pacific has a dented fiscal conditions forcing it to reduce its endstrength, storied history, having earned 63 campaign streamers in its 116 possibly well below what Army senior leaders assess as years of continuous presence in the Pacific theater. prudent.4 Without permanent basing and with increasingly Since the 1953 Korean War Armistice, the U.S. Army Pacific has diminished funding, the challenge has become how to in- had a continuous force presence forward-stationed in Korea. The crease the quality and quantity of engagements with allies presence and capabilities of these “ready to fight tonight” forces and partners in the region in a cost-effective manner. Pacific in Korea, as well as the Army footprint in since World War Pathways has demonstrated that this challenge could be met II, have enabled Northeast Asia to recover both economically and and has validated the elements, tenets and operational art politically from a devastating World War while maintaining stabili- described in the AOC. ty during the Cold War. The presence of U.S. Army forces signaled then, as it does now, U.S. resolve and commitment to the region. Simply stated, Pacific Pathways—a deployment de- These forces’ contribution cannot be overstated. rived from a brigade combat team (BCT) augmented with This presence and the close relationships fostered between the mission command capability, aviation, sustainment and U.S. Army and host nations have yielded more than bilateral other enablers—participates in multiple joint and Army bi- mutual security benefits—they have created opportunities to lateral exercises that already exist in the USPACOM AOR. engage with nations throughout the region through multilateral This takes place after the unit has participated in a Combat exercises, exchanges and dialog. Training Center (CTC) rotation—the pinnacle of the U.S. Army’s institutional training readiness system. The highly National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the subsequent 2014 trained and ready task force must accomplish major exer- NDS emphasized a whole-of-government focus on the secu- cise objectives developed jointly with allies and partners. rity and prosperity of the Indo–Asia–Pacific region. To sup- The units deploy from home stations at the peak of read- port this strategy, the Army assigned a four-star general offi- iness to “cut pathways” across the region, moving from one cer to lead the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), the first since exercise to the next (as intermediate objectives for the over- 1974, and began to resource the rebalance in other tangible all operation) over the span of about 90 days. Existing bilat- ways. In the past 30 months, the Army has increased the forc- eral exercises are the centerpiece; other training events and es assigned and available to the theater by approximately 40 activities, such as table-top exercises, subject-matter-expert percent. It made available I Corps and additional units based exchanges and unit exchanges requested by allies and part- at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington, as well as the ners, complement the exercises and continue to build unit 25th Infantry Division, the 8th Theater Support Command readiness between the conclusion of one named exercise

4 Amaani Lyle, “Service Chiefs Testify on Risks of Sequestration,” American Forces Press Service, 7 November 2013.

2 www.ausa.org Pacific Pathways 2014

Orient Shield (Japan) 24 October−5 November 2014

Home Station & Training Center 6 June−9 July 2014 Keris Strike () 13−27 September 2014 Garuda Shield () 1−30 September 2014

Participating U.S. Soldiers and Equipment A battalion-sized element consisting of approximately 700 Soldiers from the 2-2 Infantry (Stryker) Task Force, plus about 500 enabling troops from support units with Army aircraft, Stryker vehicles and other supporting equipment.

Strategic Benefits Rebalance U.S. Army Readiness and Responsiveness • Tangible demonstration of U.S. commitment to Indo–Asia–Pacific • Provides greater mission and fiscal predictability for U.S. Army forces region security and stability • Develops adaptive leaders and Soldiers for complex missions Persistent Engagement • Provides additional Army capabilities and flexible options for U.S. • Deepens and broadens U.S. Army relationships with allied and Pacific Command partner nations at both collective and individual troop levels • Supports operational preparation of the environment and contributes to • Enables partner nations to seek increased and enhanced setting the theater engagement opportunities Source: U.S. Army Pacific and the beginning of the next. This extended period of four Pacific Pathways creates a forward-presence, -expedi to six weeks in the host country improves interoperabili- tionary approach that expands and increases readiness be- ty, fosters professional relationships and develops respect yond the scope of traditional exercises conducted singular- for host-nation culture and capabilities while simultane- ly. It improves Army expeditionary capabilities by stressing ously familiarizing U.S. units with diverse operating envi- the systems that enable units to project communications ronments. Upon the conclusion of a deployment, the task across the vast expanse of the Pacific theater. It increases force returns to home station having not only improved re- readiness through expeditionary commitment into regions lationships with U.S. regional allies and partners but also other than those in which Army forces have routinely op- increased training readiness. The tailored force elements erated. This innovation is proving to be an effective way return to their respective parent organizations and rejoin the to clarify relationships among theater army, corps, divi- available pool for contingency response if required. sion and brigade command levels, with more key lessons This methodology ensures both mission and fiscal pre- learned than from the most challenging Command Post Ex- dictability as units are able to focus preparatory training ercises conducted in the past. Participation is also present- and resources on their specific pathway exercises. While ing opportunities for greater leader development as leaders the current concept leverages a CTC rotation as the pre- face real-world complexities and learn the importance of cursor to a pathway, future pathways may use improved strengthening relationships with partner-nation militaries. home-station training venues and the exportable Joint Pa- This is another example of how the Army can build agile, cific Multinational Readiness Capability training package expeditionary thinking and adaptive leaders. as a certification tool to prepare a future pathway unit for Most important, Pacific Pathways provides a tangible employment. This flexibility provides an increased- op Army rotational presence as part of the rebalance to the portunity for all available units to experience and take Indo–Asia–Pacific while also providing additional capabil- advantage of a pathway to enhance training readiness and ities for the USPACOM commander should crises emerge maintain expeditionary capabilities. This operation allows during iterations. This increases in a meaningful way the leaders and Soldiers at multiple echelons to train in the depth of military-to-military relationships and numbers of AOC while their activities contribute to USPACOM objec- Army forces and enabling capabilities available for joint tives and those of allies and partners. application in theater without additional permanent basing.

3 The Army Operating Concept in Action (I Corps: Operationalizing the Pacific Rebalance)

Tactical Operational Strategic Executing tactical tasks Integrating the instruments Applying the instruments of in a host nation to achieve Joint and Unit of national power. Theater Campaign Plan national power in the rebalance operational objectives. Readiness “Prevent and Shape” to the Pacific. Total Force Integration by leveraging the capabilities.

• Increasing U.S. presence in the Pacific • Synchronizing joint forces and capabilities • Developing adapting leaders to win • Strengthening governance through the • Developing and implementing solutions to in a complex world professionalizing of foreign militaries complex operational problems • Exposing Soldiers to different cultures, • Blending instruments of national power • Building relationships and trust environments and challenges to achieve strategic goals • Enhancing readiness

Our instruments of national power achieve the best results when used in concert as one integrated, whole-of-government effort. General Martin E. Dempsey Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Source: I Corps

Operationalizing the Pacific Rebalance variety of climates, terrain and environments. For example, Pacific Pathways is a tangible demonstration of U.S. during the preparation for the live-fire portion of the exer- commitment to the security and stability of the Indo–Asia– cise, operators of a Raven unmanned aerial system flew ap- Pacific region. It deepens and broadens U.S. Army relation- proximately 35 hours in diverse terrain, which would have ships with allied and partner nations at both the individual taken 18 months to accomplish at home station in familiar and collective levels of training. It also enables partner na- terrain. These training opportunities not only increase unit tions to seek increased and enhanced engagement opportu- readiness but also provide Soldiers and leaders with the cul- nities. Moreover, it increases Army readiness and respon- tural awareness and familiarization necessary to operate in siveness through greater mission and fiscal predictability overseas contingencies with coalition partners in joint, in- and multiple opportunities for Soldier and leader develop- teragency, intergovernmental and multinational operations. ment involving complex missions. Finally, this innovative An operation such as this—with multiple entries into approach provides additional Army capabilities and flexible and exits from sovereign foreign countries and sequenced options for USPACOM. over an extended period of time away from home station— The first deployment comprised Soldiers from the 2d demanded adaptive junior leaders and detailed planning Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, Joint Base skills in senior staff. Significant leadership development Lewis–McChord, into the Indo–Asia–Pacific region from at the tactical and operational levels resulted from this de- late August to early November 2014. This organization was ployment. augmented by units and staff from the 25th Infantry Divi- Home-station activities such as use of Family Readiness sion, I Corps and U.S. Army Japan. Throughout the dura- Groups, establishment of rear detachment commands, man- tion of the deployment, the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade’s agement of split property and development of installation critical assets—including UH-60 Black Hawk utility heli- support are typically not required for short-term exercises copters and HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation aircraft but were necessary for Pacific Pathways. Exercising these from Hawaii and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from functions is not a drill; they are required for success along Colorado—brought agility and speed to the operations. the pathway and build readiness in a way that home-station Building upon the units’ enhanced readiness gained at the training cannot. During the operation, senior leaders of the National Training Center (one of the Army’s CTCs) prior BCT developed expeditionary, distributed, decentralized to deploying into theater, the commander divided his subor- mission command from home station across the Pacific re- dinate units between annual exercises Garuda Shield in In- gion into three different host nations and maintained con- donesia and Keris Strike in Malaysia. He then consolidated stant linkage through mission command systems to division them for a culminating training exercise—Orient Shield— and corps elements that coordinated higher-level support in Japan. These three exercises offered realistic training in a for the mission. Integration and interoperability skills were

www.ausa.org 4 this first iteration was invaluable and proved to be a cost- a be to proved and invaluable was iteration first this hanced unittrainingandinteroperability. partner-nation military and government organizations—en fense Cooperation,variousStateDepartmentagencies and De- of Office Agency,Logistics Defense the unit, nuclear detachment, the chemical, biological, radiological and and otherorganizations—such as theexplosiveordinance port cycles. Support from the 807th Medical Command readiness throughaseriesofload,move,receive and sup- well asinternational coordination that increasedoperational by exercisingstrategicdeploymentassetsandsystemsas tion Command enabled units toperform assigned missions ment Command andtheSurfaceDeployment andDistribu- BCT, the25thInfantryDivision,8th Theater Sustain- tination solutions werecreated. Coordination among the origin-to-des - field-expedient various deployment, the out at all levels—strategic, operational and tactical. Through- signal supporttestedtheirflexibilityandadaptability. tions. Othercritical activities such aslogistical, medical and ment concurrentlywithothercorpsrequirements and opera- 5 5 mission command, horizons and,throughdistributed (at times expeditionary) ed thenecessity for24-houroperations, integrated planning corps staff tomaximize its operational capabilities. It dictat not experiencedotherdeploymentsoroperations. the board,particularly among juniorSoldiers,asmanyhad high across environment. Unitsreportedthatmoralewas higher thantheircurrent grades duetothecomplexity of the ers assessedthat troops routinely had toperform at levels country teamsandembassypersonnel.Notably,U.S. lead- leaders integrated with host-nation forces andlinked with honed from the highest to the lowest levels. BCT staff and

moral nerveandrestraint.For more,seetheChairmanofJointChiefsStaf challenges commanderstocultivate abiasforactionintheirsubordinates,developmutual trustandunderstandingexercise Mission commandistheconduct ofmilitaryoperationsthrough decentralized executionbaseduponmission-typeorders.It http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Publications/missioncommandwhitepaper2012.pdf. The enhanced readinessandtraininggarneredfrom Logistics planningandsynchronization were exercised Leaders atICorpsnotedthattheiteration forced the 5 allowed I Corpstoexecute the deploy- www.ausa.org - - state objective of three 90-day rotational pathway deploy theater objectives. through active employment of itscapabilities in supportof shaping operations, I Corpswill continue to build readiness erational lead for future deployments. Through these vital en it is a strong integrating headquarters and will be the op- sets. Already certified as a joint task force, I Corps has prov- lift, aswellthecontinued use ofprepositioned equipment the joint force—with air and maritime strategic and theater ing years asthe concept is further integrated—as part of ness. This responsivenesswill onlybeincreased in thecom- Command in addition to enhancing strategic responsive- Pacific U.S. of commander the for options flexible and ties capabili additional provide Pacific the to alignment cated deters andde-escalatesconflictinthePacific. operational-level thinkers andadaptiveleaders asitactively cept is a vital tool that the Army can leverage to develop link observedoutcomestofuturerequirements. The con- of futureoperations and allow commanders at all levels to design the shape teams, country with conjunction PAC,in ronments. Operational assessments conducted by USAR- headquarters cannotachieveinhome-stationtrainingenvi- a campaign qualitythatbrigade-,division-andcorps-level provide they environment, security the shape and conflict prevent to Plan Campaign Theater the within objectives to major exercises withinthe AOR andaretieddirectly back WayThe Ahead mand atthecorps,divisionandBCT levels. additional training including the exercising of missioncom- three exercisesforapproximately half thecostandgained same the accomplished Pathways Pacific significant. were under theolddesign,costsforthreeseparate exercises gle exercise and thenreturnedtohomestation.Moreover, cises, individual units wereable to participate in onlyasin- long-standing partnership-andalliance-strengthening exer the theater. Underthe previous model for conducting these effective means toeffect strategic engagement throughout of theefficienciesinherent intheconcept. ties dedicated for the specific pathway and available because exercises requestedbypartnernations—additionalcapabili pabilities tosupportthemorecomplexbilateraltraining and These trainedandreadyforceswillalsobringadditional ca and exchangeswithalliespartnerswithineachrotation. tical support.Italsomaximizesengagementopportunities logis efficient enables construct year. This fiscal per ments SRA’ invtv apoc ad Crs dedi- Corps’ I and approach innovative USARPAC’s Because Pacific Pathways operations involve a series of The Commanding General, USARPAC, has set a steady- f’s “MissionCommand White Paper,” 3 April 2012, ------

The U.S. Army in Motion in the Pacific The U.S. Army in Motion in the Pacific to austere port environments on the Pacific Rim litto Rim Pacific the on environments port austere to equipment and troops carry can and long feet 174 are crew,13-Soldier a with each assets, sealift operational Craft Utility2000(LCU2000)vessels. These smaller Landing Army’s the are operations Pathways Pacific with flexible, responsive and cost-effective opera cost-effective and responsive flexible, with contracted a Military Sealift Command (MSC) Ko coordination withU.S. Transportation Command, Japan, Korea, andthePhilippines. cooperation engagements with U.S. Pacific partners in movements fromKoreatoJapan;andmultipletheater between KoreaandJapan;JointMunitions Command retrograde operations; Air Forcecontainermovement Force–Pacific Task Operations Special Joint ercises; Force ammunitionandequipmentmovementstoex joint operations,includingIIIMarineExpeditionary tional sealiftcapability. They havesupportedmyriad integration forfuturemissionsandcontingencies. to conductreception,staging,onwardmovementand ployment exercise mission command and units’ ability Army portoperationsthroughouteachstageofthisde requirements. joint fulfilling while Army the to costs opportunity forallcommandsinvolvedandreducing and beyond, thus providing an additional cost-sharing 2015 throughout operations over-the-shore logistics LCUs willalsoparticipateinandsupportjoint in-stream ship-to-shoretransferandsea-basing. The joint operationsandasaconnectortolarger vesselsfor commander withincreasedoveralllogisticssupportto USPACOM the providing by options responsiveness strategic enhance watercraft Army These PULSE-W. or Enabler–Watercraft, Support Logistics and Utility and engagement events. Their mission is called Pacific in support of Pacific Pathways and theater cooperation rals. Currentlythereare two LCUs executing missions in the Western Pacific. while the vessel executes Pacific Pathways operations such ashumanitarianassistanceanddisasterrelief crises to respond to flexibility USPACOMenhanced commander the providing as well as readiness and USPACOMtraining on impact positive direct a have for 100 onboard military personnel. These capabilities support deploymentandcontingencytrainingtasks rotary-wing aircraft,fueling,bulkwater and mess to mand andcommunications,maintenance,medical, enhanced operationalcapabilitiesforonboardcom cak-class operational vessel. This vesselprovided To strengthen USARPAC readiness and responsive- and readiness USARPAC strengthen To tune lift and theater cooperation engagement support. contingency operations, joint exercises, joint oppor will continue to develop supportrelationships for For the first deployment in 2015, USARPAC, in 2015, in deployment first the For Strong demandforthese Army maritime assets These vesselsandcrewsprovidethejointforce Complementing thelarge Kocak-classvesselsfor ------Operating Concepttomitigateriskworldwide;how cordingly. Relieffrom sequestration isanimperative. its capabilities worldwide;itneedsto be resourcedac and sealift. The Army hasasoundplantomaximize the jointforceduetopotential forinadequateairlift Sequestration hampersthe strategic responsivenessof conflict. next the win ultimately to capability best the forces U.S. give and environment the shape conflict, solve andcapabilitiesina timelymannertoprevent distances, itiscriticaltodemonstrate American re vast its with region, Pacific the In leadership. the of intended goalsandobjectivesdespitethebestefforts their in reaching Pathways Pacific as such concepts strength andmodernization.Sequestrationalsoaffects budget thatdirectlyimpact Army readiness,end discriminate reductionsintheDepartmentofDefense to as sequestration) has created disproportional, in referred (also 2011 of Act Control Budget the ever, Indo–Asia–Pacific region. high equipment transportation costs inherentinthe and potential crisis responsemissionsbyreducingthe ment, other rotational bilateral training opportunities sitioned activity sets will facilitate pathways employ Prepo- solutions. resource enduring for mechanisms tics support agreements; and joint and Army funding vicing agreements with partner nations; mutual logis- rotational force deployments; acquisition cross-ser relief prepositioned activity sets in partner nations; capabilitites like humanitarian assistance/disaster leverage opportunities such asdual-purposetraining; cific host-nationengagementrequirements. serve elements, as well as the joint force, to meet spe- Totalthe integrating Re- and Army’sGuard National Pacific for future opportunity unique a provide also the will Pathways in capabilities, maritime Army and thejointforce.Inadditiontoleveraging COM USARPAC,for readiness USPAincreased in idends - div- huge pays which WesternPacific, the in motion in USARPAC put concept forward-deployed Vessel Support Logistics the and PULSE-W Pathways, cific ness, the Army must stay in motion in the Pacific. Pa- s hs ehdlg eovs UAPC will USARPAC evolves, methodology this As The Army developedandimplementedthe Army ------

The U.S. Army in Motion in the Pacific