The Stryker Brigade Combat Team: Rethinking Strategic
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The Stryker Brigade Combat Team Rethinking Strategic Responsiveness and Assessing Deployment Options Alan Vick • David Orletsky Bruce Pirnie • Seth Jones Prepared for the United States Air Force Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited R Project AIR FORCE The research reported here was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract F49642-01-C-0003. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Stryker Brigade combat team : rethinking strategic responsiveness and assessing deployment options / Alan Vick ... [et al.]. p. cm. “MR-1606.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3268-2 1. United States. Army—Reorganization. 2. Unified operations (Military science) 3. United States—Armed Forces—Foreign service. 4. Airlift, Military— United States. 5. Military sealift—United States. I. Vick, Alan. UA25 .S857 2002 355.1'3'0973—dc21 2002031870 RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND® is a registered trademark. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of its research sponsors. © Copyright 2002 RAND All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2002 by RAND 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] PREFACE Under the leadership of Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki, the U.S. Army is taking steps to transform itself from the Legacy Force with its heavy forces, which are difficult to deploy strategically, and its light forces, which respond rapidly but lack staying power, into a more strategically responsive force. Its goal is to be able to respond quickly and decisively anywhere in the world. This transformation has be- gun with the creation of Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs; for- merly referred to as Interim Brigade Combat Teams), a brigade-sized force equipped with wheeled armored vehicles and other currently available weapons and vehicles. Intended for rapid deployment, the SBCT would move primarily by C-5 and C-17 aircraft. Over the next 20 years, General Shinseki envisions the entire Army combat force structure being replaced by the Objective Force, a brigade combat team capable of being deployed anywhere in the world in 96 hours after liftoff, with a division on the ground in 120 hours and five divisions in 30 days. The Objective Force will combine the deployability of light forces with the lethality, tactical mobility, and survivability of heavy forces. Both the SBCT and the Objective Force are expected to deploy a brigade anywhere in the world in 96 hours. RAND’s Project AIR FORCE conducted a study during fiscal year 2001 (FY01) of the implications of Army transformation efforts for U.S. Air Force (USAF) operations and force structure. Since the 96-hour de- ployment goal is central to the SBCT concept, the study assessed the requirements for rapid response and options for rapidly moving a brigade-sized force. This report seeks to answer the following ques- tions: Can the Air Force meet the Army’s 96-hour deployment goal? What combination of deployment and basing options would maxi- iii iv The Stryker Brigade Combat Team mize the strategic responsiveness of new Army forces? How much unambiguous warning does the United States usually have before it initiates military operations? How much of this time will civilian decisionmakers typically consume in their deliberations before ordering deployment of military forces? Are large U.S. forces likely to deploy globally or just to certain regions? At what depths from the littoral might U.S. forces have to operate? This study was conducted as part of the Strategy and Doctrine Program in RAND’s Project AIR FORCE. It was sponsored by the Director of Operational Planning, Headquarters, USAF. It should be of interest to airmen and soldiers serving in plans, operational, ana- lytic, and R&D organizations, as well as to the broader defense com- munity. The information derived from it is current as of November 2002. PROJECT AIR FORCE Project AIR FORCE, a division of RAND, is the Air Force’s federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for studies and analysis. It provides the USAF with independent analysis of policy alternatives affecting the deployment, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air and space forces. Research is performed in four programs: Strategy and Doctrine; Aerospace Force Development; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; and Resource Management. CONTENTS Preface ......................................... iii Figures ......................................... ix Tables.......................................... xi Summary ....................................... xiii Acknowledgments................................. xix Acronyms ....................................... xxiii Chapter One INTRODUCTION .............................. 1 Background .................................. 2 Army Transformation Initiatives ................... 4 Emerging Doctrine ........................... 5 The Stryker Brigades .......................... 6 The Objective Force ........................... 8 Purpose and Organization ........................ 10 Chapter Two DEPLOYING THE SBCTs ......................... 13 Airlifting the SBCT.............................. 15 Available Airlift Fleet .......................... 18 Airfield Infrastructure ......................... 20 Deployment of the SBCT from Projected Bases ....... 21 Sealifting the SBCT ............................. 28 Sealift Assets Considered ....................... 30 Calculating Sealift Deployment Time .............. 31 Outside Harbor Unload Operations ............... 33 v vi The Stryker Brigade Combat Team Shallow-Draft Sealift .......................... 38 Road March ................................. 41 Deployment Times ............................. 42 Representative Scenarios ....................... 42 Airlift Deployment Analysis ..................... 46 Sealift Deployment Analysis ..................... 50 Airlift Versus Sealift ........................... 53 Chapter Three DECISIONS TO INITIATE OPERATIONS ............. 57 Missions ..................................... 57 Stopping Aggressors .......................... 58 Conducting Contingency Operations .............. 59 Conducting Enforcement Operations .............. 60 Conducting Counterterrorism Operations .......... 61 Timeline ..................................... 62 Warning ..................................... 62 Concern ................................... 64 Urgent Danger ............................... 65 Precipitating Events ........................... 65 Timelines for Selected Operations ................ 66 The Crisis Decisionmaking Process ................. 70 Exploring Alternatives ......................... 71 Threats to Important U.S. Interests ................ 71 Risks of U.S. Casualties ........................ 72 Historical Response Times ....................... 74 Chapter Four REGIONS OF INTEREST ......................... 79 Discerning Patterns of Interest .................... 81 U.S. Operations Since 1945 ..................... 82 Areas of Current Crises and Conflicts .............. 83 The War on Terrorism ......................... 83 Terrorism: Looking to the Future ................. 90 Regions of Interest ............................. 90 Central America and the Caribbean ............... 92 Europe .................................... 95 Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa ................. 100 Middle East and Southwest Asia .................. 103 East Asia and the Pacific Rim .................... 106 Summary .................................... 113 Contents vii Chapter Five CONCLUSIONS................................ 115 Key Findings .................................. 115 Recommendations for the USAF ................... 117 Appendix A. DEPTH OF U.S. OPERATIONS ..................... 119 B. COMPONENTS OF DEPLOYMENT TIMES FOR ALL SCENARIOS FROM CHAPTER TWO ................. 123 Bibliography ..................................... 127 FIGURES S.1. Regional Basing, Showing Rapid Deployment Times to Key Areas ............................... xv 2.1. SBCT 96-Hour Reach from States of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, and Louisiana .................... 22 2.2. Deployment Times by Air for SBCT to Representative Destinations ............................... 23 2.3. Airlift Fleet and Throughput Requirements for a Representative Deployment of the SBCT to 5,000 nmi as a Function of Deployment Days ............... 24 2.4. Airlift Fleet and Throughput Requirements for Representative Deployment of the SBCT to 2,500 nmi as a Function of Deployment Days ............... 25 2.5. Effect of Airbase MOG on Deployment Days, Using Alternative C-17 Loading and On-Ground Times .... 27 2.6. Deployment Times for Sealift Using Two Fast Sealift Ships at 27-kt Transit Speed ................... 29 2.7. Unloading Operation Using RRDF and Lighterage ... 34 2.8. Notional Lighterage Operations from RRDF to Port .. 37 2.9. The Joint Venture,