The Regionally Aligned Brigade Combat Teams - Essay Example

Module Military Sciences - Regionally Aligned Brigade Combat Teams Purpose - To determine the advantages and disadvantages of employing regionally aligned brigade combat teams Facts - Regionally aligned brigade combat teams are important because they function as combat units which are self-contained. Even as army troops are slowly being removed from former trouble spots like Iraq and Afghanistan, there is concern that there are other troubled areas around the world that require close monitoring. Regionally aligned brigade combat teams are a new model that is increasingly being entrusted with such monitoring duties. The main reason for the development of regionally aligned brigade combat teams is to ensure that soldiers are prepared and trained for different operations in any of the regional six combatant commands (Tan). Their responsibilities will include learning the values of different cultures, political peculiarities, regional languages and tongues, and geographic aspects of the areas they are assigned to. To achieve self sufficiency, brigade combat teams have additional support features such as reconnaissance, artillery, and medical companies. In the present global environment, which is characterized by instability in many parts, regionally aligning forces is likely to accomplish more military objectives. The aspect of regionally aligning forces could also result in additional resources provided for the purpose of sustaining cultural awareness in different parts where this mechanism is employed. Any training that is geared for implementing regional alignment will result in the improvement of planning, operations, and partnering between host nations. Benefits of Brigade Combat Teams In the global environment, soldiers could benefit more from being proficient in language and culture, than in possessing the most recent technologically advanced weapons of war. This kind of cultural proficiency also enhances operational effectiveness (Tan). Another benefit of brigade combat teams has to do with ensuring cost effectiveness. The use of regionally aligned forces will naturally lessen the costs incurred in transporting soldiers and their families abroad, in order to implement partnership operations. The example, for instance, provided in the reduction of foreign based combat brigades which are based in Europe from four to two, while enacting rotations with foreign partners is something that will result in the families of army personnel enjoying more predictability and stability. Drawbacks One of the biggest problems facing the creation of regionally aligned brigade combat teams has to do with the general army objectives. It is normal for all teams and operations to be have objectives that are aligned with the most important army requirements. This means that the resources of teams such as regionally aligned combat teams will naturally be used to accomplish more wholesale and long term army objectives. This leaves few, if any, resources to meet the ongoing requirements of contingency operations such as regionally aligned combat teams. Another factor has to do with the lack of a necessary structure to ensure that regionally aligned teams work. According to Cox, there is no adaptive personnel structure to facilitate regional alignment. If soldiers keep being rotated on a regular basis, then any competencies they acquire in terms of a certain region’s political and cultural complexities are not likely to bring much benefit to the army. Another pitfall of regionally aligned combat teams is that they may not necessarily have clearly defined objectives when first created. There are different complexities to be dealt with within the regionally aligned brigade teams, themselves. For instance, even though it is not unusual for combat brigades to be regionally aligned while also preserving overall capacity, their support brigades may not be permanently attached to the brigades. The support brigades, which usually specialize in combat aviation, battlefield surveillance, engineering, medical provisions, maneuver enhancement, and military policing, are usually more prized by foreign structures of government than the forces themselves. Argumentative Essay The significance of developing regionally aligned brigade combat troops has already been proven in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Even though the American army was easily able to defeat Iraq’s small and badly trained army, the American troops’ lack of linguistic, cultural, and political comprehension of the forces at work in the Middle Eastern country greatly hampered the American military’s efforts to understand the different factors that were at play in the nation’s insurgency. The American command had to understand that it was vitally important to learn about local cultural and political matters of importance in order to successfully defeat the insurgents. Once the troops began to value the input of the local people, and appreciate their culture, the American command was able to even learn about the hiding place of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. In allowing for the training of regionally aligned brigade combat teams, the army is effectively seeking to specialize in a different aspect of combat operations. This will result in changes made to the way that the army assigns responsibilities (Tan). If the army agrees to create more opportunity for regionally aligned combat teams, it is essentially assenting to the possibility of having to retain soldiers who are already well trained in the geopolitical, as well as cultural aspects of a given region in that region for all future military assignments. If a team trained in the aspects of one region were to be transferred to another region, its training would become irrelevant. This reality could see the creation of regional specialization as a legitimate military career path. The services of troops that specialize in regional specialization would be of particular importance in the present global conditions. Today, terrorists, as well as other criminals, are social media savvy, and are able to successfully operate with sophisticated weapons. Modern advanced technology allows them to be able to successfully hide in a variety of communities around the world. To successfully apprehend such criminal elements, troops will have to combine their military might with valid knowledge about their whereabouts. Mistakenly shooting members of the civilian population would be dangerous in any setting because it would turn neutral elements into active enemies. In contrast, cultivating friendships and alliances with local elements could turn them from being neutral to being active allies. Regional alignment combat teams are not just designed to prevent wars from occurring, but are also designed to help in different aspects of monitoring. For instance, regionally aligned brigade combat teams can contribute towards dealing with irregular warfare, while effecting counter terrorism measures (Cox). They are also well instructed in cyberspace operations, and can even serve as nuclear warfare deterrents. They also function as support systems for the legally elected civil authorities, while also assisting in the provision of disaster relief, and the coordination of humanitarian assistance when required. Such functions are of great importance because they build trust between the troops and local civilians. When trust is built through such peace time engagements, troops will be able to have access to better intelligence if any conflict breaks out in the region. It will also increase the levels of influence with friendly military groups in cases of conflict. Regionally aligned brigade combat teams are important because they seek to accomplish a range of seemingly contradictory goals that the military has to contend with. Some of the responsibilities that the military is entrusted with in foreign missions include carrying out counterterrorism measures, preventing hostilities wherever possible, fighting enemy troops, and implementing information and stability operations. The military is expected to realize all these objectives while also inspiring admiration, supplying humanitarian assistance whenever disasters occur, and assisting in the development of the local region’s economy. These goals would be virtually impossible to implement in the absence of regionally aligned combat forces which could interact with people wherever they were stationed. RECOMMENDATIONS The use of regionally aligned forces would be beneficial to the army, in general, because it would facilitate budget cuts. Effecting soldier rotations through different alignments is something that costs more money. It also diminishes the various training resources that are required to sustain this practice. Regionally aligned forces are important because they supply necessary and ready support in the world’s trouble sports. There are increasing security needs in different parts of the world. By intentionally aligning army forces on a regional basis, armies can meet the need, in the world’s troubled areas, of consistent availability and ready responsiveness of highly trained soldiers who operate on a rare level of expertise. Works Cited Cox, Dan. “An Enhanced Plan for Regionally Aligning Brigades Using Human Terrain Systems.” Small Wars Journal, 14 June 2012, http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/an-enhanced-plan-for-regionally-aligning-brigades-using-human-terrain-systems Tan, Michelle. “First Regionally Aligned BCT Shares Lessons Learned,” Army Times, September 16, 2013, final edition. http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130916/NEWS08/309160009/First-regionally-aligned-BCT-shares-lessons-learned Read More