Armed Forces Management: A Ready and Modern Army is a Strategic Priority

According to the Army 2014 Army Strategic Planning Guidance, the Army will focus on five strategic priorities to meet the Nation’s strategic imperatives. Although all of these priorities are significant, the strategic priority “A Ready and Modern Army” is the most important because it directly impacts the Army’s ability to respond when called upon. “A Ready and Modern Army” strategic priority affects the Army’s personnel, equipment, supplies, and training. One thing is non-negotiable: Americans expect and trust that their Army is properly trained and deployment ready at any given time.
It is important to note that in a time of budget cuts and manpower reduction, balancing readiness and modernization will continue to be an issue across the entire Department of Defense. Nevertheless, the Army will need to continue to scale its forces into scalable, well-equipped, and highly trained force in order to maintain readiness in an unpredictable world where modernization is absolutely necessary for the Nation to address future global trends. Additionally, it is crucial that the Army continues to conduct rigorous and practical training at home stations at multi-echelon levels and leverage modern technologies such as virtual and simulation capabilities. Finally, the Army needs to capitalize more on the skills and knowledge of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve as well as having the right mix of capabilities in order to establish and maintain a globally responsive and regionally-engaged force.
Overall, “A Ready and Modern Army” means that the Army will need to holistically look at its personnel, equipment, supplies, and training and determine the best way to integrate operations where it makes sense to provide the most efficient and effective solution. The need for integration is even more critical in the context of the foreseeable fiscal environment.