ARLINGTON, Va. – The Army National Guard is slated to see changes to its personnel end strength and force structure over the next few years that will see a number of units inactivated and a reduction in force of more than 15,000 Soldiers as part of overall Army force reduction plans.
"This is an overall Army effort to match our force structure to the resources available," said Army Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Kadavy, director of the Army Guard, adding that the changes to come were decided upon with input from Army Guard senior leaders from throughout the 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia.
According to current plans, the Army Guard's present end strength of 350,200 Soldiers is scheduled to drop to 342,000 Soldiers by September 2016 and then to 335,000 Soldiers by September 2017. "We will work to avoid a Reduction in Force (RIF)," said Kadavy. "Our goal is to achieve these planned reductions through normal attrition rates as Soldiers depart from the Army Guard."
Additionally, as part of current plans, a number of units are slated to be inactivated by the end of 2017 including two brigade combat team headquarters, multiple aviation battalions with attack and reconnaissance missions, several battlefield surveillance brigade headquarters and numerous other units company-sized and below.
"This level of force structure change will mean turbulence to all 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia, particularly, to those Soldiers whose units will inactivate," said Kadavy.
The units scheduled for inactivation have been identified, he said, adding those units were selected based on Army requirements to support the nation and further requirements the Army Guard has to respond at the state level.
"Within the Army National Guard we worked with the states to assess overall readiness and to right-size each in terms of the capacity they need to provide Army capability, support their governors and what the demographics in each state can support," said Kadavy, adding that the ability to generate and maintain readiness at the state level was a key factor in determining the "right-size" fit.
While some units are programmed for inactivation, others are scheduled for conversion, including the 81st Armored Brigade Combat Team, which is slated to transition to a Stryker brigade combat team in 2017. That transition, as well as transitions in other units scheduled to change missions sets, mean some Soldiers may have to reclassify into new career fields, said Kadavy.
Those force structure changes, said Kadavy, will also affect full-time manning levels, with more than 1,700 military technician and Active Guard and Reserve positions slated to be cut throughout the Army Guard.
While Army Guard elements in all 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia will be affected, one of the overarching goals of the current plan is to maintain a balance of capabilities throughout the Army Guard, said Kadavy.
"We have worked tirelessly with the [adjutants general] to ensure we have provided adequate capacity to each, he said. "The adjutants general agreed that all would share in the cuts."
Though the changes to come will mean a smaller force, the Army Guard remains committed to its dual mission at home and abroad, Kadavy said.
"When completed we will be a smaller Army and Army National Guard, so there will be risk in the speed and size of a response we can provide to governors in emergencies," said Kadavy."But we believe we have taken the right approach to ensuring the [Army Guard] can be ready for both our national and state missions."