ARLINGTON, Va. – In order to maintain increased levels of readiness and meet Army needs, Army National Guard Soldiers may see changes to the amount of time spent training, said the director of the Army National Guard during a discussion forum at the annual Association of the United States Army conference and exhibition.
“We have critical capability in the Army National Guard that the active Army relies on to provide the combatant commanders with the forces they need,” said Army Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy. “As an example, our armored brigade combat teams and Stryker units are in high demand.”
While those units may be in high demand, Guard Soldiers have typically trained one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer for a total of 39 days each year. That training model, in place since the passage of the Dick Act in 1903, doesn’t match current operational tempos and needs, said Kadavy.
“This minimal level of training may not be sufficient anymore,” he said. “In fact we already know it’s not. Many of our units already do more than 39 days of training a year.”
An increase in training days and large-scale unit rotations to combat training centers such as the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., are needed to ensure continued readiness, said Kadavy.
Under the new training model, said Kadavy, armored and Stryker brigade combat teams will see a rotation to Fort Irwin every four years, adding those rotations are only possible if units ramp up their total number of training days.
As part of that four-year model, Soldiers in those units can expect to see yearly training days range from 39 days in year one to 60 days in year three, with the fourth year seeing Soldiers train for 51 days.
“This construct will fully support a deployment for one of those armored or Stryker units every two to three years,” said Kadavy. “If a contingency breaks out, they will be available to the Army and the joint force more quickly than our previous readiness generation models.”
The time required to put a trained and ready operational force on the ground is one of the most significant planning factors, said Kadavy.
“A hundred days spent at the mobilization station will not cut it,” he said, referring to older training models that saw large-scale unit training conducted once a unit was mobilized to deploy.
The increase in training days will mean a decrease in time spent at the mobilization center should units be called to deploy, said Kadavy.
However, deployment is only one possibility.
“[Units] may be used in other operational roles,” said Kadavy, adding that may include overseas exercises, flexible deterrent options or assurance missions.
Geared primarily toward armored and Stryker brigade combat teams, the new training model also includes other units such as attack and reconnaissance aviation units and other early entry enabler units, Kadavy said.
“Armored brigade combat team readiness is being prioritized because this is an area where the Army has an immediate requirement,” he said, adding that armored units also require greater time to develop and sustain proficiency.
“[They] represent one of the most complex, most resource-intensive formations to prepare for military operations,” said Kadavy.
Unit manning is also key as well, he said.
“Soldiers are the core of the Army,” Kadavy said. “They must be available and prepared for collective training to improve a unit’s proficiency.”
Ensuring continued unit proficiency may mean over manning select units to cover normal attrition rates as Soldiers get promoted or reach the end of their service contract.
Select Army Guard units have also been part of the Associated Unit program, which fully integrates active and reserve component units into one element in order to maintain continued readiness.
Most of the units taking part in the pilot program include infantry and Stryker units, but also transportation and engineer units as well, said Kadavy.
“The Associated Unit program demonstrates that active component and reserve component integration isn’t just a concept or theory,” said Kadavy. “It’s how the Army is doing business in the here and now.”
It also represents larger changes as well.
“The Army Guard has truly transformed from a strategic reserve to an operational force, said Kadavy, adding that the Army Guard has continued to evolve to support the needs of the Army and the nation.
“The main point is that we are ready, providing the nation what it needs,” he said. “We will be part of America’s ready response force.”