FORSCOM Headquarters, US Army Forces Command
FORSCOM Headquarters, US Army Forces Command
Posted on May 16, 2016
Is the military overdue for some much needed pruning of General and Flag Officer positions and elimination of higher headquarters?
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“Fewer general officers makes sense—but chopping some of the overlapping and less-than-critical service and joint headquarters with their always-busy staffs is an even better idea.”
--Dave Barno, LTG, U.S.A., retired.
“I think there has been grade creep. Did we really need four-star commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan? The size of their forces did not warrant the number of stars based on historical comparisons.”
--Anthony Zinni, Gen., U.S.M.C., retired.
“When the number of generals is growing, while size of force is shrinking, that seems to indicate a disconnect.”
--Peter W. Singer of the New America Foundation.
http://time.com/4336563/military-generals-congress/
--Dave Barno, LTG, U.S.A., retired.
“I think there has been grade creep. Did we really need four-star commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan? The size of their forces did not warrant the number of stars based on historical comparisons.”
--Anthony Zinni, Gen., U.S.M.C., retired.
“When the number of generals is growing, while size of force is shrinking, that seems to indicate a disconnect.”
--Peter W. Singer of the New America Foundation.
http://time.com/4336563/military-generals-congress/
FORSCOM HQ
GEN
Congress
Force Reduction
Edited 8 y ago
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 24
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Our grade balance has been mismatched for a long time. If this chart is correct, we have almost 7 times the number of general and flag officers than we had in WWII, with a significantly smaller military. It's time to pare this rank structure down to where it needs to be. The other side of the coin is we need to get rid of the functions and tasks these officers are tasked to perform. It's not a matter of just making the military smaller. We have to have expectations about what the military is supposed to be doing lowered. We need to stop punishing the military by making it smaller and expecting it to do everything it has been doing.
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LTC Robert McKenna
There are way to many jobs being done by GO's that used to be done by Colonels. A WWII Division had two GO (DIV CDR and 1 Deputy), today we have three. Congress is right to press for rank reductions and the corresponding staff reduction.
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I agree with Zinni and Singer. The shape of the pyramid should not be getting thinner. Technology enables it to be flatter. If anything, we should have fewer FO/GO positions per E1. We also need a policy that forces zero growth in new commands and HQs...if you need a new one, you must get rid of an old one.
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Army should have purged General and the Navy trashed Flag Officers by the bushel already. This is long overdue.
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