Army Commission to Unveil Recommendations on Jan. 28

WASHINGTON — -- The National Commission on the Future of the Army will publicly unveil its wide-ranging recommendations on a wide range of issues Jan. 28, just days before it's Feb. 1 deadline, the commission’s leader, retired ret. Army Gen. Carter Ham, said Thursday today.

Congress established the commission — tasked to take a deep dive into the force structure and operational requirements for the future Army -- — is just over a month away from its Feb. 1 congressionally mandated due date to produce its findings. Congress established the commission in its fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act because after the Army and National Guard became were deadlocked in a fight over how many soldiers should serve in each component and the types of , as well as what kinds of capabilities each should have.

C The commission members will brief military leaders — at the Pentagon including Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford, the National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Frank Grass and other acquisition leaders — on the recommendations at the Pentagon on Jan. 27.

Following the big unveil, the commission will make the rounds in early February to West Point, the Army War College and other institutions various military academies to brief the recommendations including West Point and the Army War College.

Commissioners on Thursday today at the last open meeting prior to the release of the commission’s report on Thursday, lifted the proverbial kimono pulled back the curtain on what its recommendations might look like, including discussing a focus on total force integration, something Milley has repeatedly emphasized since taking over as Army chief.

"The foundational recommendation I think that will come through," is two-fold, Ham told reporters following the meeting. "One is the nation has to sustain this amazing thing called the all-volunteer Army. We have to invest in that, invest in those soldiers, care for those families and then sustain that all-volunteer Army. In our view, if you don’t do that, then the rest of that kind of doesn’t matter."

Kathleen Hicks, the commission’s operational forces subcommittee leader, highlighted a information paper her committee drafted for the full commission’s consideration on the total force policy and integration of active and rReserve units focused on multicomponent units.

The paper, she said, also explores other means to develop integration of the regular Army and rReserve component forces, such as approaches to personnel assignment options. "The Army must fix the systemic problems with the personnel and pay systems and all Army leaders must take ownership of these integration activities if they wish to have a meaningful and positive impact on a shared Army culture," Hicks added.

Hicks noteds that that current law statute does not permit the Army secretary to assign regular Army officers and enlisted soldiers to Army National Guard positions in order to execute full time support functions. Her subcommittee is suggesting that Congress investigate passing enacting legislation to allow assigning regular Army members to these functions.

The considerations Hicks highlights in her subcommittee’s information paper echo some recent comments from Milley on how he perceives shaping and building the total force.

Milley The chief said earlier this week that he’d prefer to keep as many troops as possible for as long as he is able, but reductions are moving forward as the Army drives toward a force of 450,000 by the end of fiscal 2017. Milley He said he has to figure out how to maintain a strong force even as the Army shrinks. To do that, the chief he said he plans to lean heavily on the Army National Guard to bolster the force. This also means seeing all components as part of a together as a total force.

Ham said that there will likely be people who will be pleased with the recommendations in the report and some who won't bethose that will be displeased, given the nature of the topics. and the constraints of both present and future budgets.

Ham also noted that the recommendations will consist of a balance between affirming the Army is on the right track and recommending change. "There are some things that we will recommend that might differ from where the Army is today or where they anticipate to be in the future," he said, "but I think that is unlikely that you will see us make very sharp, very dramatic recommendations that shift the Army off the course that they are on."