I wondered if our new (and smaller) force structure would result in just 14 heavy brigades in the active Army. Strategypage says that we will have 10 heavy brigades in the active component and 7 in the National Guard:
There are no more tank battalions. Instead there are Combined Arms battalions in Heavy Brigades. Each of these battalions have two tank companies (and two infantry companies). Meanwhile the army is continuing its downsizing, going from 16 armored brigades (64 M1 companies) to ten (40 companies). The Army National Guard still has seven armored brigades (28 M1 companies). The reduction will remove 24 M1 companies leaving 952 M1 tanks in service.
So that's useful information. When I wondered if we were going to have 14 active heavy brigades, I clearly forgot that 10th Mountain would be a light infantry unit with four brigades. I'd been thinking in terms of heavy, Stryker, and airborne categories, only. I don't know why I forgot 10th Mountain.
So it will be 10 heavy brigades, 5 parachute brigades, 4 air assault brigades, 4 light infantry brigades, and 9 Stryker brigades?
But Strategypage confused me, too. How can we be planning to go to 40 Abrams tank companies when the Army is adding a third battalion to 47 of 60 active and National Guard brigade combat teams? Since Stryker brigades already have three battalions, I assumed that the remaining 23 active brigades would get a third battalion.
That would mean we'd have 6 tank companies per brigade combat team, and so 60 companies of 14 tanks each, and so 840 tanks in just the active component.
I guess I can't guess what will happen with the Guard heavy brigades. If they get a third battalion, they add 42 tank companies with 588 tanks for a total of 1,428 in the force structure. If they retain just two battalions, the Guard brigades will add only 392 tanks in 28 companies, for a total of 1,232 tanks.
I await clarification.
I'll add that I think we should have separate tank companies (some might be balanced "teams" of a tank platoon and a mechanized infantry platoon, and toss in a scout platoon to round it out--plus headquarters element, of course) in order to augment our non-heavy brigade combat team battalions for missions in a more high intensity environment. Or do we assume we can organize new companies quickly from our stocks of tanks that aren't in the force structure?
