The Changing Global Security Environment: Impact on U.S. Army Force Structure in the Pacific

This paper addresses the force structure and posture of U.S. Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region for a twenty year period from 1991 to 2010. The central issue of this study is the conduct of theater level force planning in an era of ambiguous threat. Given the significant global changes it is obvious that a new security environment has supplanted that of the cold war era. President Bushs reaction to these changes, embodied in his vision of a New World Order. requires a new military strategy and a new approach to force planning. A National Security strategy of global stability and a more positive and proactive military strategy are posited as appropriate to the changing security environment. Consistent with the Presidents views, this military strategy relies on forward presence instead of deterrence as its cornerstone. A top down approach to force planning is used in this paper, but with the Military Requirements of peacetime activities substituting for threats. Using this method and projecting pacific trends out ten to twenty years, a U.S. Army force component for the Pacific theater is sized, shaped, and postured to meet the requirements of peacetime engagement in a joint and combined environment. A corps Headquarters with three triple capability divisions is recommended as the appropriate Army Force for the Pacific theater. The joint context mandated a cursory consideration of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps force structures and postures.