Organizing for the Future: The Army's Objective Force Cavalry Squadron

The United States Army is transforming its force structure. This transformation is designed to better meet the challenges presented by and to leverage the opportunities available in the future. This effort is designed to lessen the distinction between what the Army often refers to as its heavy and its light forces. Americas Army was ideally suited for military operations in Europe or on the Korean peninsula. However, as the Cold War ended, Americas enemies became more ambiguous, but no less dangerous. In this uncertain and dangerous world, the United States Army must be fully prepared to deploy rapidly to contain, stabilize or resolve conflict through shaping actions or decisive combat operations. Currently, the Army has transformed one infantry battalion and one tank battalion into its Interim Force Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition RSTA Squadrons. These units are organized, equipped and trained to deal both the challenges and the opportunities of the near term future by providing reconnaissance and surveillance to the maneuver commander. While the Interim Force RSTA squadrons are a move in the right direction, there remain challenges for these units and for the Objective Force reconnaissance and surveillance units of the future. Force structure proponents must maintain a balance between the historical intelligence requirements and the futuristic information opportunities. This unit must be more than an intelligence gathering origination. It must incorporate emerging technologies and organizational techniques within its military infrastructure, always able to employ the correct force structure or combat power to achieve its battlefield mission.