The Division Rides Again In the US Army?

[MarkSheppard]

LINK

US Army TRADOC Video

As the U.S. Army is refocusing on division-centric large scale combat operations (LSCO), it is planning on reviving the division as a proper tactical unit of action. From the late 2000s, the Brigade Combat Team had become the Army's units of action with full-spectrum combat support. At that time, divisions became primarily administrative bodies with little in the way of combat capabilities outside of the its BCTs and Aviation Brigades. Under this scheme, divisions became operational units of employment that wielded units of action (brigades) to achieve tactical outcomes. However, for the conventional wars that the U.S. Army sees itself fighting the future, larger units with capabilities aligned to conventional warfighting will be required. In a sense, divisions will themselves become units of action wielded by corps as units of employment.

To this end, TRADOC dropped a video in December 2021 that lays out five tentative division organizations that will replace the current state of modular division headquarters. Three will be specialized and will likely be few in number (the Penetration, JFE-Airborne and JFE-Air Assault Divisions), while two standard layouts will constitute the bulk of the Army's force structure (the Standard Division, Heavy and Standard Division, Light). The development of specialized divisions is so units are adequately aligned to certain operational niches, which they can then be equipped for and train to become particularly proficient in.

Stuff like this is why if I was in the Army (alas, deaf); I'd be up on Article 89 charges (Disrespecting Officer) so fast it'd make all of our heads spin.

We've known for how long, that a force designed to fight COIN and be extremely mobile and deployable will find it hard to fight a near peer force...

...while a force designed to fight a high intensity war against a near peer force, can be used in COIN.

[Karagin]

The Army seems to have found a cache of old plans and ideas, and a junior officer has dusted them off and presented them as such a novel and new concept.

Retro is new for the military, the same wheels they have they keep refinding.