{"id":29342,"date":"2018-03-26T15:16:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T15:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/26\/esper-army-will-overhaul-fitness-possibly-extend-basic-training-to-meet-rigors-of-combat\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:03:17","slug":"esper-army-will-overhaul-fitness-possibly-extend-basic-training-to-meet-rigors-of-combat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/show-reporter\/global-force-symposium\/2018\/03\/26\/esper-army-will-overhaul-fitness-possibly-extend-basic-training-to-meet-rigors-of-combat\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper: Army will overhaul fitness, possibly extend basic training, to meet rigors of combat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In his keynote address to the AUSA Global Force Symposium, Army Secretary Dr. Mark Esper lays out his plan for Army training in the future. (Jeff Martin\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Army leadership is moving full speed ahead to stand up a modernization command<\/a> to revamp six weapons and equipment systems<\/a> over the coming decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To match that effort, Army doctrine, training and personnel will require a face-lift of its own, Army Secretary Mark Esper<\/a> told an audience Monday at the AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have every reason to get this right, and far fewer reasons not to,\u201d Esper said.
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Army Secretary Mark Esper discussed possible changes to the service’s permanent change-of-station policies during a roundtable discussion Feb. 6 with service organizations at the Pentagon. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That shift will trickle all the way down to, literally, the most basic aspects of the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After putting the breaks on a plan to add two weeks to basic training, the service is revisiting the idea, with an eye toward building soldiers who are ready for intense, sustained future conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we are considering several initiatives \u2014 from a new physical fitness regime to reforming and extending basic training \u2014 in order to ensure our young men and women are prepared for the rigors of high intensity combat,\u201d he said.
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In his keynote address to the AUSA Global Force Symposium, Army Secretary Mark Esper explains why the service considers modernization to be so important.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

To do this, he said, the Army must also get bigger. The Army reversed its drawdown in 2017, adding tens of thousands of soldiers back into the force to fill holes across dozens of formations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That trend is set to continue both this year and next<\/a>, per the Army\u2019s budget requests. The plan now is to grow the active force to 487,500 in the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA decade from now we need an active component above 500,000 soldiers with associated growth in the Guard and Reserve,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those soldiers will need to be trained in not only the irregular warfare of the Global War on Terrorism-era, he added, but to go against similarly trained and equipped militaries in a completely different environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur training must focus on high-intensity conflict, with an emphasis on urban operations in electronically austere environments \u2013 meaning limited comms or data \u2013 and under constant surveillance,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army is hedging against the possibility of going to war against a rising Russia or China, as well as the side effects of those build-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd even if we never face Russia and China on the modern battlefield, we should expect to see their weapons, equipment and tactics employed against us by others,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those preparations are already underway, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, we are increasing the capability of our formations, returning Short-range Air Defense and Multiple Launch Rocket System battalions to our divisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at a more basic level, the service\u2019s culture must shift away from the bog-down of mandatory training, Esper added, putting responsibility back on junior leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\t