The Army needs a near-term strategy for the 2020s
By Rep. Rob Wittman
Thursday, Oct 12
The U.S. Army must move faster to deter near-term threats. Although the Army has a strategy to modernize the force by 2030, that is just seven years away and potentially four years too late if the Chinese Communist Party attempts to retake Taiwan by force by 2027, as our military commanders suggest.
To effectively deter Chinese President Xi Jinping, the U.S. Army must develop a clear and coherent strategy to fill the gap between now and 2030.
While the Army has prioritized readiness since 2019, we have yet to see meaningful results. In addition to the depletion of the Army’s munitions stockpiles as a result of the war in Ukraine, we are also still seeking to understand the Army’s broader changing munitions requirements.
New long-range weapons will not reach the hands of soldiers in time to make a difference in a potential crisis this decade in the Indo-Pacific region. Heavy armor, such as tanks, must be augmented and protected with loitering munitions we do not have. The service has underinvested in electronic warfare capabilities and made rosy assumptions about its ability to maintain communications in the event of a crisis.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2023/10/12/the-army-needs-a-near-term-strategy-for-the-2020s/
