MARCH 4, 2021 – Army leaders are finalizing implementation of a model to align units across the total Army in a predictable and sustainable life cycle through training, modernization, and mission windows.
The Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM, will provide Army units with a construct that will align units regionally to meet current Joint Force demand while preparing the force for the future, said Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, Army deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7.
The Army began developing ReARMM following publication of the National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy in 2018. These strategies led the Army to transition to enduring great power competition with near-peer adversaries. To maintain readiness for that competition now and into the future, the Army needed a new unit life cycle.
Units will enter into ReARMM on Oct. 1st at the start of fiscal year 2022, Flynn said Feb. 23 during a senior general officer rehearsal of concept drill, or ROC drill, at the Center for Army Analysis.
Implementation of the model will allow active-duty, Guard and Reserve forces to generate and project power during times of competition, crisis and conflict, all while simultaneously implementing change through scheduled modernization and training windows, Flynn said.
While active-duty units will cycle through eight-month phases of modernization, training, and mission, Guard and Reserve units will have extended phases to match total requirements to personnel.
In the modernization window, units may conduct a variety of activities including divestiture of older equipment; new equipment fielding and training; lateral transfers; Soldier touchpoints and experimentation with new systems; specialized training for Soldiers to build advanced capabilities; and block leave.
Senior general officers work to finalize the implementation of the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM, to align units across the total Army in a predictable and sustainable life cycle through training, modernization, and mission windows during a rehearsal of concept drill, or ROC drill, at the Center for Army Analysis, Fort Belvoir, Va., Feb. 23, 2021.
ROC drill
Senior leaders utilized a table-top methodology during the ROC drill to address potential disruptions to ReARMM and the subsequent impacts of each decision on regional requirements and the unit life cycle, a Center for Army Analysis official said.
Through a series of vignettes, participants evaluated the process against delays in modernization, theater-specific crisis events, or the deployment of immediate or contingency response forces.
The ROC drill focused on brigade combat teams, sustainment brigades, expeditionary military intelligence brigades, and Patriot missile battalions across all Army components. Feedback collected during the process will inform further refinement of ReARMM.
In the future, a unit’s rotation through a combat training center might not be the only requisite for mission readiness, as leaders acknowledged the value of specialized training, modernization levels, and familiarity with regional plans and considerations to combatant commanders.
The model will require the proper alignment of forces and equipment to support regional requirements, Flynn said. Doing so will allow the Army to focus on regionally-based training objectives and ensure the appropriate equipment is available across Army prepositioned stocks, or APS. As a unit deploys, it will often draw equipment from APS as personnel arrive in theater.
While senior leaders work to address the equipment variant challenges, the model’s full implementation will track the modernization, training, and manning levels of each unit, participants said. Leaders will also evaluate and adjust what equipment is positioned at each APS to ensure that forces are optimized long before their arrival.
Flynn said the Army needs to ensure current and future operational requirement drive equipping and not the other way around. In the future, he said leaders will need to manage equipping needs as capabilities continue to evolve to meet mission requirements in a streamlined manner.
Increased predictability may even cut back on the costs associated with moving equipment to various locations, while also accounting for the proper divestiture of equipment across all units and APS.
MDRS
Efforts to dispose current equipment are currently underway with the launch of the Modernization Displacement and Repair Site initiative, or MDRS, said Lt. Gen. Donnie Walker Jr., Army Materiel Command’s deputy commander.
A proof of concept MDRS location reached full operational capability in December at Fort Hood, Texas.
The program has already found success and received approval to open 13 future locations, Walker said, adding the ReARMM process will look to reduce the equipment transfer window to less than six months.
Army leaders plan to consider inserting equipment displacement windows into the modernization window to allow proper time to offload equipment. Leaders are also looking at ways to synchronize and optimize the fielding process.
Under the MDRS program, units can drop off their legacy equipment in its current condition to any site. Once received, MDRS personnel will prepare the equipment for reissue by returning it to a quality standard or opt for disposal through the Defense Logistics Agency.
By Devon Suits, Army News Service