First Army
First Army: Training for Today’s Requirements and
Tomorrow’s Contingencies
Voice for the Army—Support for the Soldier
Introduction
Numerous factors are combining today to create a
rapidly changing environment for the Army. Even as
war continues, the withdrawal of U.S. ground forces
from Iraq and the impending reduction of forces in Af-
ghanistan over the next several years promise to funda-
mentally alter the strategic landscape that has dominated
Army force generation for a decade—that of supplying
trained, ready units to meet combatant commanders’ re-
quirements for the warght.
But even as the immediate pressure is slowly re-
duced, enduring concerns remain. The international
security situation continues to be complex, and it is
perhaps even more difcult than before to predict the
nature of the next global contingency. Looming force
reductions and budget constraints are challenging the
Army to remain in balance. The latest strategy and pol-
icy guidance makes clear that U.S. forces will accept
additional risk and will no longer be sized to conduct
multiyear stability operations similar to those conducted
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To hedge against increased uncertainty, the Army
has come to rely upon its reserve component (RC) forc-
es (the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve) as
an operational reserve to preserve hard-earned expertise
gained over a decade of war and to be able to expand ca-
pabilities rapidly if demand suddenly rises. The need to
ensure strategic depth throughout the force while simul-
taneously fullling the requirements of combatant com-
manders led the Army to devote a three-star command
whose core competency is sustaining the operational
readiness of the reserve component in conjunction with
the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. First Army
through U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)
serves as the Army’s multicomponent executing agent
for RC training support and mobilization operations.
Background
Since 9/11, sustained land combat has transformed
the reserve component from a strategic reserve to an op-
erational reserve as an integral part of the total Army. (In
fact, Army RC forces represent more than 51 percent of
the total Army and have deployed repeatedly alongside
the active component.) As RC forces rapidly adapted to
heavy demand and engaged in major stability operations
as an operational reserve, their strategic value evolved
as well. The most signicant challenge for today’s op-
erational reserve is to sustain readiness to provide com-
batant commanders with adaptive units that are capable
across the full range of military operations. Like all
Army forces today, these units must be capable of in-
tegrating all operations with their joint, interagency and
multinational partners. Key to meeting this challenge is
First Army’s dual focus on supporting the Army Force
Generation (ARFORGEN) process and ensuring that its
trainers have current, relevant experience.
The ARFORGEN process helps commanders pre-
dict the availability of ready units, understand the status
of their preparedness and ensure that units have access
to the right resources at the right time. During the Reset
phase, the RC unit reintegrates Soldiers and families,
Association of the United States Army
April 2012
While we cannot predict the future of our increasingly uncertain and complex strategic environment, we can be
certain that our nation will continue to call on America’s Army. Going forward, we will be an Army in transition.
An Army that will apply the lessons learned in recent combat as we transition to evolving threats and strategies.
An Army that will remain the best manned, best equipped, best trained and best led force as we transition to a
leaner, more agile force that remains adaptive, innovative, versatile and ready as part of Joint Force 2020.
General Raymond T. Odierno,
Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Marching Orders—America’s Force of Decisive Action, January 2012
