Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 126

plans prevalent under ARFORGEN, these individuals
did not always have the important formative experiences that their predecessors enjoyed in developing, executing, and assessing training plans at the lower levels.
Despite this harsh reality, the responsibility to sustain
unit readiness remains on the shoulders of these leaders.
The imperative to remain ready to fight is as urgent
as ever. Sustainable readiness is not just a model to
support RAF; it is a crucible through which the Army
can produce the type of resourceful, adaptive, and
empowered leaders that it needs to carry us into the

future. For every obstacle, there are also opportunities.
The specific observations offered above are only possible
approaches to taking advantage of these opportunities.
No single panacea or prescriptive step-by-step procedure exists to overcome the challenges that accompany
the Sustainable Readiness Model and concept. Our
officers and NCOs must find a way to meet the chief of
staff of the Army’s intent, even in the face of continued
deployments and constrained resources at home station.
Regardless of what the future holds or what our forces
are asked to do, the U.S. Army must be ready.

Biography
Lt. Col. Chad R. Foster, U.S. Army, is commander of the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 3rd Armored Brigade
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. He holds a BS from the United States Military
Academy at West Point, New York, and an MA from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Notes
1. James L. Huggins Jr., “2014 Green Book: Rebuilding and Sustaining Army Readiness,” U.S. Army homepage, 30 September 2014,
accessed 21 April 2016, http://www.army.mil/article/134893/2014_
Green_Book__Rebuilding_and_sustaining_Army_readiness/.
2. U.S. Army Regulation 525-29, Army Force Generation (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office [GPO], 14 March 2011), 32.
3. Ibid., 3–4.
4. Huggins, “Rebuilding and Sustaining.”
5. Department of Defense News, “Army Announces Force
Structure, Stationing Decisions,” U.S. Department of Defense website, 9 July 2015, accessed 21 April 2016, http://www.defense.gov/
News-Article-View/Article/612623.
6. Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), “Regionally
Aligned Forces (RAF),” ARCIC website, accessed 21 April 2016,
http://www.arcic.army.mil/Initiatives/regionally-aligned-forces.aspx.

7. Robert B. Abrams, “FORSCOM Command Training Guidance
(CTG)—Fiscal Year 2016,” 19 October 2015, 2, Army Training Network website, accessed 21 April 2016, https://atn.army.mil/Media/
docs/FY16-CTG.pdf (CAC required).
8. Michelle Tan, “Milley: Readiness for Ground
Combat is No. 1 Priority,” Army Times website, 28 August 2015, accessed 21 April 2016, http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/08/28/
milley-readiness-ground-combat-no-1-priority/71284206/.
9. Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, Army Leadership (Washington, DC: U.S. GPO, 1 Aug 2012), 1.
10. Joseph Rank and Bill Saba, “Building Partnership Capacity
101,” Military Review (September–October 2014): 24.
11. ARCIC, “Regionally Aligned Forces.”
12. Tan, “Milley: Readiness is No. 1 Priority.”

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We Recommend

OR THOSE STRUGGLING TO WRITE STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURES. The task of developing unit-level standard operating procedures (SOPs) incorporates complex operational processes as well as aspects
of authoring, instructing, and using collaborative technology. Army Techniques
Publication (ATP) 3-90.90, Army Tactical Standard Operating Procedures, brings
together practical guidance for all these features of SOP development. It includes
resources such as a tailored writing process soldiers can use to develop efficient
procedures and effective instructions for their use. This doctrine may be found at:
http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/atp3_90x90.pdf
July-August 2016  .MILITARY REVIEW