Publication

The title of this short piece is a misnomer. What the text really does is deplore the US Army’s jettisoning of its force transformation plan, known as the Future Combat System (FCS), in 2009. The scaled-back, patchwork effort that followed the FCS – the Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) program – then left the US with ground forces that are not fast, agile and integrated enough to respond to unexpected global threats, as illustrated by the 'surprising' appearance of the recent ISIS insurgency. The only solution to this problem is for Washington to create a force based on the original FCS model – i.e., one that is nimble and responsive, includes more unmanned systems, and features more system-soldier information sharing than we see today.