Untrained and Unavailable: The Impact of Operations Other Than War (OOTW) On Forces Destined to Support Combat CINC's

Combative Commander's-in-Chiefs (CINC's) are apportioned forces in the Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan (JSCP). These scarce resources are based upon a mission need within a specific geographical region, and in some cases these forces are designated in more than one region. What happens when these forces are unavailable to the CINC because of long term mission commitment in operations other than war (OOTW) particularly peace keeping? What happens when apportioned forces returning from OOTW missions are assigned to a combat theater before completing their post-OOTW training program? These are two critical questions that CINC's are faced with every day. of the Army's ten active divisions, up to five are committed to peace keeping missions, and unprepared to conduct their JSCP mission. Similarly, the Air Force has conducted air occupation operations over Iraq since the end of the Gulf War. The strain on manpower and equipment is so severe that units assigned in major theaters are being pulled away to conduct these missions. Commanders estimate that a unit redeploy%ng from OOTW may require up to a year to regain its combat proficiency. This paper does not argue the issue of conducting peace keeping operations. It explores the background that led the services to this dilemma, and then analyzes four potential solutions that the military leadership can explore to resolve the situation. These options range from deploying complete units vice ad hoc task forces to assigning a single organization with this mission much like another Korean scenario.