February 6, 2005
America remains a nation at war, fighting adversaries who threaten our civilization and way of life. The most significant aspect of our current strategic reality is that the Global War on Terror in which we are now engaged will be a protracted one.
The Army's primary mission is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to the Combatant Commanders in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies. We have more than 300,000 Soldiers deployed or forward stationed today to support operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters of war and to deter aggression, while securing the homeland. We are fighting today while simultaneously preparing for tomorrow.
To continue to accomplish our mission, we are aggressively restructuring the Army. We are transforming from a force designed for contingency operations in the post-Cold War era to a force designed for continuous operations in a new era that presents challenges to the Nation ranging from traditional to potentially catastrophic.
The Army is dependent upon the resources requested in the fiscal year 2006 President's Budget, coupled with emergency supplemental appropriations, to support current operations. These funds will also enable the force to recover from the stress placed on equipment and Soldiers during combat and continually "reset" itself for future deployments. Moreover, these resources are required to continue to transform the Army into a larger, more powerful force built on self-sufficient brigade-based modules. This force will be more flexible, more rapidly deployable and better able to sustain the protracted military campaigns and conduct the joint, expeditionary operations required by the 21st century security environment.
We are sustaining our global commitments while making tremendous progress in our transformation. We will need the continued support of the Congress, the President, and the American people to accomplish our mission today and tomorrow, while providing for the well-being of our All-Volunteer Soldiers, their families and our civilian workforce who are serving the Nation in this time of war.
