Preliminary report on Reform of the EUtopian Military.
2Lt. Edmund Dhampir
By Order of: Prof. P.G. Talbott, Minister of Defense and International Affairs
I. Army Reform
1. The current size and expense of the EUtopian Army is a burden on the country as a hole and as such must be reduced.
A. Initial Recommendations.
a. Each Division be reduced in size to a Maneuver Brigade. A standard Brigade consists of 3 Battalions, where a Maneuver Briagade consists of 4. The service-support troops will also be reduced in number.
aa. Each Infantry Brigade will consist of 3 Infantry Battalions and 1 Armor Battalion. Each Armored Brigade will consist of 3 Armor Battalions and 1 Infantry Brigade.
aaa. The Motorized Infantry will be replaced by Mechanized Infantry, being armed with APCs instead of trucks.
b. Each Corps will be retitled to "Maneuver Group".
c. The Mountain Brigades will be merged and reduced to a single Maneuver Brigade.
d. The Airborne Regiment will be cross-trained in Airborne and Air Assault Operations.
B. Equipment
a. Tanks- The Leopard I is an aging design and is undergunned (mounting only a 105mm Tube). Efforts should be made to either upgrade the existing Leopards to more modern standards (120mm guns, NV Gear, ect...) or purchase a number of new Tanks and place the existing ones in storage.
b. Transport Vehicles- The current transport equipment is sufficient. However, modernizations should be made (armor, armament).
c. Air Transport- An effort should be made to keep our existing Helos and Planes in as good of shape as possible. The CH-47 is aging and will need to be replaced in the near future.
d. Uniforms- adequate Body armor (Kevlar/Steel plate) must be a top priority, as well as Kevlar base hemlets. To conserve the energy of soldiers, new ALICE system packs must also be obtained.
C. Doctorine
a. A new doctorine must be produced. One stressing rapid advance and combined arms operations. Wars of attrition cannot be tolerated.
II. Naval Reform
1. As an Island Nation, EUtopia will live or die by it's Navy.
2. Please not that this author has no Naval experience and a Naval Expert should be called in.
3. The Aircraft Carriers in the Navy are aged and should be replaced, if at all possible.
a. The complement of Naval Aircraft are also aged.
b. Possibly, a compliment of VTOL aircraft can be obtained (JSF, perhaps) when they become available.
4. The Marine Regiment should be trained in Air Assault Operations, to be launched from Carrier based Helos.
III. Air Force Reform
1. Aside from a strong Navy, EUtopia must also have a powerful Air Force.
a. The Aircraft in the arsenal are woefully inadequate compared to other countries.
b. The aquisition of newer or more modern aircraft must, repeat must, be a high priority.
IV. Manpower
1. Conscription is a liability in combat. Conscripted troops will have lower morale and be less willing to take risks.
a. As such, conscription should be reduced to merely making a pool of reserves, in case of National crisis.
b. With conscription ended, a volunteer army will emerge as existing terms expire.
2. Although the active Army will be quite small, an extensive reserve force must be maintained for times of crisis.
a. Reserve formations will use mostly the excess equipment left over from reductions in force.
b. The Reserve formations must be so less than 3 Divisions (old-structure).
3. If conscription is not ended:
a. The burden of first-defense falls on the Navy and Air Force. The combat elements of these forces must be volunteer only, to ensure maximum effectivness and willingness to fight.
b. The Active Army will require minimum conscription, however the 3 or more Reserve Divisions will require conscripts to report for training every month for their term.
4. Reduced Conscription:
a. Navy and Air Force must be all volunteer.
b. Conscription will only make up the needed manpower in the Active Army formations and will form the Reserve formations. 2 classifications of Conscripts will be needed for this, based on their background. Obviously, we don't want college students being drafted into Active units because they will be forced to end their studies.
This ends the Preliminary Report.
2Lt. Edmund Dhampir
