In both the AC and RC, single elements, to include
CA Teams (CAT), CA Planning Teams (CAPT), Civil
Liaison Teams (CLT), as well as individuals, are often
deployed from units that aren’t yet in the ARFORGEN “available” status. These missions are either
requested by commanders, are assigned based on the
inability of planned units to deploy, or are assigned
based on needs within the unit’s aligned GCC. Additionally, and as noted earlier, in larger contingency
operations like Iraq and Afghanistan, small groups
were often transferred between elements so as to support another unit’s company-level or higher mobilization. In order to meet the needs of these missions,
commanders have regularly been forced to send adhoc teams of volunteers, or to pull from individuals
who happened to meet readiness standards at that
time. The ARFORGEN policy has not been effective at
providing adequate CA forces or predictable deployments for soldiers.
Rather than continuing to rely on these (arguably
ineffective and certainly administratively cumbersome) patchwork organizations, a team-based validation process will work to motivate organic elements to
increase their readiness at the lowest level, especially
when combined with incentives for increased standing
on order-of-merit lists for advanced schooling, as well
as for the opportunity to undertake operational training and deployments. Additionally, commanders will
be able to quickly identify and allocate ready teams
when needs arise. At the lowest level, the tactical-level
CAT, these teams are led by experienced captains and
sergeants first class who should already be aware of
ARFORGEN requirements, so transition issues should
be minimal.
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