An Analysis of the Tooth to Tail Ratio in a Brigade Combat Team Between 1990 to Present

As the army organizes to fight the current Global War on Terrorism and other enemies in the 21st Century, logisticians will need the capabilities to keep pace with the high technology of the modern battlefield. Under the Army's Modularity campaign, the Army has redesigned the Army of Excellence and that of the Division XXI. The new name for this modular force is called the "current force" as the Army is still transforming to a "future Force." In modularity, the Army made key decisions to radically alter both the combat force from a division based army to a brigade based army and altered the way logistics will be conducted at the tactical level. Given personnel end strength constraints to Task Force Modularity force design development team, the modular force was designed to create a modular "brigade-based" Army that is more responsive to the regional combatant commanders' needs, better employs Joint capabilities, facilitates force packaging, rapid deployment, and fights as self contained units in non-linear, non-contiguous battlespaces. In support of the new design, the Army has attempted to reduce once again its proverbial "tail" in order to lessen the logistic footprint. Army planners therefore embarked on a new intellectual, organizational, and technological approach to tactical logistics at the brigade level. This monograph examines the question: does the organizational change affecting the "tooth to tail" ratio sustain the flexibility and tactical mobility of the heavy brigade combat team?