Myth of the Unsustainable Army

In 2008 the Army declared that the current demand for forces in Iraq and Afghanistan was unsustainable--this thesis asks if this is a fair and accurate assessment. The Army developed the Army Force Generation Model in response to a condition of continuous deployments. This model established ratios of deployment to dwell time that separate into "steady state" and "sustainable surge" conditions. Through a thorough examination of brigade deployment histories, recruitment and retention numbers, and the Army Force Generation model, this thesis finds that the Army is sustainable at deployment levels experienced between 2005 and 2008. Additionally, this thesis finds that the Army model does not account for unit overlap, assumes mobilization authorities it does not possess, and serves as a force sizing construct. The Army's message of unsustainability and its current construct of the Army Force Generation Model should be re-evaluated in light of these findings.