The Army could be better poised to meet operational obligations if it would adopt a permanent rotation schedule, akin to that of the Navy and Marine Corps, its top officer told a attendees of a May 29 military strategy forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank. "What we’re trying to build is a versatile mix … organized on a rotational cycle to generate a sustained flow of forces for full-spectrum operations and to hedge against uncertainties, and to do that at a deployment ratio sustainable for an all-volunteer force," Gen. George W. Casey, the Army Chief of Staff, said. Under the plan, the Army would have four force groups in different stages of readiness at any given time. One would be deployed or available for deployments, another would serve as an operational reserve, ready to deploy quickly in response to emergencies. A third contingent would be training for deployment, while the fourth would be resetting from recent deployment.
