Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-182- An Operational Analysis of Cadre
separate cadre alternatives, this alternative also provides little opportunity for cadre leaders
to meet together to plan for the mobilization of their units.
3.3—ROTATING CADRE UNITS
The final approach to organizing a cadre force that we examine in this chapter
rotates AC units through cadre status over time. In 1990, Tillson et al proposed the Ready-
Standby Organization, a force structure in which some AC units would rotate through cadre
status over time. 66 The design of this force is worth considering for the cadre augmented
force proposed in this dissertation. This section begins by describing the Ready-Standby
Organization and then examines how that model might be applied to create a cadre
augmented force consistent with ARFORGEN.
3.3.1—The Ready-Standby Organization
In 1990, Tillson et al aimed to create a force structure that would keep the same
group of personnel together over many years at a low cost. Their solution was the Ready-
Standby Organization (RSO), a force structure model that rotates units through two phases
(Ready and Standby). Tillson et al described that “under RSO, combat units would move
through different readiness/training stages with different mixes of full-time personnel, parttime
personnel, and former-service personnel at each stage.” 67
In the Ready phase, a unit would be formed of a group of personnel that trained
together for three years. This is similar to ARFORGEN in which a group of personnel stays
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66 Tillson et al (1990)
67 Tillson et al (1990), p. I-8