Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-192- An Operational Analysis of Cadre
equipment costs than both AC and RC units because they would use the equipment much
less intensively, if at all, during peacetime.
This chapter explores three options for equipping cadre units during peacetime: full
equipment sets, rotational equipment sets, and relying on the industrial base in wartime.
4.1—FULL EQUIPMENT SETS
One way to equip cadre units in peacetime is to provide full equipment sets as we
would for an AC unit. This arrangement was discussed in the cadre proposals of the Cold
War drawdown when the reduction in the size of the force left surplus equipment. 85 This
arrangement minimizes the risk of a unit not having the equipment when it is needed and
provides each unit with a familiar set of equipment. However, it is also very expensive. 86 Of
the three alternatives examined in this chapter, maintaining full equipment sets for each
cadre unit is the most expensive. This cost will vary depending on how the equipment is
maintained in peacetime. There are two ways we might think about maintaining a full cadre
equipment set in peacetime: cadre maintained or contractor maintained in humidity
controlled storage. Each of these options would have different costs and risks.
4.1.1—Cadre Maintained
The first way we might maintain a full set of cadre equipment in peacetime is to have
the cadre leadership maintain it. This could only be accomplished by a cadre unit that would
have enough time to perform maintenance. This eliminates all cadre organizations discussed
in Chapter Three except the maintenance and domestic training cadre units. The
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85 CBO (1990), CBO (1992)
86 CBO estimates the cost of equipping one Stryker BCT at $1.6 billion. [CBO (2004), p. 34]