Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-352- A Historical Analysis of Cadre
.... sometimes known as ‘cadre’ divisions” were “part of a larger proposal … for building up
forces in a crisis. The broader plan calls for storing equipment … but retaining officers who
could provide training and leadership if reconstituting became necessary.” 289 This plan is
consistent with the CBO (1990) proposal for a cadre augmented force. However, at the time
there were some objections. Gordon writes that Army officials were “cautious about the idea
of creating two ‘reconstitutable’ reserve divisions, expressing concern that it could lead to
even sharper cuts.” 290 Nonetheless, the administration’s new strategy as outlined in the
President’s speech and New York Times article further legitimized the cadre concept and led
to its inclusion in almost every force structure analysis undertaken during the Cold War
drawdown period.
9.6—ARMY ANALYSIS OF CADRE
The Army began examining the concept of cadre divisions in April 1990. 291 The
Army chose to undertake their own analysis “to determine the strategic role and operational
requirement for cadre divisions and to assess the feasibility of incorporating them into the
Total Force.” 292 Holcomb argues the main conclusions of the study were that “cadre
divisions may be feasible if they can be adequately trained and adequately equipped,” and
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289 Gordon (1990)
290 Gordon (1990).
291 Tice (1991a)
292 Holcomb (1992), p. 13. A copy of the corresponding report was requested by the author in March of 2007
from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). In November of 2007, this request was cancelled by
DTIC. This report appears to have been the most comprehensive analysis of cadre units and their applicability
to the U.S Army performed in the early 1990s. The citation for this report is: Chrisman, Daniel W., “Cadre
Division Concept Study (Final Draft)”, U.S. Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations:
Washington, DC, 1990. There also appears to have been a follow on report published by The Combined Arms
Center-Combat Developments Force Design Directorate that examined three options for cadre unit design.
This report was published on June 15, 1992 according to globalsecurity.org.
(http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/division-cadre.htm). The author’s request for this
document was also cancelled by DTIC.