The Army is consolidating commands and streamlining headquarters to improve efficiency and refocus on strategic priorities.
Washington, D.C. – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George announced that the Western Hemisphere Command, which will combine Army North Command, Army South Command, and Force Command (FORSCOM), is slated to be established before the end of the year.
Slimming Down
The move to create the new command aligns with the Army’s ongoing efforts to reduce the size of its headquarters and decrease the number of four-star general officer billets. This transformation initiative recently saw the merger of Futures Command and Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) into the Transformation and Training Command, or T2COM.
Six to Eight Weeks
„You should expect in […] about the next six to eight weeks, we are looking to do the same thing with Western Hemispheres Command,” George said at the AUSA conference. This consolidation will establish a four-star headquarters at Fort Bragg, responsible for the Western Hemisphere, with Army North and Army South merging into it.
Homeland defense
According to an April memo announcing the consolidation, the new command will be „focused on homeland defense and partnerships with Western Hemisphere allies.”
More Efficient
George argued that reducing the size of the Army’s headquarters not only frees up funds for other priorities but also enhances efficiency by enabling leaders to accomplish more with fewer resources.
Reducing Headquarters
„Our Army has gotten smaller, and we have grown headquarters. I mean, so we have to reduce the headquarters, and I think we can become more efficient,” George stated.
Smart Board
He noted that the Army had initially aimed to downsize its headquarters by 1,000 personnel and that the service can make more effective decisions using advanced technology. “Instead of passing all the people [and] product around, I have been able, in my own office, to look at a smart board and make decisions, not ask for info papers [to] understand what’s happening inside of our formation. So, we need less people to do that.”
Texas and North Carolina
While Army North and Army South are currently headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, operations will move to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where FORSCOM is located, within the next six to eight weeks. However, some elements of the command will remain at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, according to local media reports.
