Army After Next

The Army After Next was described in the March/April 1994 issue of the Army Logistician as the one that will follow Army XXI, with capabilities to serve the country after 2010," according to General William W. Hartzog, the TRADOC commander. "The [AAN] project will conduct broad studies of the likely development of warfare till about 2025."

"At the direction of the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Dennis J. Reimer, the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is studying what capabilities the Army will need after Army XXI. This project is known as the Army After Next (AAN).... The future battle directorate of TRADOC leads the effort. The AAN team is headed by Colonel Michael Starry, who is also director of future battle under TRADOC's deputy chief of staff for doctrine. The team eventually will consist of about eight officers and four civilians. Their initial focus will be on future developments in four areas: geopolitical realities, human and organizational behavior, military art, and technology. TRADOC will sponsor workshops and seminars throughout the year, with each trying to assess what will happen in one or more of the areas of concern.

"The AAN team will have access to the efforts of the other armed services, other Government agencies, and private think tanks and laboratories that are also trying to divine the future. All information gathered by the team, as well as studies conducted by team members, will be synthesized into an annual white paper, which will be delivered to General Reimer each summer.

"The other major annual AAN event will be a winter war game, to be held at the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. According to General Hartzog, 'The ultimate goal is to produce an Army that wins wars, not just individual battles on specified battlefields. This broadens considerably the scope and depth of AAN research and invites multiservice participation at every opportunity. Winter war games will therefore be global in scope, replicate the spectrum of warfare from strategic-political to tactical, and be fundamentally joint in nature.'

"Current AAN work includes cooperation with the Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Defense Science Board (DSB). 'One DSB project drawing attention is the revolution in military affairs and its effects on small unit operations,' notes Starry."

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