Saturday, January 24, 2015

I Corps commander on Pacific strategy: 'Army is not trying to be Marine Corps' - Pacific - Stripes

I Corps commander on Pacific strategy: 'Army is not trying to be Marine Corps' - Pacific - Stripes: The Pacific rebalance requires all the military services and their capabilities, and the Army has increased its presence in the Pacific “exponentially” in the past year, the commander of I Corps told reporters Friday.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza, commander of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord-based I Corps, said the unit is spread throughout the Pacific and is “truly part of the rebalance” and the whole-of-government strategy.

“The Army is not trying to be the Marine Corps,” Lanza said during a media roundtable in Washington, D.C., in response to questions about the similarity of the “Pacific Pathways” deployment program to Marine Corps deployments and operations.

“When you have a holistic strategy in the Pacific, you need all enabling capabilities. And, really, you have to come at rebalance from a joint perspective.”

The demands in the Pacific exceed any one service’s abilities, Lanza said, and the Army can bring unique capabilities to the region, including engineer brigades, civil affairs, medical brigades and aviation.