Resumen de Portrait of the army as a work in progress

Rosa Brooks

• The article discusses efforts to restructure the U.S. Army, with a particular focus on the concept of regionally aligned forces (RAF) developed by Army chief of staff Raymond Odierno. According to the author, RAFs are units which have long-term relationships with specific regions and receive specialized cultural and linguistic training. It is suggested that specialized local knowledge can help U.S. forces effectively curtail or even prevent conflicts and insurgencies. Details on the author's experience of reporting on RAFs from Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait, are presented. The author suggests that while many military officials do not yet have a clear understanding of RAF, its flexibility may be important in helping the Army withstand budgetary pressures.