Pentagon Massively Revs Up Infantry Ground Combat Task Force

Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht

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By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

American ground fighters must overmatch any potential adversary, now and in the future, the men in charge of the Close Combat Lethality Task Force said here today.

Robert Willke, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, who serves on the task force’s advisory board, spoke about the effort at the Association of the United States Army’s Sullivan Center.

The effort looks to improve the lethality of Army, Marine Corps and special operations light infantry units, and it is personally being pushed by Defense Secretary James N. Mattis

Scales said the reason behind the task force comes down to three number: 90, 4 and 1. Ninety percent of Americans killed in combat are infantry, he noted. “They constitute 4 percent of uniformed personnel and receive just 1 percent of the DoD budget for training and equipping,” Scales said.

Combat Overmatch