Form Follows Function: Sixty Years of Army Force Generation and Structure

Extending from the Cold War through the current Era of Persistent Conflict, the Army implemented a number of force structure changes in response to the existing and predicted strategic environment. Similar to the architectural standard phrase that "Form Follows Function," Army force structure and force generating processes each represent a form evolved over time to satisfy the function of projecting military strength. The current Army process of force generation, termed ARFORGEN, serves as the model and process through which conventional Army combat forces are trained, resourced, and certified for global deployment under the Global Force Management processes defined by the National Military Strategy, all within a constrained environment of military end strength limitations, the All-Volunteer Force, and competing combatant command requirements. While still in development and lacking definitive codification, ARFORGEN remains the current U. S. Army force generation methodology to provide ground combat forces to the Joint Force Provider (U. S. Joint Forces Command) in response to regional combatant command requests for forces to support theater strategies and contingencies.

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