The sixteen division force decision is analyzed primarily from the military perspective of its originator, General Abrams. However, the perspectives of the Congress, of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army, and of the Army staff planners who must make that decision work were also vital aspects of the decision and are accordingly analyzed. The significance of the sixteen division force decision, which was broached to Congress in early 1974 and presented as programmed force in the February 1975 budgetary request for FY 1976, lies in the fact that the Army is asking to increase its number of divisions from thirteen to sixteen without requesting an increase in its end strength of 785, 000. The last time the Army had sixteen divisions was in 1964, when the end strength was 969, 000, almost 200, 000 more than now. The decision is therefore part of the impetus for a major restructuring of the Army which will produce more combat units, fewer support units, and fewer headquarters. | Sixteen Division Force Anatomy Of A Decision by Creighton W Abrams, Paperback | Indigo Chapters