One reaction by the Army to the BCA budget cuts is to realign its aviation assets. The Army Aviation Restructuring Initiative (ARI) calls for the Army Guard to transfer all its Apache helicopters to the active component, retire all the Kiowa helicopters, transfer most of the Lakota helicopters to the Army Aviation school, and the Guard would receive Blackhawk airframes. Based on this proposal, an incredible amount of backlash was created within the Guard, the non-profit associations who support the Guard, and with Guard supporters who are in Congress. Likening this to the squabble the Air Force and the Air Guard had a couple of years ago, lawmakers are calling for a National Commission on the Structure of the Army before any ARI changes are made. The prospects of a commission are looking favorable, much to the chagrin of the active Army and DOD leaders. Lawmakers are authorizing the commission in the language of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2015. This is an issue to watch in the next few months.
