U.S. Army rethinking training

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- U.S. military leaders are planning an Army where conventional units will be deployed in tandem with Special Forces, officials say.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, outlined the new military in an article published last week in Foreign Affairs. He suggested the military needs to build on the relationship between the conventional Army and Special Operations Forces developed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The evolution of this partnership over the past decade has been extraordinary, and the ties can become even stronger as we continue to develop new operational concepts, enhance our training and invest in new capabilities," he wrote.

While the size of the Army is being cut, Special Forces are to grow from 32,000 to 35,000, The New York Times said.

The military's goal, as described by Odierno and other leaders, is an Army that can handle everything from working with local leaders to heavy combat in the same theater. That means rethinking conventional military training.

One plan is to assign units to a specific region of the world, allowing soldiers to be trained in local languages and customs.