FROM MILITARY.COM...

Not one, but two changes of command took place at the Army's highest level this past year. Gen. Martin Dempsey measured his time as the Army chief of staff in weeks rather than years before President Obama nominated him to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The transition in the service's top office proved to be a prominent example of the larger transition the Army experienced in 2011. Rather than surges, the Army is preparing for a major drawdown. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno talks about potential future operations in the Pacific almost as much as actual ongoing ones in the Middle East.

Plenty of challenges lie ahead for the Army in 2012. They include the shrinking defense budget; hopes for a reinvigorated acquisition system; settling on a camouflage pattern; and battling the traumatic brain injuries that continue to ravage the force.

Four months into his term as the Army's top officer, Odierno has transitioned past the short-lived Dempsey era and is establishing his own style of command. Much as Odierno did in Iraq when he took over for Gen. David Petraeus, the 6-foot-6 commander must replace a media darling and lead the force through the meat-and-potatoes grunt work of an operation in flux.

Army drawdown

On top of Odierno's list of priorities is the Army's force structure and figuring out what force mix is right for the post-Iraq, budget apocalypse era of the U.S. Army.

Fears about the budget collapse can sometimes seem like hyperventilation, but the cuts to Odierno's force will probably be real. Sources inside the Pentagon have said the Army plans on cutting 10 of its 45 active-duty brigade combat teams in the next five years. It's part of the larger 50,000 reduction of Soldiers over the same time period.

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