http://astropolitics.org/blog1/2007/02/06/army-woes/ Dr Dolman's place in cyberspace Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:03:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 http://astropolitics.org/blog1/2007/02/06/army-woes/#comment-14 Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:59:37 +0000 http://astropolitics.org/blog1/2007/02/06/army-woes/#comment-14 The view of Scales, a bona fide Army-centric Air Force basher for a long time, dovetails with other recent articles regarding the state of the United States Army and the Fat Scottish Bastard’s recent posting on Old Dead Carl and the Air Force. Institutionally, the Army doesn’t want to fight an insurgency, just like the Air Force doesn’t. The quote provided in the post sums it up as much today for these institutions as Clausewitz did when it was first written. However, the Air Force has never been more than a supporting force for countering an insurgency. Fighting insurgents is the job of Land Forces, such as the Army. The Army has been wrestling with its relationship to that type of war for at least 4 decades. The Big Green Machine simply does not want to fight that type of war. A recent article in Jane’s Defense Weekly (24 Jan 07, p11), highlights this dilemma. GEN William Wallace of TRADOC cites “anecdotal evidence” that high-end combat skills are being eroded by the focus on the war in Iraq. When is the Army going to stop focusing only on one type of combat and resource for the spectrum of conflict it is supposed to prepare for? Boots on the ground mean nothing if you can’t control the terrain across the spectrum of potential operations. The view of Scales, a bona fide Army-centric Air Force basher for a long time, dovetails with other recent articles regarding the state of the United States Army and the Fat Scottish Bastard’s recent posting on Old Dead Carl and the Air Force. Institutionally, the Army doesn’t want to fight an insurgency, just like the Air Force doesn’t. The quote provided in the post sums it up as much today for these institutions as Clausewitz did when it was first written. However, the Air Force has never been more than a supporting force for countering an insurgency. Fighting insurgents is the job of Land Forces, such as the Army. The Army has been wrestling with its relationship to that type of war for at least 4 decades. The Big Green Machine simply does not want to fight that type of war. A recent article in Jane’s Defense Weekly (24 Jan 07, p11), highlights this dilemma. GEN William Wallace of TRADOC cites “anecdotal evidence” that high-end combat skills are being eroded by the focus on the war in Iraq. When is the Army going to stop focusing only on one type of combat and resource for the spectrum of conflict it is supposed to prepare for? Boots on the ground mean nothing if you can’t control the terrain across the spectrum of potential operations.

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