The Future of the Brigade Combat Team: Air-Ground Integration and the Operating Environment

Abstract

The Brigade Combat Team is the primary tool for the U.S. Army to support combat operations around the world. As the future operating environment becomes continues to shift and change in both scope and requirements, the U.S. Army must assess current systems to determine their effectiveness. One essential system, air-ground integration, requires attention in order to identify capability gaps for Brigade Combat Teams in order to support future operations. In order to assess the current system, experiences from Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq help to identify future challenges to the operating environment. Once these challenges are assessed, they are compared with other identified future challenges related to enemy capabilities as well as increased multinational partnerships. Based on the current system, shortfalls are present in the Brigade Combat Team's effectiveness to execute air-ground integration and close air support due to demands in personnel and equipment for multinational interoperability. In order to correct this deficiency, the Army and Air Force need to develop a joint solution to produce a greater Terminal Attack Control capacity to support not only U.S. forces but also multinational partners.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 09, 2017
Accession Number
AD1038595

Entities

People

  • Joab H. Cohe

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Cyber
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Combat Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Employment
  • Fire Support
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Situational Awareness
  • Terrorists
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation