The Airland Battle Doctrine and The Maritime Strategy: A Mixed Marriage,
Abstract
Much of the military reform debate has centered around the question of whether the AirLand Battle Doctrine or the Maritime Strategy is the correct one for the United States, as if they were mutually exclusive. The thrust of this entire portion of the debate needs to be refocused and the Joint Chiefs of Staff must take the initiative in doing so. The facts support the idea that both doctrines are one in the same at the operational level of war; they are both based on identical, sound, viable military concepts. The problem arises not only during civilian debate about the matter but also in an apparent reluctance of many military leaders to fuse together into a coherent national military strategy. Both Services must realize the need for joint strategy, rather than simply lend lipservice to the idea of joint operations. Since both doctrines are so similar and required the support of each other for ultimate success, a marriage between the two obviously needs to be arranged. The Joint Chiefs of Staff should start this process through the establishment of a joint strategy commission whose goal would be to produce an Air, Land, Sea Doctrine; but whose effect would also produce a more concrete realization within the military Officer Corps that jointness is not only here to stay but also must be an everyday way of life. Once the strategy is written and the military idea of jointness crystalizes, then we should allow the military debate to focus on resource allocation rather than the competence of our strategy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 21, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA167582
Entities
People
- John E. Bradley Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College