A Middle-Range Response: The Need for Motorized Forces
Abstract
The Secretary of Defense stated: The overall goal of our force projection program is to achieve an ability to deploy adequate forces to counter simultaneous Soviet-bloc offensives in Europe, the Pacific region, and Southwest Asia (SWA). The United States Army is charged with responding to a variety of threats across the entire spectrum of conflict. While forces are available to meet the low and high intensity threat, few forces are structured to respond to the increasing threat in the middle of the spectrum. This paper analyzes the growing armor threat in the third world, assesses U.S. forces ability to respond in terms of structure, availability, strengths and weaknesses, and offers motorization as an alternative to meet the mid-intensity threat. With the recent Army Chief of Staff decision to delete the motorized concept for the Active Components, a candidate could be Reserve Component Forces using off-the-shelf equipment and realistic missions. Regardless of what component is selected, this nation must have forces available and properly structured to respond to threats in the middle of the conflict spectrum. An alternative is motorization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA209566
Entities
People
- Michael J. Dolan Iii
Organizations
- United States Army War College