Third World Arms Proliferation and Forced Entry Operations: Circumstances Demanding the Creation of a Standing Joint Task Force Headquarters
Abstract
Secretary Cheney's 1990 Annual Report to the President and the Congress established the requirement for the Unified Commanders in Chief to be prepared for Third World conflict involving roles and missions requiring, 'mobile, highly ready, well equipped forces and solid power projection capabilities.' While the Services have forces that are prepared to execute the forced entry missions, what is missing is a joint operational level headquarters to command these joint forced entries. Our joint history highlights two critical points in this area. First is that our task organization is routinely a hastily formed Joint Task Force (JTF). The second and more critical point is that the operational-level headquarters is normally an aggregation of individuals brought together at the last possible moment. This combination along with the authors experience in the Second Marine Division from 1984-1989 in both join training and contingency situations (Solid Shields, Ocean Ventures, Joint Supporting Arms coordination Exercises and in the initial deployments and planning for operations in Panama) led to the thesis that a CINC requires a trained, cohesive, joint headquarters with an in-depth understanding of current tactics and a joint operational, combined arms vision to plan and execute forced entry against a Third World nation that possesses air defense and antiship missiles and main battle tanks.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 29, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA223416
Entities
People
- Terrence C. Morgan
Organizations
- United States Army War College