CAS, Service Doctrine, and the Operational Level of War

Abstract

During the past decade, the US has utilized rapid deployment forces on an ever increasing basis in response to emerging crises. These forces have been employed as stand alone forces in lesser regional contingencies and as an enabling force during the last major regional contingency. Consistent with airlift limitations, many of these force packages are configured with light organic weapons and rely on CAS for immediate heavy firepower. Yet, Army and Air Force doctrines fail to recognize the essential role CAS plays during an operation. over the years this basic disconnect in service doctrine has given rise to heated debate between the two services concerning adequate CAS for the infantryman. Indeed, the most recent version of Air Force doctrine further de- emphasizes the use of CAS. With a view on recent trends in force employment, the current flaws in CAS service doctrine will be exposed, the impact which CAS has on the operational level of war will be examined, and a solution which rectifies doctrinal shortfalls through renewed CAS emphasis will be offered.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 18, 1993
Accession Number
ADA266794

Entities

People

  • James F. Flock

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Aircrafts
  • Close Support
  • Combat Support
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Deployment
  • Doctrine
  • Military Applications
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Rapid Deployment
  • Tactical Air Support
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.