Pentomic Doctrine: A Model for Future War
Abstract
This monograph investigates Pentomic doctrine of the 1950's. The political and military factors that drove the Army to adopt a new vision of war, restructure and reorganize its major combat formations and to eventually abandon that change are very similar to forces driving today's Army. Although the primary focus of this monograph is the military aspects of the Pentomic doctrine, the doctrine was initially directed by political concerns, consequently, political factors are examined first. The monograph examines similarities between todays political environment and that of the Pentomic era. Today's Army is again turning to technology to provide answers to insufficient manpower to meet required defense force structure. As the Army adopts new technology, the vision of future warfare tends to change raising questions on how the Army plans to fight in the presence of such technology. By studying the past the Army may avoid mistakes in the future. The political and military factors that the 1950's Army had to consider provides a case study on what the Army planned to achieve and which operational problems drove modifications in force structure, technology and methods of execution.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 20, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA284721
Entities
People
- Jack F. Smith
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies