The Current Interwar Years: Is The Army Moving in the Correct Direction?
Abstract
This monograph discusses the actions of the United States Army during the current interwar period. The future battlefield environment will be quite different than the environment of Operation Desert Storm. The United States Army needs to be able to adapt to this new battlefield environment when it presents itself. Modernization, doctrine development, and education during the interwar period will facilitate the future success of our Army. The monograph will initially analyze both Force XXI and the current Revolution of Military Affairs (RMA). Both Force XXI and the RMA are vehicles the United States Army is using to navigate its way into the future. These conceptual ideas combined with the current FM 100-5 will be the driving force of change into the 21st Century. The monograph will then provide a description of what the future battlefield environment might look like. Critical here is that the battlefield environment of the future will not be just terrain and enemy dependent. Demographics, culture, crime, urbanization, and disease will combine to make this future environment more complex than the battlefield environment of Operation Desert Storm. The current Modernization Plan, Doctrinal development, and Education will be analyzed to see what direction the Army is actually moving in during this interwar period. Finally, the author will analyze both the German and French Army during the interwar period between World War I and World War II. Both the Germans and the French had basically equal amounts of technology prior to the German attack of France in 1940. However, one country was successful and the other was not. The reasons for both the success and the failure will provide insight for the United States Army during the current interwar period. The conclusion will address these lessons and provide recommendations for the United States Army.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA314360
Entities
People
- Wayne W. Grigsby Jr
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College