Army/Navy CAS Cooperation: Don't Forget Navy CAS.
Abstract
The Navy's aircraft carrier battle groups have historically been the first to arrive in troubled areas around the world, and will strive to do so in the future. As a result of this commitment, Navy CAS has played a role in the close fight for Army and Marine Corps ground units in every major conflict since World War II. In Korea, Navy CAS proved extremely valuable, both in forced entry operations, such as Inchon, and in evacuation operations, such as the retreat from the Yalu. Likewise, in Vietnam, Navy CAS proved critical in battles such as Khe Sanh. Despite the great success of Air Force assets in Desert Storm, history and geography reveal that the availability of air fields in the vicinity of the front may not always follow the user friendly environment of Saudi Arabia. Often, the air field environment of Korea or Vietnam may more accurately template the war of the future, especially in the entry and exit phases of an operation. For this reason, it is essential that the combat power of Navy CAS not be forgotten. Yet today, parochial arguments persist which claim that one service can do the job better than all the others. Contrary to the notion that one service is in fact 'best,' this monograph addresses the synergistic question relating to CAS: Are there operational benefits to be obtained through Army and Navy CAS cooperation? In researching this question, an examination of CAS from the current U.S. perspective on air power theory in general will set the stage for further analysis. Once a theoretical foundation has been laid, a discussion on the historic role of Navy CAS in support of joint and combined operations since WWII will be presented. This will be followed by a presentation of current arguments against fixed wing CAS and Naval Aviation in general, both from the aspects of fleet vulnerability and excessive costs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 18, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA340174
Entities
People
- Brick R. Imerman
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College