Strategic Creep: From Power Projection Back to Forward Presence.

Abstract

The U.S. Army has transformed from a Cold War era forward based force to a power projection Army, capable of rapid deployment. While permanent overseas presence has decreased dramatically, operational deployments have increased exponentially. The frequency and duration of deployments raise the question of whether the Army's forward based strategy has truly changed. This study contends that the Army remains a force still very centered on overseas presence. The "Strategic Creep" posed by long-term global commitments demanding continuous presence has forced the Army to adopt an execution strategy of forward presence. With signs of strained readiness, what are the Army and our nation willing to pay to maintain the U.S. role as a global leader? Will over-commitment jeopardize our capability to respond to real national security threats? A greater commitment by the global community to solve global problems is needed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 11, 1999
Accession Number
ADA362989

Entities

People

  • Charles R. Alexander Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Middle East
  • Military Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • Personnel Management
  • Southwest Asia
  • Students
  • Task Forces
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Strategic Security Studies