Infantry in the 21st Century
Abstract
This paper answers the question: "What human characteristics must the Infantry soldier have in order to fight and win on the battlefield of the future?" The most important task of a peacetime army is to prepare for war. Normally, this is thought of in terms of the training and logistic readiness that occupies most of the Army. However, it also includes the more fundamental task of anticipating the character of future war in order to properly design the forces that will fight that war. The Chief of Staff, Army's recent initiative to develop a Medium Brigade is pointed toward that end. The United States Army's formal efforts to look to the future are embodied in the "Force XXI" and "Army After Next" activities. However, those efforts, as well as the Chiefs initiative, focus almost exclusively on what technology, force structure, and equipment offer the best chance for future success. Little is being done to identify what war will be like for the soldier of the future and, more important, what human characteristics the soldier of the future needs to fight and win in that environment. The battlefield of the future will be a chaotic and non-linear environment. Forces will be intermingled and highly effective weapons will inflict great destruction and force wide dispersion. United States Army combat forces will be equipped with technology enabling unprecedented tempo, speed, and lethality within this environment. Likewise, there will be unprecedented demands on the soldiers charged with fighting in this environment. In particular, the Infantrymen of the future, the soldiers charged with seeking out and destroying the enemy, will be physically strained, psychologically stressed, and mentally tested to levels not normally seen in past wars. War has always demanded much of soldiers, particularly the Infantry. It will demand even more in the future. The most complex and challenging task on the battlefield of the future will belong to the Infantryman.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 12, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA377620
Entities
People
- Mark Van Drie
Organizations
- United States Army War College