The Unconventional Warfare Threat to the Afloat Prepositioning Force or How to Defeat a Marine Expeditionary Brigade If You Don't Have Any Tanks
Abstract
With the reduction in numbers of overseas military bases since the end of the Cold War, operational commanders are increasingly dependent upon forces based in the continental United States to respond to crises. The ability of the Afloat Prepositioning Force (APF) to forward stage and deliver equipment and supplies to forces airlifted to a theater of operations is a key enabler in achieving the strategic mobility and power projection required by the National Military Strategy. On a day-to-day basis, ships of the APF sit in ports and anchorages around the world, laden with their precious cargoes, virtually unprotected. As potential adversaries enter the 21st century they have been forced to seek out unconventional strategies in an attempt to avoid those strengths upon which America's military might is derived. One possible asymmetric strategy involves the employment of special operations forces (SOF) The convergence of these two trends - an increasing dependence on the APF and the likelihood that potential adversaries will employ asymmetric strategies - has uncovered a critical vulnerability. The vulnerability lies in the inadequacy of current operational security measures to protect APF assets from SOF. In the future, theater commanders face the possibility that an adversary will "neutralize" a Marine Expeditionary or Army Armored Brigade, not through the use of conventional armored forces or air assault, but through attack by SOF on the relatively unprotected ships of the APF.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 02, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA378560
Entities
People
- Randall C. Packard
Organizations
- Naval War College