The Revolution in Military Affairs: Impact on the U.S. Army Personnel System

Abstract

The conduct and outcome of war is never assured. As often quoted, Carl von Clausewitz lamented that "war is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty." The fog of war impacts every aspect of military planning. During the past decade, one of the major concerns traveling through military circles is the belief that we are in the midst of a revolution in military affairs (RMA). Some military planners hope that technical and other advances brought about by the RMA can lift some of this "fog of war." Many scholars point to the use of precision-guided munitions in the Gulf War and in the bombing campaigns of Operation Allied Force in Kosovo as proof positive of the existence of a new revolution in military affairs. However, all do not agree about this being a revolutionary step. Some claim that these advances are merely an evolutionary, and not revolutionary, step in the conduct of war. Most of the weapons and the Airland Battle Doctrine used in the conduct of these operations were around for a decade or more prior. Even of those who believe that the United States is in the beginning of and RMA may somewhat disagree over how to exactly define this revolution in military affairs. Is the advance in technology enough to comprise the revolution, or does it require more? In this paper, I will address what I believe to be the most all-inclusive definition of the RMA. I will then look at some possible impacts on the organization of the U.S. Army necessitated by this RMA. Changes in Army organization, along with the technological advances of the RMA, will necessitate changes in personnel support to the Army. I will discuss some of these impacts, propose some possible changes to personnel support functions and also some structural changes to personnel organizations. However, the first step is to come to a consensus on the definition of the revolution in military affairs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA388723

Entities

People

  • Donald R. Bachler

Organizations

  • University of Denver

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Digital Communications
  • Employment
  • Health Services
  • Information Systems
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • Recreation
  • United States Central Command
  • United States European Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design