A New American Way of War? Identifying Operational Lessons from American Involvement in Southwest Asia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan
Abstract
This paper addresses the question of whether the conduct and outcome of the United States last three conflicts (Desert Storm, Kosovo and Afghanistan), represent a new American Way of War. For those that espouse the idea of a new American Way of War, its characteristics include increased Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities, the dominant nature of precision guided munitions, the increased effectiveness of Special Operations Forces, and the ability to project power from the continental United States. The characteristics and lessons that are mistakenly labeled as new either fit comfortably within the existing framework of the American way of war, or are misrepresented. Further, the apparent obsession on redefining the American way of war is obscuring more important lessons that should be gleaned from these three conflicts. These lessons include the current state of the relationship between fire and maneuver, the changing nature of close air support, the compression of the sensor to shooter loop, and important coalition and jointness issues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 04, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA401131
Entities
People
- Doug Mason
Organizations
- Naval War College