Shock and Awe — Achieving Rapid DominanceUllman, Harlan
History
Shock and Awe — Achieving Rapid Dominance
Ullman, Harlan
Rapid dominance (Military science)
Moreover, joint force commanders, recognizing this capability, have
found ways to introduce land forces even more rapidly given today's
methods. Recently, a brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division rapidly
deployed by air from Ft. Hood, Texas, to Kuwait and was able to fall
in on equipment forward positioned and be available for combat soon
after arrival. A recent article in Navy Times pointed out, "In fact,
as each wave of soldiers arrived in Kuwait, they were heading north --
combat ready -- within six hours." This was a dramatic example of the
rapid ability to combine land forces with air and sea forces using
both distant forces with those already in the theater. That
combination in that set of strategic circumstances provided a rapid
deterrent in an area of vital national security interests to the U.S.
Another enduring truth is the need for staying power and ensuring that
capacity is perceived by a potential adversary. Staying power means
the ability to press the initial advantage gained until the strategic
objective is achieved. On-the-ground presence, in addition to forces
in theater, as demonstrated in Kuwait in 1993 and again in 1996,
provided commitment and staying power to convince Iraq that it would
be disastrous to consider any form of military action. The inherent
staying power of land forces, wherever future tactical concepts may
lead, makes them a powerful contributing partner in our Rapid
Dominance concept.
Finally, there is the issue of physical control. Control combines with
staying power to defeat the enemy's will. One of the many lessons of
Desert Storm is that it was not until after land forces attacked Iraq
and Kuwait that Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. Despite the
awesome shock and destructive effects of attacks f rom the air and
sea, it was only after coalition ground attacks to extend control to
both Kuwait and southeastern Iraq by defeat and destruction of
defending Iraqi forces that strategic objectives were secured. Control
on land was extended past the cease fire until such time in April as
the UN passed a permanent cease fire and sanctions resolution. Land
forces remaining in southeastern Iraq provided the staying power and
control.
The size, shape, and composition of forces that will fight in all
elements will assuredly change in the future. Early work done in
advanced warfighting experiments out of TRADOC's Battle Labs beginning
in 1992 and growing into the current Force XXI and other promising
capabilities as well as by the USMC at MCCDC at Quantico are the
precursors of how change may be discovered and implemented. The
challenge is to ensure that all components of our fighting power are
properly balanced and combined into the most effective and lethal
mixes of land, sea, air, space, and special operating forces. This is
the heart of the Rapid Dominance force of the future.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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