Without argument or doubt, the United States Air Force has earned distinction as the world’s greatest Air Force (AF)! The renown successes of the AF beginning with World War I, through the conception of jet aircraft during the Korean War, the...
Within hours of the September 11th attacks, many leaders of the 82nd Airborne Division determined that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were behind these terrorist attacks. The war in Afghanistan was inevitable. As a First Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne...
With the role of the U.S. Army changing from exclusively fighting and winning the nation's wars to becoming more involved in support and stability operations, the potential to become entangled in urban combat has increased tremendously....
With operations in Iraq complete and an ongoing transition in Afghanistan, what is the role of the heavy armor force in the Army of 2020? This thesis analyzes the capabilities of the current heavy force through the lens of the current strategic...
Will centralized screening and selection improve foreign military advisor performance on the battlefield? The Army's 2009 doctrine on security force assistance indicates selection is necessary to find suitable Soldiers for the mission. The factors...
While technologically the Army's air defense community is making great strides in keeping pace with a perceived revolution in military affairs (RMA), doctrinally it is still adhering to its WWII requirement of positive visual identification of...
While recovering back in the US from five gunshot wounds incurred during an April 2003 firefight in Afghanistan, Major Gregory Trahan had to relinquish command of his company (which was still in theater) and was planning, upon returning to duty, to...
While it appears that the role of the U.S. Army is changing from exclusively fighting and winning the nation’s wars to becoming the force provider for numerous support and stability operations, the potential to become entangled in low intensity...
While deployed to Panama on Operation “Just Cause” I witnessed combat for the first time and realized the importance of training. On 20 December 1989 I was a young Sergeant with five years in the U.S Army and was very excited about deploying to...
Whether the current combat exclusion policy preventing women from serving in direct ground combat positions should remain in effect has been an issue for centuries. One only needs to understand the definition of direct combat to understand why. In...
When you look at a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) you think of them as a leader, mentor, and the ones who set and enforce the standards. However, this is not always the truth. Most NCOs are leaders, but there are those select few who manage to...
When the enemy adopts a policy to attack convoys, truck drivers become front line troops. Convoy commanders must then become tacticians. How to study war? The student of tactics studies previous fights and mentally places himself in the position of...
When Soldiers fight against an enemy who is not clearly recognizable, by lack of uniforms and unit organization, trying to identify the enemy becomes extremely difficult. Enemy combatants, and disgruntled local civilians, can easily blend in with...
We trained hard everyday leading up to the deployment. Our biggest obstacle was the heat, we lost several soldiers
in the division from heat stroke. Our road march to Baghdad was stressful, and dangerous. Our primary mission in
Baghdad was to...
Warrant Officers are the Army's technical experts, and provide commanders with detailed information in their area of expertise. The traditional Warrant Officer path is very narrow and focused, however the Army has recently begun offering broadening...
War is the outward expression of competition between complex adaptive political and military systems. In war, competing systems introduce new technological means to gain comparative advantage over other systems and the environment. Greater...
War Department document no. 816, A.E.F. document no. 805. Includes description of gun and mount, gun crew duties, gun drills, battery commander station and duties, equipment, execution of fire, and tables of elevation, range and altitude.
War Department document No. 621. Contains instructions on the use of cavalry in battle. Translated from the French. The employment of French cavalry during the retreat of the German forces, March, 1917. Notes on British cavalry.