(Army Times) The Army is weeks away from unveiling the next phase in its plans to centralize and streamline modernization under one Army Futures Command, including moves to lease office space in a major city where leaders will have access to civilian experts.
(Army Times) In the midst of the Vietnam War, U.S. troops were rocked by an offensive that saw conventional and irregular enemies sweep over territories and entrench themselves in areas of South Vietnam previously untouched by the war.
Using lessons learned, soldiers and Marines are training for urban combat
(Army Times) When retired Marine Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas was a young lieutenant in training, officers received a grand total of a one-hour lecture on urban combat.
Soon, terrorist and insurgent groups will mount operations from crowded slums and ritzy skyscrapers—not just in a dense urban landscape, but in coastal megacities that pose a unique challenge for which the U.S. military largely remains unprepared.
- Wars of the future will not be fighting for cities, but rather fighting within them. Counterinsurgency of the future will take place in peripheral slums, along narrow backstreets, and among a metropolis of civilians going about their days.
- The advantage of heavy weaponry a counterinsurgent force has enjoyed in the past will become limited in megacities, and ground forces, such as tactical counterterrorism units or special operations forces, will encounter related challenges as a result of the physical terrain within a burgeoning metropolis.
- Counterinsurgent forces must adapt, and that requires a change in mindset about the use of unconventional military power. In anticipation of the explosive urbanization trend predicted to continue and accelerate, the U.S. military needs to adapt to operating within sprawling metropolitan environments.
By Daniel Gouré, RealClearDefense: “Processes are no substitute for production. The U.S. Army’s effort to reform the processes associated with its acquisition system, from requirements definition through investments in technology to engineering development and production, is moving forward.”