Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units is the 10thstudy in the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Occasional Paper series. This work is an outgrowth of concerns identified by the authors of On Point: The United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Specifically, these authors called into question the use of long-range surveillance (LRS) assets by commanders during that campaign and suggested an assessment ought to be made about their continuing utility and means of employment.
From the introduction: "In early 2013, the Combat Studies Institute became involved in this effort by writing a series of Mission Command case studies for use at the US Army's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk. Those case studies form the core of this collection. Each case includes a brief account of a military action followed by an explanatory section that demonstrates how the case illustrates Mission Command principles. This structure was designed for use in training and schools but is equally conducive for self-study programs. None of the 16 cases in this volume offer examples of leaders practicing Mission Command perfectly. Some of the actions described, in fact, come from early periods in which the lack of radio and other modern communications made any level of command and control very difficult to attain. The real value of these cases lies in their ability to clearly convey how past leaders employed principles such as the use of commander's intent and the exercise of disciplined initiative to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. In this way, the past breathes life into current doctrine, making it more tangible and understandable.
Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press. This work provides an organizational history of the maneuver brigade and case studies of its employment throughout the various wars. Apart from the text, the appendices at the end of the work provide a ready reference to all brigade organizations used in the Army since 1917 and the history of the brigade colors.
This work is the continuation and revision of a project started in 2006 with the publication of In Contact! by the Combat Studies Institute. The original concept was to present a series of military vignettes in a style similar to the widely used case-study methodology commonly found in military literature. The final version of Between the Rivers, instead of following this strict case-study format, presents combat action vignettes as narrative accounts of the various types of actions challenging combat leaders in Iraq in 2003-2005.
From the foreword: "During the 1980s a fable circulated within the US Army concerning Soviet planning for a potential war with the United States. In the most common version, a Soviet general is alleged to have declared in frustration, "It is impossible to plan against the Americans because they don't follow their own doctrine." Many readers of this book will have heard (or said) that "doctrine is only a guide." Indeed, the tactical agility demonstrated by the US Army on the battle elds of Iraq and Afghanistan is due in no small part to a cultural imperative that prizes solutions above all else.While not disputing the value of unorthodox solutions to dif cult challenges, the organizational culture that underpins this perspective has resulted in a widespread lack of knowledge of Army doctrine by com-pany and eld grade of cers and mid-level and senior noncommissioned of cers. Recognizing this, the Army has dramatically reengineered its doctrine to distill the timeless principles into a series of accessible, easily read documents. This process has led to a larger discussion of what should and should not be called "doctrine," and has also included discussion of how we as members of the profession of arms conceptualize warfare. Unfortunately, this conversation has not yet included the bulk of the Army's mid-level leaders. Dr. Jackson's monograph is an excellent contribution to remedy that shortfall. Its greatest value lies in the fact that it forces the reader to reconsider basic assumptions about the purpose and utility of doctrine, and what a nation's military doctrine says about its military institution. Jackson's arguments are well reasoned, his assertions are provocative, and his conclusions are profound. After reading this work, your view and understanding of doctrine will be powerfully enhanced, and will lead to lively discussions at every level.
This work is the continuation and revision of a project started in 2006 with the publication of In Contact! by the Combat Studies Institute. The original concept was to present a series of military vignettes in a style similar to the widely used case-study methodology commonly found in military literature. The final version of Between the Rivers, instead of following this strict case-study format, presents combat action vignettes as narrative accounts of the various types of actions challenging combat leaders in Iraq in 2003-2005.
From the foreword: "The present volume, Vanguard of Valor II, offers six accounts of US Soldiers at the tip of the spear during the Afghan campaign. The Combat Studies Institute's Vanguard of Valor series is intended to document small unit actions in Afghanistan. These books play an equally important role by offering insights to Soldiers who may find themselves in the years ahead under similar conditions, whether in Afghanistan or in some other troubled land where they have been deployed to conduct the dangerous business of defending the national interest in a theater of war.
With the publication of Great Commanders, the Combat Studies Institute continues its mission of publishing CGSC Faculty scholarship and adding to the body of historical literature the thoughts and research of these distinguished Professors. These analyses are both interesting and useful in their discussion of what attributes and circumstances yield an extraordinary commander of martial forces. As the editors point out, this volume is not a study of the "greatest" commanders; rather, it is an examination of commanders who should be considered great. The seven leaders examined, in the various domains of ground, sea, and air, each in their own way successfully addressed the challenges of military endeavor in their time and changed the world in which they lived. Not only should students of history find this volume interesting, but practitioners of warfare, who may be given the solemn duty and responsibility of command, may garner insights into the qualities and abilities possessed by those commanders deemed to be 'great.'"--Foreward.
The first annual military history symposium sponsored by the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and hosted by the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, took place in August 2003. It brought together an outstanding group of civilian historians and military officers for the purpose of discussing a variety of historical case studies and the ways in which they illuminate current military issues and operations. As the subtitle of the symposium indicates, the topics spanned two centuries of American campaigning, ranging from the Army's "nation-building" activities during the Reconstruction of the post-Civil War South and the trans-Mississippi West; through US counterguerrilla warfare in the American Civil War, the Philippines, Korea, and Latin America; to the US occupation of Germany after World War II and American interventions in Mexico, China, Russia, Panama, and Afghanistan. Without exception, the presentations were thought provoking and elicited lively discussion among the attendees.
The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton's Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doing in the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative's unit was involved. The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable.Each unit is represented by a unit entry block. The entries contain a host of information that is standardized in its presentation as far as possible. Each entry includes the unit title and type, the headquarters to which the unit was assigned, the geographical area to which the unit was allotted (if National Guard or Organized Reserve), the unit's headquarters location, the unit's physical location (or the unit's headquarters location if dispersed) on 7 December 1941, a unit service narrative, the unit's organization day, the unit's status as of 2001, and a chronological listing of the unit's commanding officers. Depending on the type of unit, additional information may include a listing of subordinate units and their years of assignment; “snapshot” orders of battle for divisions, corps, and armies for selected years; and the subordinate components of nonstandard units such as harbor defense commands. Also included in this work are the headquarters, a unit service narrative, commanders, and a “Major posts, camps, stations, airfields, and National Guard and Organized Reserve training facilities” section for each of the nine corps areas and three overseas departments. Though these were not tactical headquarters in the traditional sense, their importance to this period, and to this project, were such that I felt compelled to add their information.
In this monograph, Dr. Whitfield "Chip" East provides a pragmatic history of physical readiness training in our Army. He tells us we initially mirrored the professional Armies of Europe as they prepared their forces for war on the continent. Then he introduces us to some master trainers, and shows us how they initiated an American brand of physical conditioning when our forces were found lacking in the early wars of the last century. Finally, he shows us how we have and must incorporate science (even when there exists considerable debate ) to contribute to what we do-and how we do it-in shaping today's Army. Dr. East provides the history, the analysis, and the pragmatism, and all of it is geared to understanding how our Army has and must train Soldiers for the physical demands of combat.
The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton's Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doing in the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative's unit was involved. The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable.Each unit is represented by a unit entry block. The entries contain a host of information that is stan-dardized in its presentation as far as possible. Each entry includes the unit title and type, the headquarters to which the unit was assigned, the geographical area to which the unit was allotted (if National Guard or Organized Reserve), the unit's headquarters location, the unit's physical location (or the unit's headquarters location if dispersed) on 7 December 1941, a unit service narrative, the unit's organization day, the unit's status as of 2001, and a chronological listing of the unit's commanding officers. Depending on the type of unit, additional information may include a listing of subordinate units and their years of assignment; “snap-shot” orders of battle for divisions, corps, and armies for selected years; and the subordinate components of nonstandard units such as harbor defense commands. Also included in this work are the headquarters, a unit service narrative, commanders, and a “Major posts, camps, stations, airfields, and National Guard and Organized Reserve training facilities” section for each of the nine corps areas and three overseas depart-ments. Though these were not tactical headquarters in the traditional sense, their importance to this period, and to this project, were such that I felt compelled to add their information.
The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton's Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doing in the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative's unit was involved. The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable.Each unit is represented by a unit entry block. The entries contain a host of information that is standardized in its presentation as far as possible. Each entry includes the unit title and type, the headquarters to which the unit was assigned, the geographical area to which the unit was allotted (if National Guard or Organized Reserve), the unit's headquarters location, the unit's physical location (or the unit's headquarters location if dispersed) on 7 December 1941, a unit service narrative, the unit's organization day, the unit's status as of 2001, and a chronological listing of the unit's commanding officers. Depending on the type of unit, additional information may include a listing of subordinate units and their years of assignment; “snapshot” orders of battle for divisions, corps, and armies for selected years; and the subordinate components of nonstandard units such as harbor defense commands. Also included in this work are the headquarters, a unit service narrative, commanders, and a “Major posts, camps, stations, airfields, and National Guard and Organized Reserve training facilities” section for each of the nine corps areas and three overseas departments. Though these were not tactical headquarters in the traditional sense, their importance to this period, and to this project, were such that I felt compelled to add their information.
Includes 16 maps, photos and plans “The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008, when about 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked NATO troops near the Quam,(large clan village), of Wanat in the Waygal district in Afghanistan’s far eastern province of Nuristan. The position was defended primarily by U.S. Army soldiers of the 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. “The Taliban surrounded the remote base and its observation post and attacked it from the Quam and the surrounding farmland. They destroyed much of the Americans’ heavy munitions, broke through U.S. lines, and entered the main base before being repelled by artillery and aircraft. American casualties included nine killed and 27 wounded, while four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were wounded. The U.S. combat deaths represent the most in a single battle since the start of U.S. operations in 2001. “The Battle of Wanat has been described as the "Black Hawk Down" of the War in Afghanistan, as one of the bloodiest attacks of the war and one of several attacks on remote outposts. In contrast to previous roadside bombs and haphazard attacks and ambushes, this attack was well coordinated with fighters from many insurgent and terrorist groups with an effort that was disciplined and sustained which was able to target key assets such as the TOW launcher with precision. “The battle became the focus of widespread debate, generating "a great deal of interest and scrutiny among military professionals and from outside observers." mainly due to the relatively "significant number of coalition casualties".
Prepared by the Afghan Study Team of the Combat Studies Institure, U.S. Army, From the foreword by Genral (ret.) David Petraeus: "In 2010, as the scale and tempo of Coalition operations in Afghanistan increased, so did the need for historical accounts of small-unit actions. As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), I commissioned the Combat Studies Institute to research and write the cases collected in this volume and in those that will follow. By capturing key insights from both lethal and non-lethal operations, I hoped these accounts would be of immediate utility to sergeants and lieutenants at the center of future operations. The eight actions described in these pages take the reader through a wide range of platoon-level operations, from an intense firefight near Kandahar to an intricate civic action project in Kunar Province. Drawing from dozens of Soldier interviews, these accounts vividly depict the actions themselves and offer critical insights of greatest benefit to the small-unit actions leaders of today and tomorrow. The US Army always has prided itself as an institution of constant learning, strongly committed to drawing lessons from its past. This volume from the Combat Studies Institute is an excellent example of that long and honorable tradition. I hope that you will find the actions n Vanguard of Valor to be both instructive and compelling. I am sure that you will find them to be inspirational.
The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton's Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doing in the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative's unit was involved. The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable.Each unit is represented by a unit entry block. The entries contain a host of information that is standardized in its presentation as far as possible. Each entry includes the unit title and type, the headquarters to which the unit was assigned, the geographical area to which the unit was allotted (if National Guard or Organized Reserve), the unit's headquarters location, the unit's physical location (or the unit's headquarters location if dispersed) on 7 December 1941, a unit service narrative, the unit's organization day, the unit's status as of 2001, and a chronological listing of the unit's commanding officers. Depending on the type of unit, additional information may include a listing of subordinate units and their years of assignment; “snapshot” orders of battle for divisions, corps, and armies for selected years; and the subordinate components of nonstandard units such as harbor defense commands. Also included in this work are the headquarters, a unit service narrative, commanders, and a “Major posts, camps, stations, airfields, and National Guard and Organized Reserve training facilities” section for each of the nine corps areas and three overseas departments. Though these were not tactical headquarters in the traditional sense, their importance to this period, and to this project, were such that I felt compelled to add their information.
The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton's Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doingin the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative's unit was involved.The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable. Each unit is represented by a unit entry block. The entries contain a host of information that is standardizedin its presentation as far as possible. Each entry includes the unit title and type, the headquartersto which the unit was assigned, the geographical area to which the unit was allotted (if National Guard or Organized Reserve), the unit's headquarters location, the unit's physical location (or the unit's headquarters location if dispersed) on 7 December 1941, a unit service narrative, the unit's organization day, the unit's status as of 2001, and a chronological listing of the unit's commanding officers. Depending on the type ofunit, additional information may include a listing of subordinate units and their years of assignment; “snapshot” orders of battle for divisions, corps, and armies for selected years; and the subordinate components of nonstandard units such as harbor defense commands. Also included in this work are the headquarters, aunit service narrative, commanders, and a “Major posts, camps, stations, airfields, and National Guard and Organized Reserve training facilities” section for each of the nine corps areas and three overseas departments. Though these were not tactical headquarters in the traditional sense, their importance to this period, and to this project, were such that I felt compelled to add their information.
Contains the definitive history of the extensive but little known U.S. Army amphibious operations during the Korean War, 1950-1953. Provides insights to modern planners crafting future joint or combined operations in that part of the world.Originally published in 2008. Illustrated.
Originally published by the United States Army Combat Studies Institute Press in 2009, this monograph is a wide-ranging historical survey of the theory, doctrine, organization, and employment of reconnaissance units since the era of mechanization in the early 20th century. This study examines the development, role, and employment of units in modern armies designed specifically to perform reconnaissance and security (counterreconnaissance) missions. The analysis discerns common threads from the past. Conclusions are drawn from historical trends that may apply to future force development planning and unit operational employment. In the past, dedicated reconnaissance units were unique in their organization and capabilities due to the presence of the horse. This provided cavalry with a marked mobility differential over infantry and artillery. In the mechanized age, this monopoly on mobility vanished. Nonreconnaissance mechanized and motorized forces were equipped with similar weapons and vehicles. Reconnaissance units then became distinctive primarily by their organizational structure and specialized mission rather than by their equipment. This conceptual transformation has created a great dichotomy for modern reconnaissance forces. Should such forces be light or heavy? A lighter force might be able to conduct reconnaissance operations, at least theoretically, in a more nimble fashion, while a heavier force could defend itself when conducting reconnaissance and security operations. An additional consideration is the question as to what organizational level should dedicated reconnaissance forces be provided and used. This work examines these two major threads from a historical perspective since World War I.
The US Army Order of Battle, 1919–1941 is an important addition to the library of all Army historians, professional and amateur. More than a simple listing of units and the headquarters to which they were assigned, this book is an encyclopedia of information on Army tactical organizations in existence during the interwar period. This four-volume work, based on almost 20 years of research, fills a distinct void in the history of Army units, especially those of the Organized Reserve (now known as the US Army Reserve). Clay's comprehensive work details the history of every tactical organization from separate battalion to field army, as well as certain other major commands important to the Army in the 1920s and 1930s. It also includes the various units' changes of station, commanding officers, accomplishments, and key events such as major maneuvers and, for National Guard units, active duty periods for state emergencies. Also included are the organizations' distinctive unit insignia, as well as maps showing command boundaries and charts illustrating the assortment of tables of organization germane to the organizations of the time. In short, this Order of Battle is the “go to” reference for the historian who wishes to understand the history, organization, and evolution of Army units between the World Wars.
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