Download or read book Cleared to Engage written by U. S. Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-11-21 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of close air support (CAS) has markedly increased over the last five years in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ground forces have increasingly relied on the effects that airpower provides and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. This has occurred while CAS doctrine and execution has undergone radical changes. While the fundamentals of a serviceman with a radio calling in air support have remained relatively constant since World War II, the level of mission complexity has steadily increased. Digital communications, precision guided munitions, collateral damage considerations, effects based operations and a "joint" battlefield have placed increased requirements on terminal attack controllers and CAS aircrew.Close air support has been a heavily debated topic within the services for decades. CAS doctrine and training issues have affected aircraft procurement, inter-service relationships and the application and effectiveness of airpower on the battlefield. This has produced numerous Congressional inquiries and service introspection on how to "get it right." While much progress has been made since 2001, the services must continue to make close air support more effective. On the modern battlefield, the joint application of firepower is a reality, not a concept. It is time to "engage" the doctrinal and training challenges facing our services in order to increase the effectiveness of our aviation forces in the close air support arena.Close air support- the term evokes scenes from the movie Platoon where a ground commander is exhorting aircraft to "drop all remaining on my pos" to avoid being overrun by enemy forces. In the current context, CAS has evolved into much more. This seemingly simple yet complex mission has been at the heart of airpower debates for decades. CAS, it can be argued, is the most difficult mission flown by an air platform on today's battlefield. CAS requires the highest level of integration with ground forces, indirect fires, and other assets. It also, in most cases, requires the greatest precision due to proximity to friendly forces. Finally, it has the highest potential for negative ramifications if something goes wrong, such as fratricide, civilian deaths, or ground forces being overrun.The importance of close air support (CAS) has markedly increased over the last five years in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ground forces have increasingly relied on the effects that airpower provides and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. The percentage of missions classified as CAS during Operation Desert Storm was small (six percent) and in Operation Allied Force was zero (due to no terminal attack controllers on the ground in Kosovo).In Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom this increased drastically. During Operation Anaconda, nearly all of the missions flown were close air support of ground forces in the Shah-e-Kot Valley. During the push to Baghdad in 2003, 75% of Navy and Marine air involvement consisted of CAS missions. In the CENTAF report OIF: By the Numbers, 79% of targets struck during the campaign fell under the Killbox Interdiction / Close Air Support (KI/CAS) category. In current operations in OIF, almost all air missions require positive control to engage ground targets.
Download or read book Cleared to Engage Improving Joint Close Air Support Effectiveness written by Major Usmc Michael H Johnson and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-08-26 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of close air support (CAS) has markedly increased over the last five years in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ground forces have increasingly relied on the effects that airpower provides and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. This has occurred while CAS doctrine and execution have undergone radical changes. While the fundamentals of a serviceperson with a radio calling in air support have remained relatively constant since World War II, the level of mission complexity has steadily increased. Digital communications, precision-guided munitions, collateral damage considerations, effects-based operations, and a "joint" battlefield have placed increased requirements on terminal attack controllers and CAS aircrew. CAS has been a heavily debated topic within the services for decades. CAS doctrine and training issues have affected aircraft procurement, interservice relationships, and the application and effectiveness of airpower on the battlefield. This has produced numerous Congressional inquiries and service introspection on how to "get it right." While much progress has been made since 2001, the services must continue to make CAS more effective. On the modern battlefield, the joint application of firepower is a reality, not a concept. It is time to "engage" the doctrinal and training challenges facing our services in order to increase the effectiveness of our aviation forces in the CAS arena.
Download or read book Cleared to Engage Improving Joint Close Air Support Effectiveness written by Michael H. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Case Studies in the Development of Close Air Support written by Benjamin Franklin Cooling (III) and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte
Download or read book Improving the Effectiveness of Joint Airpower in Support of the JFLCC written by David Lyons and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The origins of Close Air Support (CAS) date back to WWI. From that point in time United States Air Force (USAF) and Army officers have debated the importance of CAS. While the Army has relied on the USAF to provide CAS, the USAF has prioritized the counterland mission third in its hierarchy. As a result, many aspects of the CAS delivery system, such as the Air Support Operations Center (ASOC), have been neglected and are therefore undermanned, poorly trained, and ill-equipped. These doctrinal deficiencies coupled with poor joint relationships and intra and interservice mission creep have led to the ineffective use of joint airpower in support of the Joint Forces Land Component Commander (JFLCC). If this trend is not corrected, beginning with the ASOC, there will be serious problems supporting the JFLCC with the use of CAS in current and future conflicts."--Abstract from DTIC web site.
Download or read book Combat air power assessment of joint close support requirements and capabilities is needed report to congressional committees written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Anything But written by U. S. Military and published by . This book was released on 2018-11-16 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the United States Army acquired its first Wright flyer and integrated the airplane into battle, the role of airpower has been a constant source of friction between ground and air forces. Army and Air Force cultures, doctrines, shared experiences, and fratricide involving close air support (CAS) have all helped shape the tenuous relationship between the two Services. Since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, there have been 13 CAS fratricide events, killing or injuring 197 people. In all but one instance, training was a causal factor. Yet, there is no formal requirement for joint CAS training. In the early 1980's with the establishment of the U.S. Army ground combat training centers and the corresponding U.S. Air Force Air Warrior training programs, the Services began habitual close air support training. However, with the shift from medium intensity conflict to counter-insurgency and stability operations, pre-deployment CAS training at the CTC's has nearly ceased. While there has not been an increase in fratricide corresponding to this decrease in training, the integration of CAS has decreased and the potential for a fratricide event has increased. The Army and the Air Force must increase their focus on improving joint CAS training as the lives of U.S. soldiers may well depend upon the effectiveness of CAS to hit the correct targets while supporting their operations.Since the introduction of the airplane into military operations, airpower has played an important role in the conduct of war, both in its ability to attack in depth and in its support of friendly ground forces. The initial growth of airpower as a weapon of war was in direct support of ground forces during World War I. Shortly thereafter, early air power theorists such as Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell changed the emphasis away from support to ground troops, envisioning vast air armadas that could avoid stalemates on the ground and strike an enemy's political and military centers with strategic bombardment. While ground and air forces have worked together in all major conflicts since World War I, the US Army and US Air Force have continuously disagreed on how airpower best supports ground forces.Prior to the Second World War, most Army generals believed the best use of airpower was to support ground troops by adjusting field artillery, conducting reconnaissance, providing real time intelligence, and providing close combat support. Airpower enthusiasts believed that after achieving air superiority, air forces should concentrate their efforts and use strategic bombing to attack the enemy's centers of gravity; thereby, destroying their ability and desire to wage war. Current US close air support doctrine can trace its foundations to North Africa during World War II.Years of neglect and intra-service rivalry left US forces unprepared for integrated air-ground operations in the deserts of North Africa. Initial integration efforts were disorderly and were most successful at increasing tensions between ground and air commanders.
Download or read book Professional Journal of the United States Army written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Enhancing Fires and Maneuver Capability Through Greater Air ground Joint Interdependence written by Jody Jacobs and published by RAND Corporation. This book was released on 2009 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although airpower capabilities have improved dramatically in the past decade, the joint warfighting potential offered by these capabilities is not being fully realized. Service transformation efforts and lessons learned during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq highlight doctrinal and technical issues with air and ground integration. The authors propose several alternative options for improving the effectiveness of air and ground fires and maneuver. To compare the potential effectiveness of the options, they develop a methodology that models the essential counterland air-ground interactions under discussion, based on a scenario that focuses on the disruption of enemy ground force maneuver. They suggest a new joint warfighting concept that has design elements specifically put in place to enhance the prioritization and synchronization of joint fires and maneuver. This concept offers important benefits and significant added flexibility for employing joint forces to achieve the commander's objectives across the entire theater.
Download or read book The Collaborative Fight written by Paul R. Birch and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2024-02-09 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beautiful picture of brothers in arms vanquishing a tyrant. The power of a well-orchestrated army and navy winning historic battles. Overwhelming military might and ability through teamwork. This is how the US military services portray themselves to the public and to their own service members through official doctrine. However, under the veneer of jointness, deeply fraught processes are at play. Frequently, the services think more about protecting organizational turf than about national security and maintaining an advantage against the United States’ external adversaries. Uniting US military services is a difficult endeavor that becomes even more so the farther from a battlefield and the higher up the command structure the unifying needs to happen. In The Collaborative Fight, Paul R. Birch and Lina M. Svedin examine cases of institutional jointness among US military services from the late nineteenth century into the twenty-first century. They draw actionable conclusions for practitioners in the defense establishment while giving examples of successful joint cooperation that overcame the difficulties inherent in pursuing it. Even the successful cases that Birch and Svedin discuss show that the US military services face bureaucratic incentives and organizational leadership issues that make battlefield cooperation less than ideal. Birch and Svedin adeptly translate theory and history into approaches useful to practitioners in the field while examining the theoretical framework outlining the drivers in joint military cooperation.
Download or read book Fire for Effect written by John J. McGrath and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Beyond Close Air Support written by Bruce Pirnie and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2005 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have renewed interest in close air support and the integration of air and ground power. In particular situations, either might predominate, and their relationship is likely to shift over the course of a campaign. This report addresses three questions: (1) How should air attack and ground maneuver be integrated? (2) How should the terminal attack control function be executed? (3) How should ground maneuver/fires and air attack be deconflicted? It recommends that the Army and the Air Force work together to develop new concepts and technologies to improve the partnering of air and ground. It recommends new processes to effectively designate targets and improved control mechanisms to exploit the benefits of the digital battlefield.
Download or read book The Future of Fixed wing Close Air Support written by Edward V. Weber and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue of close air support is one of the most emotional issues between the Army and the Air Force. Both services interpret close air support in terms of the lives of their personnel. The fundamental question previous studies have not addressed is why the Army wants or needs fixed wing close air support? If it is 'the decisive force, ' why does it need help from another service? A combat effective combined arms forces should not need fixed wing close air support or needs it only when its organic fire support is unavailable. Army and Air Force doctrine is compared to determine how the services think about war in general, and close air support specifically. Current Army and Joint doctrine admit that rotary wing as well as fixed wing aircraft can perform the mission. However, some Army officers see the helicopter as a maneuver element and therefore not. The study examines World War II and the Gulf War to demonstrate the major thesis. During World War II, specifically the Battle for France in 1944-45, the U.S. Army was not as 'combat effective' as the German Army opposing it and often required fixed wing aircraft and artillery to make-up the difference. The Gulf War demonstrates that the Army can dominate the close fight, because its combat effectiveness and better weapons surpassed the Iraqis. The principal operational requirement for close support is to destroy armored weapons systems; tank, artillery, infantry fighting vehicles. The Army's attack helicopter and artillery systems provide the means to meet this requirement. Because they are organic they are more responsive and can be integrated more readily into the ground commander's scheme of maneuver than Air Force aircraft. Improvements to artillery systems will increase close support capabilities as well. The conclusion is the Army can perform all the close support tasks it requires.
Download or read book Military Review written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The 31 Initiatives A Study in Air Force Army Cooperation written by Richard G. Davis and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1987 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bombing to Win written by Robert A. Pape and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-11 with total page 547 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he argues that the key to success is attacking the enemy's military strategy, not its economy, people, or leaders. Coercive air power can succeed, but not as cheaply as air enthusiasts would like to believe.Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. In this now-classic work of the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps military strategists and policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates.
Download or read book Learning Large Lessons written by David E. Johnson and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2007-03-30 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relative roles of U.S. ground and air power have shifted since the end of the Cold War. At the level of major operations and campaigns, the Air Force has proved capable of and committed to performing deep strike operations, which the Army long had believed the Air Force could not reliably accomplish. If air power can largely supplant Army systems in deep operations, the implications for both joint doctrine and service capabilities would be significant. To assess the shift of these roles, the author of this report analyzed post?Cold War conflicts in Iraq (1991), Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001), and Iraq (2003). Because joint doctrine frequently reflects a consensus view rather than a truly integrated joint perspective, the author recommends that joint doctrine-and the processes by which it is derived and promulgated-be overhauled. The author also recommends reform for the services beyond major operations and campaigns to ensure that the United States attains its strategic objectives. This revised edition includes updates and an index.
