Air Sea Battle concept

W.G.Ewald

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Foot soldiers march their way into new Air Sea Battle concept - Washington Times

The Army is preparing to officially join the Pentagon's "Air Sea Battle" operational concept, as the Defense Department shifts its focus from land operations in the Middle East and Europe to mostly naval and aerial activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Along with the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, the Army soon will issue a memo that outlines how it will implement the battle plan, which seemingly excluded ground forces at its inception more than three years ago.

The Army's inclusion should come as a relief to some of the service's leaders and supporters who are concerned about a loss of relevance. The Army is absorbing the bulk of personnel cuts under a smaller defense budget, and the U.S. is pivoting away from Afghanistan and toward the Asia-Pacific.

Additionally, the Obama administration's strategic guidance downplays the chances that the U.S. military would become engaged in a large ground conflict such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2009, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates directed the Air Force and Navy to develop a concept that would integrate air and naval assets and capabilities to defend against likely threats. The concept's name — Air Sea Battle — had no mention of the Army's chief domain: land.

"Let's put it this way: Imagine that you had two sisters, and you believed they were planning something for your parents and didn't tell you. How would you feel?" said Mark Gunzinger, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, which has designed its own air sea battle concept to inform the official one.

The Army's exclusion at the outset wasn't intentional, said Mr. Gunzinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former deputy assistant defense secretary for forces transformation and resources.

In fact, he said, the service has a large role to play in the concept, which is designed to counteract "anti-access, area-denial" challenges that could prevent or cripple U.S. military action inside global common areas — specifically air, sea, space and cyberdomains in the Asia-Pacific and the Persian Gulf.
 

civfanatic

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I think I read somewhere that out of over a half million servicemen in the U.S. Army, only around 40,000 are infantrymen. I was surprised by that number.
 

W.G.Ewald

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I think I read somewhere that out of over a half million servicemen in the U.S. Army, only around 40,000 are infantrymen. I was surprised by that number.
The ratio is referred to as "teeth to tail."

A couple of links on the subject.

Military Policy & Weapons: Support Troop to Combat Troop Ratios, military, troop ratios

Since World War II; the ratio of U.S. combat troops to combat service support and support has gone from 4 support soldiers to 1 infantryman to 7 support soldiers to 1 infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan. These figures generally hold true for both the Army and USMC.
http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/download/csipubs/mcgrath_op23.pdf

Specific instances in the historical record where the tooth-to-tail ratio became an issue, such as in the 1944 European Theater infantry shortage, were analyzed ...
 

pmaitra

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The US is separated from the trouble spots of the world - Europe, Asia, Africa. Canada is not likely to invade the US anytime soon, and the most threat Mexico can offer is due to the drug gangs. Domestically, with 3.1% of adults under probation, parole, jail, or prison; there isn't much scope of domestic threats. It makes complete sense to have a strong navy, as it suits the US the best.
 

spikey360

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No wonder they keep losing all the invasions.
 

p2prada

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Wish our Air force is allowed to exercise with the Navy. It is unfortunate that the MoD thinks the Air-Sea concept for Indian scenarios is not necessary.
 

W.G.Ewald

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No wonder they keep losing all the invasions.
This kind of pointless, unsubstantiated post occurs much too often on DFI. But I suppose people like spikey360 and others just confirm the old saying: "Nobody is completely worthless; they can always serve as a bad example."
 

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