Persistent Security - A Key to Success Anywhere along the Continuum of Operations
Aug 2007, Vol. 152, No. 4
By William Wallace and Edmund Degen
The United States’ operations driven by Air Land Battle, rigorous training, an allvolunteer force and an effectively integrated Joint Team produced a string of successes in conventional warfare against symmetrically-equipped forces. In these operations, tactical aviation, including close air support and attack helicopters, proved ‘decisive’ when combined with land power. Some symmetrical threats remain, but increasingly opponents are seeking asymmetrical advantages ranging from nuclear capability to irregular warfare. As a result, US forces must be capable of responding anywhere along the spectrum of conflict from high intensity conventional warfare to stability support operations. Most likely threats over the near- and mid-terms will, however, involve irregular forces operating predominantly on the ground in complex urban environments with the potential of being equipped with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
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By William Wallace and Edmund Degen
The United States’ operations driven by Air Land Battle, rigorous training, an allvolunteer force and an effectively integrated Joint Team produced a string of successes in conventional warfare against symmetrically-equipped forces. In these operations, tactical aviation, including close air support and attack helicopters, proved ‘decisive’ when combined with land power. Some symmetrical threats remain, but increasingly opponents are seeking asymmetrical advantages ranging from nuclear capability to irregular warfare. As a result, US forces must be capable of responding anywhere along the spectrum of conflict from high intensity conventional warfare to stability support operations. Most likely threats over the near- and mid-terms will, however, involve irregular forces operating predominantly on the ground in complex urban environments with the potential of being equipped with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
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