Small Wars Journal

Rapid Deployment: The Army and American Strategy

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 9:17pm

Rapid Deployment: The Army and American Strategy by Robert Killebrew, War on the Rocks.

… With all this capability, why does the Army not recognize its own ability to deploy rapidly and globally?  The short answer is that, in the past twelve years of war, deployment on little or no notice has slipped out of the Army’s mainstream.  Marines unconsciously count on the Alligator Navy to get them to the fight; amphibious assault shipping are part of their culture.  With the exception of parts of the old XVIII Airborne Corps, rapid deployment, the LMSR fleet and all the things that attend fast global deployment have washed away.  At a time when events overseas demand an Army capability to deploy quickly, while at the same time tight budgets will inevitably imperil the Army’s fast sealift, the Army needs to get on its game quickly.  Here are a few tips…

Read on.