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Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard

Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard PDF Author: William F. Andrews
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428912568
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Book Description
For nearly two decades the United States Air Force (USAF) oriented the bulk of its thinking, acquisition, planning, and training on the threat of a Soviet blitzkrieg across the inter German border. The Air Force fielded a powerful conventional arm well rehearsed in the tactics required to operate over a central European battlefield. Then, in a matter of days, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait altered key assumptions that had been developed over the previous decade and a half. The USAF faced a different foe employing a different military doctrine in an unexpected environment. Instead of disrupting a fast paced land offensive, the combat wings of the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) were ordered to attack a large, well fortified, and dispersed Iraqi ground force. The heart of that ground force was the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC). CENTAF's mission dictated the need to develop an unfamiliar repertoire of tactics and procedures to meet theater objectives. How effectively did CENTAF adjust air operations against the Republican Guard to the changing realities of combat? Answering that question is central to this study, and the answer resides in evaluation of the innovations developed by CENTAF to improve its operational and tactical performance against the Republican Guard. Effectiveness and timeliness are the primary criteria used for evaluating innovations.

Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard

Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard PDF Author: William F. Andrews
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428912568
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Book Description
For nearly two decades the United States Air Force (USAF) oriented the bulk of its thinking, acquisition, planning, and training on the threat of a Soviet blitzkrieg across the inter German border. The Air Force fielded a powerful conventional arm well rehearsed in the tactics required to operate over a central European battlefield. Then, in a matter of days, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait altered key assumptions that had been developed over the previous decade and a half. The USAF faced a different foe employing a different military doctrine in an unexpected environment. Instead of disrupting a fast paced land offensive, the combat wings of the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) were ordered to attack a large, well fortified, and dispersed Iraqi ground force. The heart of that ground force was the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC). CENTAF's mission dictated the need to develop an unfamiliar repertoire of tactics and procedures to meet theater objectives. How effectively did CENTAF adjust air operations against the Republican Guard to the changing realities of combat? Answering that question is central to this study, and the answer resides in evaluation of the innovations developed by CENTAF to improve its operational and tactical performance against the Republican Guard. Effectiveness and timeliness are the primary criteria used for evaluating innovations.

Airpower Against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF'S Duel with the Republican Guard

Airpower Against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF'S Duel with the Republican Guard PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 141

Book Description
In January and February 1991, Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) conducted an air-to-ground onslaught against Iraq's Republican Guard. The requirements of this operation conflicted with several aspects of the U.S. Air Force's preparations for a European battleground. The low-altitude tactics CENTAF crews had practiced for the previous decade and a half were unsuitable for the task at hand. This study examines how effectively CENTAF adjusted air operations against the Republican Guards to the changing realities of combat. The extent to which existing USAF doctrine prepared CENTAF for this operation provides a baseline for the amount of adaptation required. The subsequent narrative identifies tactical innovations developed during the operation, the main elements of adaptive process, those factors that helped and hindered the process, and the sources of CENTAF's innovations. Initial F-16 and B-52 attacks on the Republican Guard registered little success. In response, CENTAF launched six significant tactical innovations in one week: A-10 deep interdiction, A-10 reconnaissance, F- 16 Killer Scout operations, F-16 forward basing, F-111 and F-15E "Tank Plinking," and the use of cockpit videotape as a bomb damage assessment (BDA) source. These innovations required CENTAF aviators to create new tactics as they conducted operations. CENTAF's effectiveness against the Guard divisions improved, resulting in greater destruction of Iraqi forces. Critically weakened by air attack, the two Guard divisions that stood and fought were annihilated during the campaign's ground phase. CENTAF's adaptation to the realities of war in the Gull, accomplished with impressive speed, was facilitated by four conditions.

Airpower Against an Army

Airpower Against an Army PDF Author: William F. Andrews
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Persian Gulf War, 1991
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
For nearly two decades the United States Air Force (USAF) oriented the bulk of its thinking, acquisition, planning, and training on the threat of a Soviet blitzkrieg across the inter German border. The Air Force fielded a powerful conventional arm well rehearsed in the tactics required to operate over a central European battlefield. Then, in a matter of days, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait altered key assumptions that had been developed over the previous decade and a half. The USAF faced a different foe employing a different military doctrine in an unexpected environment. Instead of disrupting a fast paced land offensive, the combat wings of the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) were ordered to attack a large, well fortified, and dispersed Iraqi ground force. The heart of that ground force was the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC). CENTAF's mission dictated the need to develop an unfamiliar repertoire of tactics and procedures to meet theater objectives. How effectively did CENTAF adjust air operations against the Republican Guard to the changing realities of combat? Answering that question is central to this study, and the answer resides in evaluation of the innovations developed by CENTAF to improve its operational and tactical performance against the Republican Guard. Effectiveness and timeliness are the primary criteria used for evaluating innovations.

Airpower Against An Army

Airpower Against An Army PDF Author: William F. Andrews
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781410212313
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Colonel Andrews concentrates on tactical innovation during war. He examines the extent to which USAF doctrine prepared the US Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) for its mission against the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC). He describes how CENTAF adjusted air operations against Iraq's RGFC in the 1990-91 invasion of Kuwait. CENTAF instituted six significant tactical innovations in one week that required its aviators to create new tactics in the midst of combat operations. Colonel Andrews evaluates those innovations because they enabled CENTAF to satisfy theater objectives. He recommends that the Air Force identify means to measure air operations against land forces during peacetime because the press of war does not provide time for reflection and analysis.

Airpower Against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard

Airpower Against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard PDF Author: Lt Col Usaf William F Andrews
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781479193981
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
In January and February 1991, Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) conducted an air-to-ground onslaught against Iraq's Republican Guard. The requirements of this operation conflicted in a number of respects with the US Air Force's extended preparations for conflict on a European battleground. A major case in point involved the low-altitude tactics CENTAF crews had practiced for the previous decade and a half, tactics that were manifestly unsuited for the task that confronted them in Iraq. Colonel Andrews's study, "Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard," examines how CENTAF adjusted air operations against the Republican Guard to meet the realities of combat. As he makes clear, four factors proved instrumental in facilitating CENTAF's rapid adaptation to the realities of war: 1) air superiority which created a permissive environment for innovative tactics, 2) open-minded attitudes of senior commanders which nurtured the growth of new methods of operation, 3) the faith of senior commanders in highly motivated and well-trained subordinates which permitted - and inspired - lower echelon units to find optimal solutions to complex problem in minimum time, and 4) the high degree of personal initiative - cultivated on training and tactics ranges, in classrooms at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and flight briefing rooms across the USAF - which served as the ultimate sine quo non of the adaptation process. Colonel Andrews's study also serves to powerfully reaffirm the fundamental truth of the old Air Force adage that "flexibility is the key to airpower." As we confront an uncertain international security environment, a fundamental lesson of "Airpower against an Army" is that we must encourage flexibility in peacetime if we are to possess the physical, mental, and organizational agility that will be required to master the unforeseen realities of the next war.

Airpower Against an Army

Airpower Against an Army PDF Author: William F. Andrews
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781463790745
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
In January and February 1991, Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) conducted an air-to-ground onslaught against Iraq's Republican Guard. The requirements of this operation conflicted in a number of respects with the US Air Force's extended preparations for conflict on a European battleground. A major case in point involved the low altitude tactics CENTAF crews had practiced for the previous decade and a half, tactics that were manifestly unsuited for the task that confronted them in Iraq. This paper was originally submitted as a thesis by Maj (now lieutenant colonel) William F. Andrews to the faculty of Air University's School of Advanced Airpower Studies for completion of graduation requirements, academic year 1995-96. Colonel Andrews's study, Airpower against an Army: Challenge and Response in CENTAF's Duel with the Republican Guard, examines how CENTAF adjusted air operations against the Republican Guard to meet the realities of combat. Initial F-16 and B-52 attacks on the Republican Guard met little success. In response, CENTAF instituted six significant tactical innovations in the space of one week: A-10 deep interdiction, A-10 reconnaissance, F-16 killer scout operations, F-16 forward basing, F-111 and F-15E tank plinking, and the use of cockpit videotape as a source for bomb damage assessment. These innovations required CENTAF aviators to create new tactics in the midst of combat operations. Quickly devised and implemented, these new tactics markedly improved CENTAF's effectiveness against the Republican Guard. Critically weakened by air attack, the two guard divisions that stood and fought were annihilated during the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm. As Colonel Andrews makes clear, four factors proved instrumental in facilitating CENTAF's rapid adaptation to the realities of war: (1) air superiority which created a permissive environment for innovative tactics; (2) open-minded attitudes of senior commanders which nurtured the growth of new methods of operation; (3) the faith of senior commanders in highly motivated and well-trained subordinates which permitted-and inspired-lower echelon units to find optimal solutions to complex problems in minimum time; and (4) the high degree of personal initiative-cultivated on training and tactics ranges, in classrooms at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and flight briefing rooms across the USAF-which served as the ultimate sine qua non of the adaptation process. Colonel Andrews's study also serves to powerfully reaffirm the fundamental truth of the old Air Force adage that "flexibility is the key to airpower." As we confront an uncertain international security environment, a fundamental lesson of Airpower against an Army is that we must encourage flexibility in peacetime if we are to possess the physical, mental, and organizational agility that will be required to master the unforeseen realities of the next war.

Certain Victory

Certain Victory PDF Author: Robert H. Scales
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1612340776
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
The official U.S. Army account of Army performance in the Gulf War, Certain Victory was originally published by the Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, in 1993. Brig. Gen. Scales, who headed the Army's Desert Storm Study Project, offers a highly readable and abundantly illustrated chronicle.

Certain Victory

Certain Victory PDF Author: Robert H. Scales
Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office
ISBN:
Category : Persian Gulf War, 1991
Languages : en
Pages : 480

Book Description
Written in a colorful, readable style, Certain Victory chronicles the Army?s remarkable regeneration in the two decades after Vietnam?the foundation of the Desert Storm victory. Each chapter starts with a compelling personal combat story that puts the conflict into human perspective. A ?quick read? without military jargon, Certain Victory brings the civilian reader into battle alongside individual soldiers. On the Military Intelligence History Reading List 2012.

USAF Fighter Weapons Review

USAF Fighter Weapons Review PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air defenses
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Book Description


America's First Battles, 1776–1965

America's First Battles, 1776–1965 PDF Author: Charles E. Heller
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700602771
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
This volume, a collection of eleven original essays by many of the foremost U.S. military historians, focuses on the transition of the Army from parade ground to battleground in each of nine wars the United States has fought. Through careful analysis of organization, training, and tactical doctrine, each essay seeks to explain the strengths and weaknesses evidenced by the outcome of the first significant engagement or campaign of the war. The concluding essay sets out to synthesize the findings and to discover whether or not American first battles manifest a characteristic "rhythm." America's First Battles provides a novel and intellectually challenging view of how America has prepared for war and how operations and tactics have changed over time. The thrust of the book--the emphasis on operational history--is at the forefront of scholarly activity in military history.