I sometimes worry that military developments are more about winning budget competition than winning wars. Sometimes I worry that I don't worry about that enough.
The Army always has problems retaining budget support when a war is over. Nobody likes ground warfare and the hope that it can be avoided springs eternal.
The Army is fighting against that. But what of multi-domain operations? Is this the future? Or making sure the Army is the master of none:
The U.S. Army activated its third Multi-Domain Task Force on Friday in Hawaii, furthering the service’s transformation into a force capable of projecting power in land, sea, air, space and cyberspace as needed.
I can't even say that part of this isn't good:
[The commander, Colonel] Zinn told the audience that the soldiers of the newly activated task force “have skills that span diverse functions: intelligence, space, cyber, [electronic warfare], fires, sustainment, and more – all working together to synchronize kinetic capabilities and nonkinetic capabilities to deliver long range precision effects against our nation’s adversaries.”Indeed, I've written about a black box of effects. Troops looking for support shouldn't need to determine how their request to neutralize a target is achieved. Does the multi-domain task force have the ability to wield the array of capabilities from other services to support all services? Or is the Army trying to remain relevant in INDOPACOM--and hence worthy of budgetary support--by carrying out missions other than Army missions?
If only we had military organizations devoted to sea, air, and space
warfare, eh? But no, joint warfare which pulls together all the services
for one effort is out. What is in fashion is that everyone wants to do everything.
I worry that the Army is neglecting its core competency of ground warfare, as I explored in this Military Review article about the Army in Asia and the Pacific.
I don't want to sound all stodgy, old, and stuck in tradition. But while using all elements of power is necessary, this is not new. It is combined arms on a grander scale. Bigger, yes. But nothing new.
What is also not new is the bureaucratic urge to expand your capabilities at the expense of your rivals. The military services are not exempt from that feature of bureaucracies.
And I worry that the concept of All-Domain Operations (so we forget Multi-Domain Operations which replaced Multi-Domain Battle?) is simply about air power advocates or sea-power advocates essentially trying to get the Army to be their auxiliaries for achieving their primary missions.
Or perhaps more accurately, an Army effort to get in on the current sea control emphasis. Is the Multi-Domain Task Force a war winner or a budget winner? And am I an idiot for not knowing the answer?
UPDATE: I'm glad not all Army efforts are seemingly focused on supporting the Navy in the Pacific:
The U.S. Army will build larger formations outfitted with high-tech capabilities geared toward near-peer adversaries[.]
And coping with thinly manned fronts and the casualties. Such wars are far more bloody.
Interesting that China is mentioned as part of the problem of wide fronts. Yep.
NOTE: War coverage continues here.
