Word: airland
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...Soviets must also be shaken by the overwhelming speed, firepower and flexibility of the new American method of warfare, the doctrine called AirLand Battle, which combines air, ground and naval forces into one integrated onslaught. "They can't help being as impressed by the U.S. performance as they are depressed about what it means to their forces," says Raymond Garthoff of the Brookings Institution in Washington...
...once the oddly assorted multinational forces went into battle. Snafus in lines of command, in the coordination of differently trained and equipped soldiers, in attempts to simply speak with one another -- all had been pointed up as potentially fatal pitfalls facing such an ungainly coalition. Yet the so-called AirLand strategy, adopted in the 1980s by NATO as a counter to a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, proved to be more than a knockout military punch. Because NATO relies on a central command of joint forces, the doctrine managed surprisingly well to integrate the polyglot gulf alliance...
That's the theory. How it will work remains to be seen. An AirLand battle requires long-range planning, superb coordination, perfect timing, uninterrupted communications, pinpoint accuracy, constant high-speed maneuvering by ground forces and well-executed logistics. Getting fuel and ammunition to tank battalions traveling up to 120 miles a day calls for a massive resupply operation that leaves little room for error. The moment a unit stops moving, the battle risks degeneration into a war of attrition in which both sides would take casualties until the less powerful force is worn down...
These fears are natural and healthy. Battle plans do go awry, and tens of thousands of lives are at stake. There are parts of the AirLand doctrine -- the full-fledged combined-arms ground offensive in particular -- that have never been tested on a battlefield. But the allied command has been running an AirLand battle by the book for more than four weeks now, demonstrating that it can coordinate large, mobile forces with the requisite precision and skill. If the next phase of the battle goes as smoothly, a strategy designed for the plains of Central Europe will have been validated...
...light of Saddam's feints in the war of words, Bush must weigh his timing and tactics even more closely. -- A look inside battered Baghdad. -- How are bombing targets chosen? -- AirLand strategy, designed for World War III, gets its first real test in the Persian Gulf...