For those of you who remember Operation Desert Storm you will remember the stunning success that our ground forces had against the Iraqis. The reason that we did so well was partly because of the military doctrine that we trained under prior to that conflict.
Our training concept was to train to fight out numbered and win. The tactics that we developed supported this training concept. Immediately prior to Desert Storm we had been training to ward off a Warsaw Pact attack on Europe through Germany. Our forces were vastly outnumbered and it was not possible for us to match up pound for pound to fight the potential enemy which we would have to face.
We had to sharpen our skills and tactics and integrate all of the different services to fight together in a show of skill. This was known as the Air Land Doctrine. Under this doctrine Air and Land based military forces were to perform in synergy to achieve victory over the larger fighting force. The Air Sea Battle concept sought to combine the strengths of all of our weapons systems to fight an integrated war in three different dimensions. Space, the air around the earth, and on the ground were the different dimensions.
The Air Sea Doctrine is the new doctrine which is being developed with the objective of fighting the Chinese in the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean if it ever becomes neccessary.
This doctrine will involve operations in outer space, the air around the earth, the surface of the ocean, and under the sea. Under this doctrine we will definitely have to figure out a way to develop the technology, training, and tactics that will allow us to fight a synchronized war on all of these fronts.
If we are to engage the Chinese effectively we must use all of our assets to the best of the abilities of our Navy Military Ring personnel, and our Air Force ring personnel that might have to become engaged in the battle. This is going to be a tricky doctrine to develop but I believe that we can indeed fight outnumbered and win.
