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Military and Political Considerations
The first task is to decide what kind of action you're going to be taking and what you need to take the action. You have to have at least a tentative time line, because there is never enough transport to get all your pieces to the playing field at once. The equation is complicated because, though like units are supposed to be built on the same Tables of Organization and Equipment, there are differences. New equipment is issued to units as it is produced, not all at once; so some units may have equipment that doesn't quite match what the generals are looking for. Active forces have a recruiting and training pipeline. Recruits enter that pipeline and don't report to their units until they are trained. In the case of Reserve and National Guard units, recruits enter the unit, then go for training. They aren't available for deployment with their units until that training is done; anywhere from six months and up. This, and other factors can significantly affect the available manpower in a unit; and this can affect what kind of mission that unit is capable of undertaking. Since combat is what all the military services train for, the requirements for that are well understood. Assembling the needed units may be time consuming and involved but everyone has a good idea of what it is they are aiming at. But what about after the battle? The battle of Iraq will be followed by an occupation of some sort, and very possibly, reconstruction of the country. That calls for a very different force than what is needed to win the battle. Combat forces win wars. Other forces can be instrumental in winning the peace. Civil Affairs units and others are designed to help rebuild societies, the way that the Japanese and German dictatorships were rebuilt after World War II. The rest of Europe's free societies were able to begin the rebuild of their own societies but benefitted from aid from the U.S. in the form of the Foreign Economic Assistance Act, known as the Marshall Plan. http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about_... The Marshall Plan provided money, materials, and expertise for the countries of Europe (and Japan) to rebuild their physical and economic infrastructure. They were able to do so in peace because of the presence of American troops to defend them and the persistence of the American leadership, who followed up the difficulties of a world war with the commitment needed to win the peace. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article MOBILIZATION in Military is owned by Dennis Morehouse. Permission to republish MOBILIZATION in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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