THE ARMY DOCTRINE AND TRAINING BULLETIN

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THE ARMY DOCTRINE AND TRAINING BULLETIN

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• Arts

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• Publié par: ifydesut
• Nombre de lectures: 97
• Langue: Français
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

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Vol. 2, No. 2, May 1999

35

R EVOLUTIONS   IN M ILITARY A FFAIRS : F ACT   OR F ICTION ?

Lieutenant-Colonel W.L. Pickering, CD

T “complete change, turning upside historians to address whether or not gadgetry or management.” 3 down, great reversal of conditions; there is a historical basis for an RMA.  The ins ti f technology to the fundamental reconstruction.”  A featureIf such a basis exists, the paper will battlefield e   r w o it n h  o out correspondi of revolutions is that they occur rapidly,postulate why RMAs occur, how they chges to doctrine and organizatio n n g s over one or two decades. One definition fundamentally alter the character and  an of a  Revolution in Military Affairsconduct of conflict and what the A w r a c s  h s d e u e k n  e e   a F rl e i r e d r i  i n n a  t n h d i   s  o c f  en A t u ur t y. r   i  When (RMA) is that it occurs when “the integration of technology with  s a was application of new technologies into aoperational concepts and organizational a m ss e a c s h s a i n n i a s te m d s     in h   o S l a d r i a n j g e   v E o  u i r n 191 a 4 t , all the significant number of military systems adaptation means. The paper will  ope peace combines with innovative operationalconfine itself to land operations. c o o f  ll E a u p r s o e p d e .      e T x h p e e  g t o e v d ern u m ic e k n   t a s  n a d n   d g   l p o e ri o o p u l s e concepts and organizational adaptation  c a q in a way that fundamentally alters the  war. But war had become industrialized. character and conduct of conflict.” 2 The world is in the early stages The combination of four technological of a new military revolution. c d o ev m e m lop c m ia e l, n   t d s a , s   h t e w d o     Eu m r i o li p ta e r a y n    h a o n p d e   s t  f w o o r There is a debate in military and academic circles as to what constitutes The technologies include digital er tiller  a fundamental change to the character communications, which allow a m  q a u c i h c i k n   e w   a g r. u    n R   a b p r i o d- u f g ir h e t     a a r ssem y b a ly n   d l  t i h n e e and conduct of conflict. Moreover, data to be compressed; a ‘global efficiency to killing and greatly extended those with an interest in military affairs positioning system’(GPS) of the deadly zone that soldiers had to have differing perspectives on whether satellites, which makes more p cr o o si s ti s o  t n o  H ej u e m ct b   le a     b d ar e b f e e d n   d w e ir r  e, f   r d o es m i   gn h e is d an RMA is possible and exactly what exact guidance and vigati for cat . t   l   e control, proved equally an RMA can accomplish. To the soldier ible; radar-e n v a ading on capable of herding large numbers of an RMA presents the opportunity to poss combine new technology with doctrine s‘tealth;’ and, of course, soldiers into killing zones for these to achieve decisive success on the computer processing. weapons. Railroads, designed for battlefield. To the statesman an RMA  commerce, were able to rapidly move offers a tool that may be used to resolve messy conflicts quickly and with “Se T l h ec e t E e c n o e n m o y m . i   t , D   e 1 l 9 e 9 te 7 1 ” a h m n u a d g t   e e s r   u i a s a r t l a   m t i i o n e     t s t h   h t e e o  k   m t i   l h l - e i  i   n n f g r     e o f m n f t a e ,  c c a t h , n i  t n d o   e   r s f e . e   i   e n W d f   o r h r a i c l w e e minimal cost in lives and resources. To s the scientist, an RMA offers the  1918 brought about changes to land opportunity to apply research and T ECHNOLOGY W ITHOUT warfare that offered a glimpse of the development (R&D) successes in an era D OCTRINAL O R O RGANIZATIONAL future, by then 10 million had died. of declining government budgets. To the industrialist, an RMA offers C HANGE It took three years, and the intervention increased opportunities to sell high  Advances in technology enable, but do  of politicians such as David Lloyd technology systems. Western society  not in themselves cause military  George and Winston Churchill, before sees the advantages of using  revolutions. It is the integration of  the technology of the early 20 th  Century technology to achieve success in  doctrine and organizational structures  was properly integrated with doctrine conflict with few casualties and minimal  with technology that is important. This  and organizations. French Premier resource expenditure. As conflict is a  integration requires intellect and it is  Georges Clemenceau’s remark that “war human activity, and history records  essential to realize that “...the critical  is too important to be left to soldiers” human activities, historical analysis may  dimension of the current RMA is the  condemned the military leadership for be the most appropriate place to start.  premium it places on intellectual  lack of imagination. European military