網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

swampland. This is followed by training in raiding techniques in mountain terrain, in the Great Smokies in Georgia.

After returning to their units, graduates can teach others the specialized ranger skills and techniques which they have learned, in the block of rangertype instruction provided for rifle companies of infantry and airborne units. This system of indoctrination is based on the concept that ranger-type missions do not require special elite units containing large numbers of men of the leader type (as was formerly believed to be the case); but that infantry units as now organized and manned can carry out such missions successfully, provided they receive the needed specialized training.

Air-Ground Training. Another specialized training agency used by the Army is the USAF Air-Ground Operations School, located at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi. Supported logistically and administratively by the Department of the Air Force through Headquarters, Tactical Air Command, this school provides orientation and specialist instruction in doctrine, tactics, and techniques by which the efforts of the air and ground forces are integrated to accomplish a common objective. Courses are of one to three weeks' duration. The joint academic staff includes 12 Army officers and two Army enlisted men. Formal platform presentations are based upon CONARC Training Text 110-100-1, "Joint AirGround Operations," also published as Tactical Air Command Manual 55-3. Since its inception in 1950 the school has graduated more than 23,000 officers and key civilians of the Armed Forces, as well as several hundred Allied officers from twenty-two nations.

THE "AGGRESSOR" CONCEPT. Under this concept certain of the participating troop units in a maneuver or exercise play the part of a "live" opponent known as the Aggressor Force. Possessing their own distinctive uniforms, organization, and tactics, and thoroughly trained in the methods and techniques of a supposed enemy country, the Aggressors introduce a competitive spirit into the conduct of maneuvers and challenge the alertness

of the Army troops against which they operate. Doctrine and procedures are developed by a permanent organization known as the U. S. Army Aggressor Center, which provides field teams to show commanders how to utilize the Aggressor concept, and furnishes the special uniforms and equipment used by an Aggressor force.

The concept had its rise after World War II, when the Fifteenth U. S. Army, under the command of Lt. Gen. L. T. Gerow, was directed to prepare analytical studies of operations in the European theater. One of the resulting recommendations was that the Army adopt more realistic means of training. To meet this requirement the concept of a fictitious "Maneuver Enemy," complete with a national background, history, government, military establishment, language, and political philosophy, was adopted. The Sixth U. S. Army was given the mission of testing the concept during November 1946. In successive maneuvers and studies the concept was refined and elaborated. In 1955 the Department of the Army redefined Aggressor terms, restated and enlarged its missions and scope, and redesignated the previously existing Aggressor Cadre as the U. S. Army Aggressor Center.

The fictitious Aggressor nation is inclosed in known geographical boundaries, to facilitate strategic and logistical play. Aggressor armed forces have a complete order of battle, distinctive uniforms and insignia, and a different and changing tactical doctrine.

The Aggressor concept is three-fold. It provides opportunity for maneuver against a realistic enemy; it emphasizes all phases of intelligence training; and it instills awareness in the United States soldier that any future enemy will differ from ourselves in language, uniform, weapons, military organization, tactics, and ideology. His opponent, the individual Aggressor, is an alert, aggressive, resourceful soldier, thoroughly indoctrinated in the basic Aggressor objective of world domination. Army units representing Aggressor wear the Aggressor uniform, and may be equipped with prefabricated or improvised models of standard Aggressor military equipment; sound, flash, and

smoke simulation devices for artillery; and sonic equipment for reproducing the sounds of battle.

In addition to lending realism, the employment of Aggressor in tactical exercises permits play of every aspect of intelligence and counterintelligence. Failure of the United States forces to exploit all available combat intelligence and counterintelligence agencies, to collect and process information of the enemy, to observe proper security measures, or to disseminate and use the resulting intelligence may bring reverses or failures in the exercise area just as it might bring disaster on the battleground.

A scenario provides a logical background for the operations and events leading to Aggressor's presence in the exercise area, and becomes the basis for the intelligence and the activities that are planned. Information and intelligence are injected in a manner that requires the cooperative and continuous effort of every individual, regardless of whether he is a member of a military intelligence unit or a soldier in a combat or service unit.

To enhance realism, all United States troops are oriented on Aggressor, its history, armed forces, basic characteristics, tactics, and equipment, just as they would if entering combat against an actual enemy. Ground activities during the exercises include actual and simulated frontline positions, obstacles, and rear area installations. All logical military activities and installations of the type of Aggressor unit represented are portrayed, including foxholes, gunemplacements, road blocks, bivouac areas, hospitals, supply dumps, convoys, etc. Each portrayal is executed carefully to present a realistic appearance to both visual and photographic reconnaissance.

AGGRESSOR CENTER. The United States Army Aggressor Center, USCONARC, located at Fort Riley (Kans.), consists of a headquarters, a headquarters company, and the necessary support units, including (as of January 1958) a special signal company and an engineer camouflage company.

The Aggressor Headquarters main

tains a War Room to keep information on Aggressor current, and to assist in converting designated United States forces into Aggressor forces. A card file is kept on each unit of the mythical army, navy, and air force, with personal data on key members of the Aggressor military system. A situation map is maintained to show troop dispositions and past campaigns. From these sources it is possible to bring the intelligence play into maneuvers in a logical, orderly sequence, and to provide continuity between maneuvers. A supply depot stocks all items necessary to outfit an Aggressor unit: uniforms and insignia, identification cards and booklets, artillery simulators and pneumatic artillery pieces, trucks, tanks, and other military vehicles.

In addition to the normal operational staff, the headquarters includes two field team commanders whose duties are to advise and assist the commanders of US Army Forces participating in the exercise, the exercise directors, and the designated Aggressor Force commanders, on matters pertaining to the employment of Aggressor in field exercises, maneuvers, demonstrations, and similar activities. They assist in the preparation of background material to permit a logical introduction and play of Aggressor. They advise on organization, tactics, doctrine, vehicle markings, uniforms, insignia, and such equipment as may be required from the Aggressor Supply Depot. They command the field teams which are assigned to units preparing to participate in exercises.

The Aggressor Center has participated in all Army field maneuvers since 1946, and in many corps and division exercises. The Aggressor concept has become one of our most important training media in preparing the soldier for his ultimate objective: success in battle at a minimum cost in American lives.

Commanders. The following have served as commanding officers of the Aggressor Center

[blocks in formation]

PRECOMMISSION SCHOOLING

Courses designed to prepare men for duty as commissioned officers are conducted (1) in officer candidate schools or courses; (2) in Reserve Officers Training Corps courses (ROTC); and (3) at the United States Military Academy.

OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOLS AND COURSES. Courses of this type are now being conducted at the Infantry School at Fort Benning (Ga.), the Artillery and Missile School at Fort Sill (Okla.), and the WAC School at Fort McClellan (Ala.). Their primary purpose is to prepare selected individuals for appointment as 2d lieutenants in the Army Reserve; their secondary purpose, to serve as a basis of expansion in case of mobilization. A small number of graduates, who have shown outstanding qualities of military leadership, are designated distinguished graduates, and may apply for 2d lieutenants' commissions in the Regular Army.

In a mobilization the output of the above courses would be increased, and classes would be established at other branch schools as required.

Warrant officers and enlisted personnel in the Active Army, and in the National Guard or Army Reserve but not on active duty, may apply for this training. Male applicants must be at least 18 years and 6 months old, and must not have passed their 28th birthday, at time of enrollment. Female applicants must be at least 20 years old and must not have passed their 28th birthday. Applicants must be high school graduates or pass an equivalent educational development test; must demonstrate proficiency in the English language; must attain qualifying scores in certain screening tests; and must be physically qualified for a commission.

The courses at the U. S. Army Infantry School and the U. S. Army Artillery and Missile School are each 23 weeks long; at the WAC School, 20 weeks. The two former schools, in addition to the regular courses, conduct special officer candidate courses of lesser length for members of the National Guard and Reserve.

To complete training successfully and receive a commission, a candidate must measure up to the high mental, moral, and physical standards required in the course. All courses emphasize development of practical leadership and other qualities required of Army officers. The officer candidate course of each school is the equivalent of the officer basic course of the branch concerned.

To assist in meeting the needs of other branches for 2d lieutenants in peacetime, a proportion of the graduates of the Infantry and Artillery courses may apply for commissions in Armor, or in one of the technical services. If so commissioned, an officer attends the officer basic course of his branch before his first duty assignment.

During fiscal year 1958 about 550 students successfully completed regular officer candidate courses.

RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS. The Army ROTC program is carried out in high schools, military schools, junior and senior colleges, and universities. Its purpose is to provide a corps of well-educated and wellrounded leaders who would meet the demand created by rapid expansion of the Army in any national emergency. At present it is producing 2d lieutenants for the Active Army and Army Reserve; in addition, a few distinguished graduates have the choice of being commissioned in the Regular Army. ROTC courses include basic military training at the secondary school level and more advanced topics at college level. Total current enrollment is over 140,000. For further details see chapter 4.

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY. The USMA, located at West Point, N. Y., offers a four-year course to its cadets in preparation for commissions in the Regular Army. Its curriculum and regime are designed to develop character and the personal attributes essential to an officer, and to provide a balanced and liberal education in the arts and sciences and a broad basic military education.

The Academy is neither a university, a liberal arts college, nor an engineering school. It is a unique institution with a specific mission. Its graduates do in fact receive a general education in the arts and sciences which compares very favorably with that given by other institutions at the same level. However, the curriculum and training necessarily differ from those of an ordinary civilian university, since the students are being prepared for a single specialized profession.

Historical Background. West Point is situated on the Hudson River about 50 miles above New York City. Its location and topography are such that artillery of the Revolutionary period, emplaced there, could command the entire width of the river for some distance up and down stream. Since control of the Hudson was vital to the American cause, West Point was OCcupied by our troops in January of 1778 and heavily fortified. The story of its attempted betrayal to the British by Benedict Arnold is familiar to every American.

The idea of a national military academy was advanced as early as 1776 by Brig. Gen. Henry Knox, and was seconded by Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. The latter selected West Point as a suitable site; repeatedly urged Congress to establish the Academy; and included a strong recommendation to that effect in his last official letter, written two days before his death. Finally, by an Act of 16 March 1802, Congress yielded to the advice of President Jefferson and authorized a "Corps of Engineers" to consist of 7 officers and 10 cadets, to be stationed at West Point, and to constitute a military academy. The Academy was opened on 4 July 1802, with the 10 authorized cadets present for instruction. Due to Congressional and administrative neglect, not much was accomplished in the next 15 years; nevertheless, graduates rendered valuable service as engineer officers in the War of 1812.

The Academy as it exists today is largely the creation of Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, who was Superintendent from 1817 to 1833. His system was founded, first of all, on character development.

a

He insisted upon absolute honesty and complete integrity; he established curriculum as broad as was consistent with the primary demands of professional training; and he required cadets to exercise their faculties to the utmost, to the end that their minds and characters might attain maximum development.

For many years West Point, aside from its military functions, was the only engineering school in the country. Even up to the Civil War it was the only one to produce any considerable number of engineers. For this reason all of our early main and transcontinental railroad lines were the work of West Pointers. They also mapped the coasts, charted the harbors, built lighthouses and coastal fortifications, surveyed frontiers, and constructed most of the important public improvements of that day.

In our wars up to and including World War I, West Point graduates almost monopolized the positions of high command. In general they did outstanding jobs. General Winfield Scott considered them primarily responsible for the swift and decisive victory gained in the Mexican War, which in his opinion would probably have lasted four or five years but for their services. In the Civil War, the Confederacy at an early date gave senior commands to the group of USMA graduates who adhered to its cause. The Union side was slower in doing so, Lincoln having been at the outset under heavy pressure to appoint "political generals." These differing policies, plus the fact that the Southern group included such brilliant leaders as Lee, Jackson, and J. E. Johnston, had much to do with protracting the war. However, West Pointers commanded the forces on at least one side, and usually on both sides, in every major engagement. By January of 1865 all general officers of the line in the Union Army, and the leaders of both armies, were graduates.

Finally, in World War I the Chief of Staff, the Commander-in-Chief of our forces in Europe, all army commanders, and 34 of the 38 corps and division commanders were West Pointers.

This near-monopoly of top Army

positions gave rise to considerable jealousy on occasion. Actually it was necessitated by the fact that, until recent years, there was almost no means other than West Point by which a man could acquire the background and basic training needed to qualify him for high command. However, the increasingly effective training and organization of the National Guard and Army Reserve, the active ROTC and OCS programs, and the facilities given to able and ambitious enlisted men to obtain commissions, have radically changed the picture. While West Pointers still fill the largest proportion of senior grades in the Army, and will probably continue to do so, all those grades are wide open to any officer, whatever his background, who has the ability to fill them. In World War II the Chief of Staff and military head of the Army was a nongraduate1; and nongraduates contributed 4 out of the 13 full ("four-star") generals, 35% of all lieutenant generals, and (after excluding medical officers from the count) 45% of all major generals.

The Military Academy Establishment. The Academy reservation covers a little over 15,000 acres. It contains housing, messing, academic, athletic and recrea

[blocks in formation]

tional facilities, hospitals and places of worship for the cadets and staff, and the required administrative offices and utilities. Included on the reservation is Camp Buckner, where summer military training is conducted. The establishment represents a public investment of some $75,000,000, and currently costs about $10,500,000 to maintain and operate2.

In addition to the Corps of Cadets, the Academy's personnel on 30 August 1957 included 411 officers, 26 nurses, 6 warrant officers, 926 enlisted men, and 1,912 civilian employes. Officers are utilized primarily as instructors; civilians, primarily in administrative duties. The enlisted men (of the 1st Battle Group, 1st Infantry) serve both administratively and as assistant instructors in tactical and technical military subjects. Except for 18 permanent professors, who provide an essential continuity in the academic program, all officers are reassigned after completing a three- or four-year tour of duty; this precludes the possibility of the Military Academy ever growing apart from the Army.

Appointment of Cadets. The Act of 3 June 1942 provided for a Corps of Cadets numbering 2,496, appointed as follows

[merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][ocr errors][merged small]

1.740

8

[blocks in formation]

Personal selection of the President

888888

40

40

89

[blocks in formation]

a Meaning that the law does not require such appointments to be competitive. However, many of the Senators, Representatives, and others having the appointing power make it a practice to hold competitive examinations.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

1 General of the Army George C. Marshall. He graduated from V.M.I. in 1901.

2 Exclusive of the pay of military personnel and the cost of any new construction.

« 上一頁繼續 »