Spring CSA Sends
General George's articles of the month
For March, the CSA highlights drones, engineer reconnaissance, and reconstitution strategy in the war in Ukraine. The overarching message is abundantly clear, observe and learn from both sides, so as not to repeat history.
Capability and Readiness in the Era of the Drone: How the Army Can Plan, Communicate, and Achieve Training Proficiency
By: CSM Vincent Simonetti
Photo courtesy of Modern War Institute.
In his article, CSM Simonetti focuses on the challenges associated with modern warfare—namely unmanned aerial systems. He highlights the gap in current training doctrine, specifically where emerging technology is concerned. What lessons can the United States learn from Russia’s aggressions in Ukraine? How has Ukraine managed to defeat multi-million dollar tanks with drones from Amazon? The author poses these questions and offers various solutions including updating MTOEs and weapons training doctrine.
Lessons in Reconstitution from the Russia-Ukraine War
By: MAJ Thomas Haydock, PhD and MAJ Jack Meeker
A Ukrainian serviceman walks next to a fighting vehicle outside Kyiv, Ukraine, 2 April 2022. On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron committed to delivering artillery pieces to Ukraine to reconstitute combat units fighting Russian forces. (Photo by Vadim Ghird, Associated Press)
MAJ’s Haydock and Meeker begin the article by highlighting Russia’s critical misstep in the Russia-Ukraine War: thinking they would achieve a quick victory. They continue to argue that the key to winning protracted conflict is to remain in the fight via reconstituted forces. While Russia is certainly capable of reconstituting personnel and equipment, through this effort, they have created a force of amateurs. More unsettling, the model of the United States is eerily similar to Russia’s. This article proposes a solution with a new reconstitution model, transformative reconstitution (TR). Transformative reconstitution seeks to solve the problem of a reconstituted force that is inferior in both quality and efficacy compared to its predecessor.
US Army Needs to Rethink Engineer Reconnaissance
By: CPT Adam Martin
Photo courtesy of Modern War Institute.
During the war in Ukraine, Russia’s defensive tactics have continued to evolve to attrit Ukrainian forces. This article focuses on the importance of engineer reconnaissance assets in the face of evolving obstacles. Russian obstacle belts, for example, are lined with dragon’s teeth, mines, wire obstacles, antitank and anti-vehicle ditches. In response, Ukraine has supplemented their thin force with extensive intelligence analysis, likely provided by drones, ahead of breaches. They also implemented dismounted clearances of mine fields due to vehicles getting stuck in breach lines. The author argues the United States needs to read the writing on the wall in terms of future warfare and ready herself to employ engineer resonnaissance units.