Breaking the Phalanx? An Examination of Colonel Douglas A. MacGregor's Proposals Regarding U.S. Naval Aviation
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Breaking the Phalanx? An Examination of Colonel Douglas A. MacGregor's Proposals
Regarding U.S. Naval Aviation
Authors: Brick R. Imerman; ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH
KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES
Abstract: In his book Breaking the Phalanx, Colonel Douglas A. Macgregor raises
important questions as to the future role of land power in the national strategy
of the United States. Despite directing much of his discussion toward current
Army corps/division restructuring, Colonel Macgregor forwards numerous arguments
against funding current naval forces and the advisability of investing in future
sea-based power projection platforms. Likening modern day America to the Roman
Empire, Colonel Macgregor argues that security for the United States lies not in
sea power, but in forward based armies akin to modern Roman Legions. He offers
that today's navies are extremely vulnerable to cruise missile technology and
land-based air power, as was evidenced in the Battle for the Falklands. in
particular, Colonel Macgregor presents the argument that land-based aircraft can
largely supplant aircraft carriers, which today are simply too expensive and
vulnerable to warrant further funding. In the end, Colonel Macgregor argues that
the military budget could be cut by $147 billion, with $102 billion coming
directly from the cancellation of both the Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
construction and it's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program. The money saved from such
cancellations could then be more prudently invested in new technologies and a
stronger land-based force structure. This monograph addresses the question: Do
Colonel Macgregor's arguments as presented in Breaking the Phalanx regarding U.
S. Naval Aviation, both in terms of fleet vulnerability and cost effectiveness,
warrant the proposed restructuring of naval forces? In researching this
question, the author presents a historical examination of the Battle of the
Falklands, with lessons learned by the British applied, wherever possible, to U.
S. naval forces today.
Limitations: APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE