The Biggest Stick: The Employment of Artillery Units in Counterinsurgency (Art of War Papers series) : 9781780391878

This study uses a comparative analysis of the Malayan Emergency, the American experience in Vietnam, and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM to examine the role and effectiveness of artillery units in complex counterinsurgency environments. Through this analysis, four factors emerge which impact the employment of artillery units: the counterinsurgency effort's requirement for indirect fires; constraints and limitations on indirect fires; the counterinsurgency effort's force organization; and the conversion cost of nonstandard roles for artillery units. In conclusion, the study offers five broadly descriptive fundamentals for employing artillery units in a counterinsurgency environment: invest in tactical leadership, exploit lessons learned, support the operational approach and strategic framework, maintain pragmatic fire support capability, and minimize collateral damage. Finally, the study examines the role of education for leaders in a counterinsurgency, and its influence on these imperative fundamentals.

Author: Richard B. Johnson

Publisher: Military Bookshop

Publication Date: Aug 29, 2012

Number of Pages: 224 pages

Binding: Hardback or Cased Book

ISBN-10: 1780391870

ISBN-13: 9781780391878