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...Instead, Objective Force often will fight on a nonlinear, noncontiguous battlefield againstan adaptive enemy who uses asymmetric tactics.
The tactical and operational levels of war will become blurred as operations become more network-centric and information previously reserved for corps and higher levels will become readily available at much lower levels. The extended area of operations (AO) in which the Objective Force will operate and the increased emphasis on precision munitions will force the employment of Army tactical missile system (ATACMS) munitions at levels lower than in the past.
In the Objective Force, ATACMS no longer will be solely a corps deep (operational) fires asset--it also will be employed at the close combat (tactical) level. Future ATACMS munitions will have increased range and accuracy, maximizing lethality and minimizing collateral damage. This article discusses the evolutionary application and increasing importance of ATACMS fires to the Objective Force.
Combat History. The first ATACMS missile fired in anger was on 18 January 1991 against an SA-2 surface-to-surface missile site located 30 kilometers inside Kuwait. Although Lieutenant Colonel (now Major General) Michael D. Maples' 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery that fired the ATACMS was on the road when it received the mission, the battalion took a mere 13 minutes to fire the missile. The Block I missile's payload (950 submunitions) dispensed directly over the target area with catastrophic effects. By the end of Desert Storm, 32 ATACMS Block I missiles had been launched against targets ranging from missile sites to command and control ([C.sup.2]) nodes.
Combat-proven, ATACMS munitions have been integral assets available to commanders for more than a decade albeit usually reserved as operational fires by the corps commander. Operational fires attack targets whose destruction or neutralization would be significant to the success of a campaign or major operation.
The Objective Force will continue to use ATACMS for deeper targets but also for close combat.
Units of Action (UAs). To accomplish the full-spectrum operations today (offense, defense, stability and support), the Army draws upon nine ground combat formations: Special Forces groups, Ranger regiment, airborne infantry, light infantry, Stryker brigade, mechanized infantry, armor, armored cavalry and air assault formations. In the future, UAs of the FCS-equipped Objective Force will account for the mission sets of all but the Special Forces, airborne and Ranger combat formations.
Focused on engagements, UAs will be highly tailorable, full-spectrum, brigade-sized combined-arms units with organic capabilities that optimize strategic responsiveness and battlespace dominance. Although the UA will have the responsiveness and deployability to achieve a 96-hour deployment goal, it is...
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