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Soldiers Explain Army Urban Warfare Doctrine
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
By SFC Doug Sample
U.S. Army
American Forces Press Service

Each year the Fort Polk facility trains up to 11 Army light-infantry brigades and National Guard units how to clear fortified buildings and engage enemy forces embedded behind city walls. Maj. Perry Beissel, officer in charge of Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain and executive officer of the Live–Fire Division at the center, said soldiers are trained in "every conceivable" combat scenario over a four-week period, often under live-fire conditions.



"Essentially, we are where the rubber meets the road," Beissel said. "You're not going to get a free ride. You basically have to fight your way into the
town and fight your way back out."



WASHINGTON -- AFIS
When it comes to military operations of the future, enemy forces will not be in for a "fair fight," a senior Army officer said in a Pentagon press briefing Nov. 26.

Col. Paul Melody, director of the Army's Combined Arms and Tactics Directorate, said that despite the U.S military's advanced training, firepower and weapons, future battles will be fought in urban areas, where the rules of engagement have changed.

"The philosophy is that if we are forced to fight, it's not a level playing field. We want to go in with an unleveled advantage ... to put the war in our favor," he said. "It's not an attritional approach where you go in and clear everything. You attack what is vital, you strike hard, if necessary strike simultaneously throughout the depth of the enemy's defense."

Melody, an infantry officer and military history teacher, described the future of U.S. warfighting strategy, explained the evolution Army doctrine and its role in land warfare, and detailed how joint forces will conduct military operations on an urban battlefield.

That doctrine addresses a full-spectrum approach to land operations and calls for Army forces to be able to deploy quickly into an area of operations, and deter adversaries and potential enemies from establishing their forces and gaining an operational advantage.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

In recent years, the Army has been preparing units for the challenges of urban warfare at its new $34-million state- of-the-art MOUT training facility at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La. The mock city has three sites and about 40 buildings spread over seven acres. The site, which can support light and heavy operations from squad to brigade, in addition to air/land, air assault and limited airborne operations, provides units with a realistic feel of combat through a sophisticated smoke and sound system.

What a cool playground!

Dan