CONTEMPORARY PROFESSIONAL MILITARY WRITING: SELECTED STUDENT PAPERS FROM THE U.S. ARMY'S PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS Chemical Corps Smoke: Is There a Future in the Army of the Twenty-First Century? by Major William E. King IV, USA Student, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, AY 1997-98 No. 99-4 May 1999 The Contemporary Professional Military Writing series is designed to provide an outlet for original work done by students at the U.S. Army War College, Command and General Staff College and Sergeants Major Academy. The staff and faculty of the respective institutions select the papers; the Institute of Land Warfare reproduces them and makes them available to members. The content represents the personal opinions of the author and not necessarily the position of the Association of the United States Army or its members. Distributed by The Institute of Land Warfare Association of the United States Army 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201 www.ausa.org Chemical Corps Smoke: Is There a Future in the Army of the Twenty-First Century? A thesis presented to the Faculty ofthe U.S. Army Command and General StaffCollege in partial fulfillment of the requirements fo r the degree MASTER OF MILITARYART AND SCIENCE by WILLIAM E. KING IV, MAJ, USA B.S., University ofRichmond, Richmond, Virginia, 1987 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 1998 Approved fo r public release; distribution is unlimited. ABSTRACT IS THERE A SMOKE/OBSCURANTS REQUIREMENT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MANEUVER FORCE AND, IF SO, WILL THE CHEMICAL CORPS SMOKE/OBSCURANTS MEET IT? by MAJWilliam E. King IV, USA, 83 pages. Today's Atmy is transitioning it's warfighting fo cus fi·om superiority of technology and industry to information dominance. If the Army's smoke generating organizations are going to remain viable, they must enhance the joint fo rce's ability to win in future warfare. They must be able to achieve electromagnetic spectrum supremacy and meet the needs of the twenty first century joint fo rce throughout the range of conflict. Thistwenty first century obscurant capability must be able to defeat and/or control reconnaissa,nce, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) sensors and targets at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war. I present a comparison of the twenty-first century maneuver fo rce smoke/obscurant requirements and point out where the Chemical Corps smoke and o bscurants development plan meet these requirements in doctrine, training, leader development, organization, material, and soldiers (DTLOMS). I also suggest where the Chemical Corps needs to take further action to fill shortfalls in all twenty firstcentury operational requirements. This study investigates whether Army smoke generating units will remain a vital asset or become a liability to the twenty-first century joint fo rce. It also suggests obscurant mission changes throughout the spectrum of conflict on the future battlefield. My presentation is relevant to the fo llowing topics: camouflage, concealment, countermeasures, deception, operational uses, smoke systems and materials, information operations, OPSEC, protection, multispectral obscurants, sensors, future, smoke, obscurants, and command and control weapons (C2W) attack and protection. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am truly indebted to all of those who have contributed ideas and information in the development ofthis study. Many of my views and the fo undation fo r this thesis were fo rmulated during my early years as a Smoke Platoon Leader, Smoke Company Executive Officer, and Heavy Division Chemical Company Commander and have continued to evolve everyday since. The smoke soldier is truly a dedicated chemical soldier with a demonstrated warrior ethos in all of his actions. The opportunity to work with many of our nations finest leaders and soldiers is an opportunity I will soon not fo rget and continue to look fo rward too. I am grateful to Dr. Burton Wright, Colonels Darryl Kilgore and Richard Weiner and Lieutenant Colonel Mike Brown, who have continued to provide excellent advice and mentorship. I thank you fo r your commitment fo r professional excellence and fo r your trust and confidence in my abilities. I am indebted to my MMAS committee, Lieutenant Colonel Max Kline, Majors JeffTurner and John Schatzel, and Dr. Bruce Leeson fo r their keen insight and endless encouragement. You have provided direction and fo cus that allowed me to produce a meaningful and thought provoking endeavor. The MMAS-.programoffered by the Command and General Staff College is a program I will continue to support throughout my career. The program offers. professional military officcrs..the__opportunityto conduct study beneficial to themselves and-theArmy. IV Finally, to my wonderfulfa mily-Elaine, Quentin, Morgan, Kathleen, and Kyle. Your love, patience, support, and willingness to sacrifice throughout the years and particularly in the fo rmulation of this thesis l,las been a constant source of encouragement. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT............................... ................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................... ...................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................ viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ ix CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION ................................................. .................... ................. ! Evolving Strategic Environment. .......................... ................................... ...... I Army's Plan to Meet New Strategic Era ........................................... ........... 3 Twenty First Century Patterns of0perations ........................ ............. ........... 5 Importance of Smoke in Transition to Information Dominance ...................... & Purpose fo r Smoke and Obscurance ........................................................... 10 History of Smoke Use .................................................. ............................... 12 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 14 Underlying Questions ............................ ..................................................... 15 Significance ofthe Study........... .................................................................. 15 Scope and Limitations ................................................................................. 15 Thesis Structure .......................................................................................... 15 TWO. REVIEW OF LITERATURE................................................................... l9 Key Works ....................................................... .......................................... 19 Vl THREE. RESEARCH :tvfETHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS ... ............... .......... 22 Twenty First Century Army Vision fo r Operations ..... ................................. 22 The Chemical Corps Smoke and Obscurants Vision ....................................33 Future Maneuver and Chemical Corps Implications in Terms ofDTLOMS .40 FOUR. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........... ...................... .. 73 GLOSSARY ................................................................................... ............................. 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................... :.................................................................... 80 VII LIST OF FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 1. Full Range of Capabilities to Support NMS ......................................................... 2 2. Land Forces Central to Success of Joint Operations .......................................... .4 3. Our Process fo r Strategic Change ....................................................................... 6 4. Changes in the Art of War Follows Technological Cycles .................................... 8 5. Decision Cycle Compression ............................................................................. 11 6. Tactical Value ofBlinding Smoke Preventing Aimed Rifle Fire ......................... 13 7. Land Forces Central to Joint Operations .......................................................... 23 8. Process of Continuous Transformation ....................................... ...... ............... 25 9. Frequency Spectrum and Applications .............................................................. 30 10. Twenty First Century Smoke and Obscmants .................................................... 34 11. Electro-Optical System Defeated by Smoke ...................................................... 36 12. Obscurant Effects on Battlefield Electro-Optical Devices .. ............................... 37 13. US Army Chemical Corps' Future Smoke and Obscurants .......................... .... 39 14. Chemical Corps Tactical Unit Force Structure ................................................... 56 15. Spectrum of Survivability Enhancement Opportunities ...................................... 58 16. Threat Avoidance Categories ............................................................................ 60 17. Picture ofM56 Motorized Smoke Generator System ...................................... 62 18. Picture ofM58 Mechanized Smoke Generator System ...................................... 64 Vlll LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AO Area of Operations CD ROM Compact Disk Read Only Memory cs Combat Support css Combat Service Support DEW Directed Energy Weapon