This is a transcript from a taped oral history interview with SGM Dennis Thompson, former Vietnam Conflict prisoner of war (audio version also available in USASMA digital library). He was interviewed by MSG Ransic Refeus for the US ARMY SERGEANTS...
Insurgency and counterinsurgencies differ from conventional warfare in that military strength alone cannot bring success. Insurgencies are "people's wars" as the insurgent forces are dependent on the population for manpower, intelligence,...
This is a transcript of a lecture given by Sergeant Major Dennis Thompson, former Vietnam War POW, to USASMA Class of 1983. He talks about his imprisonment and what he learned from it, including how he survived, advice on how to prepare for the...
Improvements in technology worldwide have amplified the impact strategic lieutenants and strategic corporals have on strategic matters. These Strategic Soldiers and their respective leaders must not only be aware of their potential influence in a...
Over the period from 1961 to 1963 the Government of Vietnam Introduced the Strategic Hamlet Program which was designed to be the central part of a comprehensive plan to pacify South Vietnam. Pacification was to be achieved by isolating the rural...
The strategic hamlet program in Vietnam was destined to failure because of a misapplication of the Malayan counterinsurgency model. The ethnic composition of the population, the nature of the insurgency, and the inherent capabilities of the...
The classical military theorists and US Army doctrine emphasize the role of information within a conflict. The US Army's primary means for controlling and manipulating information is the doctrinal concept of information operations. However, there...
The security force framework devised for prosecuting a counterinsurgency campaign is essential. A security framework identifies roles and responsibilities for the different organizations that comprise the overall counterinsurgent force. Part of...
This monograph offers a way of thinking about counterinsurgency tactics. There are five salient propositions that bind the paper. First, tactical success in a Phase II insurgency (such is the nature of the Salvadoran insurgency) is defined as the...
Controlling the population in any counterinsurgency is critical to the success of the counterinsurgent. Three historical theorists, Sir Robert Thompson, David Galula, and Robert Trinquier all agree on this pertinent issue. Success in Malaya hinged...
The purpose of this research was to obtain a historically rooted understanding of the development, application, and adaptation of the British COIN approach--one from which the US has borrowed heavily. It focuses upon those factors which interfere...
During the Vietnam conflict the United States along with the South Vietnam government were able to convince 194,000 enemy personnel to change sides. The majority of these individuals were then exploited for intelligence, propaganda, and other...
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...
This monograph on the organization for production control in World War II is a portion of a comprehensive study of War Department experience in industrial mobilization and covers the augmentation and acceleration of national defense, the overhead...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Essayons, originally published as the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon in 1966 then as the Guidon from 1966 to 1987. Became Essayons in 1988 and remained that way until 1999 when it reverted back to Guidon. It has been and continues to be a record of...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Essayons, originally published as the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon in 1966 then as the Guidon from 1966 to 1987. Became Essayons in 1988 and remained that way until 1999 when it reverted back to Guidon. It has been and continues to be a record of...
Airpower has a significant influence within the American political process. Political debate over the application of airpower in limited conflicts involves when and how to use it, and whether it can be the sole means of military force. This...
One of the fundamental causes of war, posit a large number of political scientists, is the lack of communications among nations, as the absence of communications contributes to political polarization. The primary inhibitors to international...
Prior to the attacks of September 11th the United States Military founded defense plans on a threat-based model, with the nation being prepared to conquer adversaries with the most advanced combat power. The 2001 attacks and subsequent Global War...