INTRODUCTION
The dynamics of today's global political and social changes will continue to affect the Army well into the next century. How well we adapt to these changes will greatly impact on both our nation's security and the role played by the United States in the international arena. This challenge is compounded by the requirement to shrink the size of the armed services. With the threat to our national security no longer so ominously visible, severe pressure exists to reduce defense spending to shift limited resources to meet pressing economic and social needs.
As we hurtle into the 21st century, the Army must be prepared to project forces capable of executing a myriad of diverse, and possibly unfamiliar, missions anywhere in the world.
This is a far cry from the days when the Army could focus its main efforts on defeating the Soviet "bear" in the European theater. Formidable as that enemy was, at least the Warsaw Pact threat was familiar. We knew what types of tanks, artillery, and organizations for combat we would conceivably face, and our planners could doctrinally template this enemy.
Today, all those bets are off. The ability of the Army to learn from its mistakes to avoid repeating them is more important than ever before. While we downsize, with the world rapidly and unpredictably changing around us, the Army's margin for error significantly decreases. The rapid turnaround of lessons derived from training and execution of the Army's diverse missions is more critical than ever.
Historical precedent clearly shows the utility of rapidly turning around relevant lessons to bring about necessary change.
The German army's performance assessment produced lessons following the 1939 Polish Campaign that led to significant changes in organization and training that greatly enhanced subsequent combat capabilities.
The U.S. Army use the 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers to achieve a peacetime assessment of maneuver warfighting abilities. The lessons gathered during these massive maneuvers led directly to changes in the Army's organization for combat and maneuver doctrine that proved critical in our ultimate success.
Today, under the banner of Louisiana Maneuvers, the Army is undergoing an analogous process to quickly assimilate lessons derived form a variety of sources - from actual field exercised to sophisticated combat simulation.
The mission of the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) now takes on an even greater importance to the Army grows in inverse proportions.
This newsletter lays out for you what CALL can do for you, as a key element in today's Force Projection Army. Our goal is to answer questions you might have as you prepare yourself and your soldiers to perform whatever missions you may face. For example, how does the lessons learned system affect what you do? How can you become a part of this process? Bottom line, we want you to understand how you can tap into this system before you execute a mission, so you can learn from those who went before.
Table
of Contents
Foreword
Section
I - The Background of CALL
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NEWSLETTER
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