Two Lectures: Transformation and Innovation: The Lessons of the 1920s and 1930s. Looking at Two Distinct Periods of Military Innovation: 1872-1914 and 1920-1939

摘要

In the 1920s and 1930s, the individual services of the United States took difference paths. The maritime services used war gaming and red teaming at the Naval War College to prepare for future conflict. One result was the creation of carrier doctrine, accomplished before the Navy had a single operational aircraft carrier. The Army (and Army Air Corps) also placed considerable emphasis on professional military education, but there was a less coherent focus on transformation, innovation, and the development of new capabilities. One exception was the infantry school at For Benning, Georgia, during the five years that George Marshall served as assistant commander. The Army Air Corps also placed considerable emphasis on its schools. On the other hand, several obstacle to change existed, particularly for the Army and Army Air Corps. First, the Army's promotion system did nothing to encourage talented- officers who could drive transformation. Second, the expanse of the United States tended to isolate Army posts from each other, making large-scale exercises difficult. Third, legislative and executive branch parsimony made it difficult for the Army to even maintain itself during peacetime. On a broader scale, the Army's theories of war in the air were largely not provable, at least until its forces were engaged in conflict.