Vanishing Act: The Glorious Life and Silent Death of Battlefield Obscuration

摘要

For almost a century, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps has had oversight of the doctrine and technology used in laying smoke on the battlefield. The effective application of battlefield obscurants has been documented for virtually every conflict from World War I through the War on Terrorism. In recent years, however, the near elimination of this traditionally important enabler has gone largely unnoticed. Additionally, there is little to indicate whether this capability will completely disappear from the battlefield or whether it will be provided by other means. This article describes the storied past, turbulent present, and questionable future of battlefield obscuration.