Operational Theater Mine Countermeasures Plan: More than a Navy Problem

摘要

This monograph finds that theater commanders, with vital maritime chokepoints/canals in their theater, should have their J-5 planners develop and integrate a comprehensive counter mine plan into the theater's campaign plans. In the past, regional mine countermeasure's plans have been viewed as a Navy responsibility. However, today's theater commander may face short regional conflict warning times which require the conduct of mine countermeasures (MCM) operations before Naval MCM planners and their forces (ships and aircraft) can arrive in theater. Using joint theater forces (Army, Air Force, Special Operations Forces, Navy, and Space assets), the theater commander can conduct MCM operations to prevent mines from going in the water or to detect and record locations of enemy mine laying operations, reducing greatly the time required for counter mine operations by Naval MCM ships and aircraft upon their in-theater arrival. The coordination and allocation of Joint theater forces to conduct MCM operations requires a theater commander to plan and prepare for mining threats long before the first enemy sea mine enters the water. This monograph uses the Secretary of Defense's October 1993 Report on the Bottom-Up Review as a reference, to identify real world MCM missions from a scenario that involves two nearly simultaneous conflicts in the Korean and Persian Gulf regions. To execute counter mine missions in these theaters, the J-5 planing staffs must develop MCM plans for the theater commander. This monograph takes the J-3 planner through the required building blocks to develop an effective theater MCM plan. The monograph describes the North Korean and Iraqi mining threats, past and present, to include mine types, mine delivery platforms, and possible battlespace areas that could be effectively mined. The strengths and weaknesses of U.S. MCM forces, ships and aircraft, a.