Organizational Implications of the U.S. Army's Increasing Demand for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Capabilities; Monograph

摘要

This monograph traces the development and operational experiences of the U.S. Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) forces since Vietnam to clearly demonstrate the community's gravitational movement towards the Protection warfighting function. Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, the U.S. Army has transformed its operational EOD forces through the entire range of DOTMLPF (doctrine, organizations, training, materials, leadership, personnel, and facilities). However, it has either failed or refused to address the implications the EOD's protection focus has for the institutional army. The friction created by resource competition and mission protectionism within the Army's traditional branch system, specifically the Engineer Regiment and the Ordnance Corps, prevents logic from prevailing against parochialism. Thus, the resulting efforts to transform both the EOD community and the overall force have yielded a sub-optimal organizational alignment that generates unnecessary friction and delays critical initiatives.