Breaking the Phalanx. An Examination of Colonel Douglas A. MacGregor's Proposals Regarding U.S. Naval Aviation

摘要

In his book Breaking the Phalanx, Colonel Douglas A. Macgregor raises important questions as to the future role of land power in the national strategy of the United States. Despite directing much of his discussion toward current Army corps/division restructuring, Colonel Macgregor forwards numerous arguments against funding current naval forces and the advisability of investing in future sea-based power projection platforms. Likening modern day America to the Roman Empire, Colonel Macgregor argues that security for the United States lies not in sea power, but in forward based armies akin to modern Roman Legions. He offers that today's navies are extremely vulnerable to cruise missile technology and land-based air power, as was evidenced in the Battle for the Falklands. in particular, Colonel Macgregor presents the argument that land-based aircraft can largely supplant aircraft carriers, which today are simply too expensive and vulnerable to warrant further funding. In the end, Colonel Macgregor argues that the military budget could be cut by $147 billion, with $102 billion coming directly from the cancellation of both the Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier construction and it's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program. The money saved from such cancellations could then be more prudently invested in new technologies and a stronger land-based force structure. This monograph addresses the question: Do Colonel Macgregor's arguments as presented in Breaking the Phalanx regarding U. S. Naval Aviation, both in terms of fleet vulnerability and cost effectiveness, warrant the proposed restructuring of naval forces. In researching this question, the author presents a historical examination of the Battle of the Falklands, with lessons learned by the British applied, wherever possible, to U. S. naval forces today.