Megacities and the US Army

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The urban environment is a known vulnerability for US forces, and grows more acute as megacities increase around the world. This article describes past research and joint experimentation efforts concerning urban environments and identifies critical gaps for further research and experimentation. A more committed Joint Force constituency, led by the US Army, can lead to better readiness in this area. ********** The US Army is currently examining the topic of megacities and how to train, organize, and equip itself for successful operations in them. As a recent report from the Army Chief of Staff's Strategic Studies Group stressed, it is inevitable that at some point the United States Army will be asked to operate in a megacity and currently the Army is ill-prepared to do so. (1) As other authors have noted, Army researchers have determined megacities, urban concentrations exceeding 10 million people, will be the most complex environments for future land Global growth trends also suggest the importance of such complex environments is increasing, ... since the places where people live are getting increasingly crowded, urban, coastal and networked, the wars people fight will take on the same characteristics. (2) Given such trends, the Army is justified in asking whether current urban operating concepts and capabilities will suffice to accomplish future national security objectives. Numerous studies related to urban operations exist, all with different focus areas and outcomes, some of which are inconsistent or incomplete. In fact, as this article maintains, the current Department of Defense (DoD) urban strategy is on an uncertain trajectory and is in need of new leadership. Until its closure in 2011, Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) supported other geographic combatant commands advocating for, and developing, future concepts for joint warfighting. However, the closure of JFCOM and its inability to obtain approval of a Joint Capabilities Document stalled urban concept development. Perhaps JFCOM was never the best choice for this endeavor but merely a pragmatic one, given the Army's preoccupation with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, DoD needs another organization to refresh its dated urban strategy and capitalize on JFCOM's prior work. What organization is best suited for addressing this projected challenge? Establishing yet another ad hoc joint task force is neither optimal or desirable. Giving responsibility to the Joint Staff seems misplaced because is not charged with organizing, training, and equipping the force. Creating a joint program office is an option, but only desirable if one of the military services is willing to lead as the Joint Executive Agent. The Title X statute prescribes that the three services organize, train, and equip their respective forces. It is unlikely the Air Force or Navy would give priority to this effort. The Marine Corps contributes greatly to urban concept development; however, the Marine Corps as an amphibious force does not view urban operations as a core competency. Among the services, the Army provides the largest share of the capability and capacity for operating in urban environments. As the nation's predominant land force, the task of reviving DoD's dormant urban strategy logically falls to the Army. Originating Directives The 2014 Army Operating Concept (AOC) builds a narrative of future warfare describing urban operating environments as likely to have significant impact on land force operations. (3) Clearly, land forces must prepare for all future operating environments and cannot organize, train, and equip exclusively for urban battle-spaces. Forces should be tailored to provide the maximum flexibility to deal with a wide range of operating environments, conflicts, and contingencies. The Army must transform current forces with new capabilities for urban operating environments. …