Transitions and Roman Gates Unbarred

This study examines the interaction between the land component and the air component during the conduct of rapid maneuver operations executed by smaller warfighting units. In the conduct of rapid ground operations, certain conflicts have arisen that have both doctrinal and operational origins. What has resulted from these conflicts is that the transition from shaping operations, conducted and controlled by the air component commander, to close operations waged almost exclusively by the ground component, does not happen as effectively as it could. The author evaluated four cases of rapid ground offensives in past conflicts and derived transcendent characteristics in the solutions employed when these past campaigns experienced similar problems. Next, the author compared those characteristics to some of the solutions used primarily by the Marine Corps in recent operations in order to examine whether or not there is a strong correlation between the characteristics of past and present solutions. Based upon the findings of these comparisons, the author recommends changes to particular roles, missions, and coordination procedures to strengthen the dynamic effectiveness of highly integrated campaigns of fires and maneuver.