ARMOR, September-October 1991 Edition - Fort Benning - U.S. Army

A year ago we were in the midst of the massive
buildup in Saudi Arabia, dubbed Operation DESERT
SHIELD. The subsequent battle of annihilation
placed Operation DESERT STORM in the history
books and smote the Babylon lion with the most
thorough thrashing those books have ever de-
scribed. We didn’t expect so much as a meow to
come from the banks of the Tigris for a long time to
come.
Yet, as this issue goes to press, it seems apparent
that Saddam’s lessons learned task force has failed
its mission, because he has once again gotten
everyone’s attention by hindering the UN inspection
teams. Not a smart move, but consider the source.
How then can we assume that DESERT STORM
lessons reached other potential regional
threatmongers? We can’t, which is why we must
think in terms of the mythological Roman god,
Janus, with one face firmly on the past, while the
other gazes steadfastly toward the future. We must
not forget the lessons of the past, yet we cannot fall
into the trap of preparing to fight the next war as we
fought the last. Armies tend to do both at different
times, with soldiers paying the bills.
This issue attempts to fulfill the image of Janus.
Major James M. Milano digs back to WWI and WWll
to see how Erwin Rommel took lessons from his
WWI command experience at the small unit level
and applied them on a much grander level in North
Africa in WWII.
This issue’s other face is embodied in the Chief of
Armor’s “Commander’s Hatch” column, which im-
parts MG Foley’s vision of our branch beyond the
turn of the century. Once you consider the possibili-
ties, the concepts are at once startling and exciting.
By Order of the Secretary of the Army:
GORDON R. SULLIVAN
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff
Armor will remain the centerpiece of future mobile
combined arms operations, and the centerpiece of
Armor will be, as today, the armor crewman and
cavalry scout. The Chief of Armor’s look down the
road will conclude with part II in the November-De-
cember issue.
I commend to you the article, “Bravo Company
Goes to War.” SSG Jeffrey Dacus, USMCR, tells the
story of B Company, 4th Marine Tank Battalion,
which activated for the Persian Gulf, deployed, trans-
itioned from M6OAls to MIAls, then fought its way
to Kuwait City. Not only is this a great commenda-
tion for the Marine Corps Reserve tankers who com-
prise B Company, but it is a screaming endorsement
of the MIA1 MBT -that a group of farmers, plumb-
ers, and teachers can learn a new tank weeks or
days before fighting it in combat.
Do not overlook the remainder of the issue. CPT
A.A. Puryear and LT Gerald Haywood narrate the
events of 213 ACR‘s hasty attack on the Ar
Rumaylah Airfield; 1 LT Charles Gameros provides
an insightful analyses of HMMWVs vs. Bradleys, and
which is better for different scout missions; 1 LT John
Hyatt sends us his views on the scout use of LAV-
25s; MAJ John Faulconbridge discusses the com-
pany XO’s role in tactical operations; and former
Armor Branch Chief COL Stephen E. Wilson lays the
personnel and assignment cards on the table in “Ru-
minations of a Branch Chief.” Don’t miss this import-
ant article.
Finally, we salute the 5th Armored Division on its
50th Anniversary. Some 46 years ago, the soldiers
of the “Victory Division” were the first to break onto
German soil.
- PJC
Olficial:
PATRICIA P. HICKERSON
Brigadier General, United States Army
The Adjutant General