The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers - US Army Center Of Military History

As I think you all know, for several weeks
I have been thinking and talking about a concept
I call Louisiana Maneuvers. At the AUSA
meeting in Orlando, I spoke at some length
about my concept and intent; I also noted it
in my prepared remarks for this year's congressional
budget hearings. The purpose of
this message is to play out, in some detail,
what I am thinking and to solicit your views.
Overall, Louisiana Maneuvers will be a
process that will focus discrete but linked
exercises and DOTML activities; that will
enable us to assess that Army's abilities to
perform its roles and missions in the context
of our new strategy-both warfighting
and "Title 10" responsibilities; and that will
help us plot our course into the 21st century.
My intent is to create a focal point for
our activities-to give us a hands-on grasp
for the post-Cold War Army and an understanding
of change that will be more intellectual
construct. What I want to do is to
capitalize institutionally on already scheduled
exercises complemented by exercises
and other activities we develop-all of which
will be structured to enhance our understanding
of America's Army in the 21st century.
I expect and will encourage you to develop
exercises that will cover the full range
of the operational continuum and that will
incorporate the full planning range from
force generation through force employment,
war termination, and redeployment. It goes
Appendix D
CHIEF OF STAFF MESSAGE
LOUISIANA MANEUVERS 1994
9 MARCH 1992
without saying that I see this process as a
Total Army effort; I believe it will inform us
on the 21st century role (capability and expectation)
of reserve forces. Some exercises
will be sponsored by HQDA, others by joint
commands or Army MACOM-but we will
embed linked objectives.
My intellectual debt is to George
Marshall and Lesley ]. McNair's GHQ Maneuvers
of 1940 and 1941, the "Louisiana
Maneu vers." In a very different world,
Marshall used Louisiana Maneuvers to focus
the Army: to shake out emerging doctrine,
to experiment with organizational deSign, to
train the mobilizing force, to provide inSights
on material requirements, and to develop
leaders. It did some other things also; and it
did not do all things well-but the major
obj ectives went right down the line of
DOTML and provided an integrating mechanism
for Marshall's rapidly expanding Army.
Marshall, however, focused the Army on a
war that he knew was coming; my goal is to
posture our Army to protect the nation's enduring
interests in an uncertain future.
I believe we can accomplish our objectives
by harnessing the power of the microprocessor.
These exercises will use computer
supported simulation to an unprecedented
degree, whether it be a sophisticated
counterdrug campaign simulation, a large
scale theater power projection campaign , a
small scale strike operation, special opera-