The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers - US Army Center Of Military History

Chapter 1
THE GENESIS OF THE LOUISIANA MANEUVERS AND THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE LAM TASK FORCE
Gordon R. Sullivan's tenure as Chief of
Staff of the Army began on 21 June 1991,
two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and
the end of the Cold War. The threat to Western
security that had preoccupied two generations
of Americans seemed to have all but
disappeared. Sullivan realized that the Army,
considered by many the best in the world,
needed to change substantially to cope effectively
with the new, post-Cold War strategic
and budgetary realities.l He immediately
set himself to the task, seeking ways to
effect the necessary changes-to "break the
mold" of past Cold War thinking and of previous
cycles of postwar unreadiness, but
without "breaking the bank."2
Sullivan's Challenge
The new Chief took command of a successful
Army. In December 1989, Operation
JUST CAUSE had qUickly deposed Panamanian
dictator Manuel Noriega and reinstituted democracy
in that Central American nation.
From August 1990 to March 1991, American
forces in DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM
had spearheaded the coalition that ultimately
liberated Kuwait from its Iraqi conquerors.
The U.S. Army had played leading roles in
both victories.
Sullivan and the senior leaders of his
generation had forged this force in the lean
years following the Vietnam War. They took
their cue from a chain of innovative think-
GEN Gordon R. Sullivan
ers and leaders that included prominently
GENs Creighton W. Abrams (CSA 1972-
1974), William E. DePuy, Donn A. Starry,
and Carl E. Vu ono (CSA 1987-1991).
Sullivan and his peers formed the All-Volunteer
Army, elevated personnel standards,
developed more flexible, modern doctrine,
and brought about a sea change in training
philosophies and methods for both individuals
and units. The creation of the sev-