The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers - US Army Center Of Military History

ters agencies, with the notable exception of
COL Robert Rodgers. This ad hoc group,
which appeared to be under the TRADOC
Commander's jurisdiction, had operated
very much according to his day-to-day
gUidance as it developed what became the
Louisiana Maneuvers and the LAM Task
Force. The perception of many, even within
TRADOC, was that the Task Force was a
TRADOC agency. Although COL Blodgett,
Mr. Radda, and the other members of the
fledgling Task Force had increasingly
worked under the Chief of Staff's office, BG
Franks' arrival Signaled to them and to the
rest of the Army that the break from
TRADOC was now official, despite their
continued presence at Fort Monroe.
GEN Sullivan's LOI to BG Franks was
broadly stated, particularly in its obj ectives
for LAM , but it was quite specific in describing
the responsibilities of the new Task Force
Director. Perhaps the most important and
telling statement in the whole letter, one that
gUided the Task Force's activities during most
of its existence, was: "You will find yourself
in a creative role. I will encourage you and
your people in this regard." The passage
underlines Sullivan's emphatic desire for an
entrepreneurial spirit in the maneuvers and
in the Task Force's operations.
The LOI gave the Task Force Director a
lengthy list of tasks. According to the LOI,
he was to develop and execute the Louisiana
Maneuvers; organize and staff the LAM
Task Force (under the supervision of the
Deputy Director of LAM); organize the General
Officer Working Group (GOWG); and
operate the LAM Support System, which
encompassed the Task Force, the GOWG,
and the Board of Directors. In the process,
he was supposed to establish permanent and
continuous liaison with ODCSOPS to facilitate
HQDA support. He was also to coordinate
and integrate exercise scenarios and
linkages; develop a concept for the long-term
institutionalization of the LAM; assist sponsors
to develop, package, and present issues
to the GOWGs; and represent sponsors before
the Board of Directors.
34
The letter further directed the LAM Task
Force Director to work under the supervision
of the Deputy Director of LAM-GEN
Fred Franks-to develop a concept and plan
for the interaction of the GOWG with the
Task Force. In an effort to show quick results,
Sullivan also wanted the LAM Task
Force Director to begin in 1992 to develop
and assess issues as pilot projects for possible
inclusion in 1992 exercises. He gave
BG Franks other specific guidance on how
he expected the GOWG would function and
how soon and often he expected to be briefed
on LAM and LAM Task Force progress. Much
of this language and the conceptualization
behind it had been developed over the preceding
months, during the lengthy backand-forth
over the LAM charter among
TRADOC, the LAM Task Force nucleus,
ODCSOPS, and the Chief's office. 3
GEN Franks followed up Sullivan's LOI to
the LAM Task Force Director with his own
memorandum on 8 June. Although not related,
the TRADOC Commander was well
acquainted with the junior Franks, who had
served as an Assistant Division Commander
in the 1st Cavalry Division in GEN Franks'
VII Corps during DESERT STORM. BG Franks
had then served within TRADOC as Assistant
Commandant of the Field Artillery School at
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. GEN Franks' memo established
initial ground rules for his
subordinate's day-to-day relationship with
him in his capacities as Deputy Director of
the Louisiana Maneuvers and TRADOC Commander.
GEN Franks also followed up on
Sullivan's principal requirements, directing
BG Franks to meet with him soon after his
arrival at Monroe and to develop quickly a
game plan that would resolve the outstanding
organizational and procedural issues regarding
the Task Force and the LAM process.
During his early meetings with his junior,
GEN Franks explained his vision that LAM
would be the Army's agency to effect change
in the way it both conducted land warfare and
carried out its Title 10 responsibilities. He
foresaw TRADOCs Battle Labs, which were
then being organized, doing much of the ac-
The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers