The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers - US Army Center Of Military History

each group of the other's efforts and positions
. Their presentations made clear both
their extensive cooperation and their efforts
to assist the Army in achieving the changes
it proposed to make, particularly in areas like
acquisition streamlining. The demonstrations
of emerging technologies, particularly
in the simulations fields, that took place at
these gatherings also evidenced a close
Army-industry joint effort. 49
Many visitors to such gatherings as the
AUSA symposia and annual meetings are part
of a focused, parochial audience who participate
as an aspect of their jobs. This was
not true, however, of most attendees. Civilian
officials from the Department of Defense,
members of other services, representatives
of members of Congress, and others from
outside the Army also attended for a wide
variety of reasons, as did members of the
media. Without some context, however, such
outsiders could have departed with only an
incomplete understanding of what Sullivan
hoped to achieve, despite the Army's and
AUSA's efforts.
Sullivan also publiCized to Congress his
efforts to change the Army both through his
testimony, beginning with his appearances
in early 1992 before the House and Senate
Armed Services Committees, and through
the associated Army posture statements. On
each occasion, he explained the Louisiana
Maneuvers as they evolved and also discussed
Force XXI as that effort took form.
He spoke , as well, with individual legislators
and members of their staffs on numerous
occasions.
The Louisiana Maneuvers Task Force also
played an important role in publicizing what
Sullivan intended to accomplish by mounting
the maneuvers. Before the actual formation
of the Task Force, COL Blodgett and Mr.
Radda briefed the proposed maneuvers to the
various commands and to the Army's models,
simulations, and analytical community.
Once BG Franks arrived and took charge of
the Task Force, he and his staff presented
literally hundreds of briefings to interested
domestic and foreign audiences, including
48
foreign liaison officers, several of whom also
observed the GOWGs; visiting representatives
of foreign military establishments;
members of other services; members of Congress;
Army Secretariat, Defense, and Joint
Staff officials; and others. so
Since simulations and modeling were such
a crucial part of LAM, the Task Force also established
its own simulations center in Building
11 at Fort Monroe in the late spring of
1993. GEN Franks often placed it on the itineraries
of visiting dignitaries, as an example
of the ways in which the Army was moving
proactively into the future. GEN Sullivan,
other members of HQDA, the Secretary of
Defense, and GEN John Shalikashvili, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among
others, visited the facility and witnessed demonstrations
of the simulations' increasingly
sophisticated capabilities. 51
The Task Force also used other means to
spread the word. By late spring 1993, it had
completed a IS-minute video for widespread
dissemination to the Army and to Congress.
The video explained the purpose of the Louisiana
Maneuvers and gave examples of some
of LAM's activities, with voice-overs from
several senior leaders. Sullivan included a
copy of the video as part of his periodic command
report to the Secretary of Defense. The
Task Force undertook a further excursion
into media communications with publication
and widespread dissemination of its pamphlet,
Louisiana Maneuvers: The First Year, on
1 March 1994. A highly illustrated summary
of what was actually the first two years of
LAM, it set the stage for Sullivan's announcement
shortly thereafter of the Force XXI
Campaign. s2
Yet, despite all these efforts to help the
Army in the field and the general public to
understand the Louisiana Maneuvers and
Sullivan's vision for them, many in the Army,
even those in Significant positions of authority,
readily admit that they had only a superficial
understanding of LAM. Two officers who
served as division commanders before being
called to serve in the Pentagon during this
period later related that they had little or no
The Modern Louisiana Maneuvers