A large step toward Information Age war-fighting was completed in March at the Army's National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, Calif. The Army's Experimental Force (EXFOR)-the world's first digitized ground force, the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)-deployed to the harsh conditions of the Mojave Desert at Ft. Irwin for an intensive, realistic war-fighting exercise against the NTC's vaunted Opposing Force (OPFOR), the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The exercise was the culminating event of the TF XXI Advanced Warfighting Experiment (AWE)-a key part of the Army's Force XXI process of continuous experimentation and transformation which will result in Army XXI-the digitized force for the 21st Century.

This human dimensions assessment quantified the impact of changes in the work environment of soldiers and leaders who participated in the brigade level task force (TF XXI) Advanced Warfighter Experiment (AWE). The TF XXI AWE investigated the potential for digitizing land combat forces through the fielding of new technology equipment and accompanying changes in organizational design, tactics, techniques and procedures. Surveys and structured interviews were used to assess soldier and leader perceptions of TF XXI, the work environment, and organizational outcomes. The major finding is that as soldiers and leaders became more familiar with the new technology and its use, they were less threatened by it, and appreciated more the positive impact it would have on them, their units, and the Army as a whole. The findings also underscore potential problems with a number of different but clearly interrelated human dimensions. One example is the new career opportunities created by this technology within but also outside the Army, and the possible impact of these opportunities on Army wide personnel retention and recruitment programs. This study contributes to the requirement to define, quantify, and record empirical information to more fully understand and respond to the human dimensions of the Force XXI program.

This book looks at several troop categories based on primary function and analyzes the ratio between these categories to develop a general historical ratio. This ratio is called the Tooth-to-Tail Ratio. McGrath's study finds that this ratio, among types of deployed US forces, has steadily declined since World War II, just as the nature of warfare itself has changed. At the same time, the percentage of deployed forces devoted to logistics functions and to base and life support functions have increased, especially with the advent of the large-scale of use of civilian contractors. This work provides a unique analysis of the size and composition of military forces as found in historical patterns. Extensively illustrated with charts, diagrams, and tables. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press)

This work proposes the reorganization of America's ground forces on the strategic, operational and tactical levels. Central to the proposal is the simple thesis that the U.S. Army must take control of its future by exploiting the emerging revolution in military affairs. The analysis argues that a new Army warfighting organization will not only be more deployable and effective in Joint operations; reorganized information age ground forces will be significantly less expensive to operate, maintain, and modernize than the Army's current Cold War division-based organizations. And while ground forces must be equipped with the newest Institute weapons, new technology will not fulfill its promise of shaping the battlefield to American advantage if new devices are merely grafted on to old organizations that are not specifically designed to exploit them. It is not enough to rely on the infusion of new, expensive technology into the American defense establishment to preserve America's strategic dominance in the next century. The work makes it clear that planes, ships, and missiles cannot do the job of defending America's global security issues alone. The United States must opt for reform and reorganization of the nation's ground forces and avoid repeating Britain's historic mistake of always fielding an effective army just in time to avoid defeat, but too late to deter an aggressor.

This book examines the human factors issues associated with the development, testing, and implementation of helmet-mounted display technology in the 21st Century Land Warrior System. Because the framework of analysis is soldier performance with the system in the full range of environments and missions, the book discusses both the military context and the characteristics of the infantry soldiers who will use the system. The major issues covered include the positive and negative effects of such a display on the local and global situation awareness of the individual soldier, an analysis of the visual and psychomotor factors associated with each design feature, design considerations for auditory displays, and physical sources of stress and the implications of the display for affecting the soldier's workload. The book proposes an innovative approach to research and testing based on a three-stage strategy that begins in the laboratory, moves to controlled field studies, and culminates in operational testing.