A Case for Including Air Power in the 1998 FM 100-5, Operations,

The 1998 draft FM 100-5 does not adequately recognize air power. The manual does not adequately recognize air power because it does not address airlift, air space control, or air interdiction in a systemic or logical manner. These concepts are critical to making the full use of air power. They are also the key to providing effective operational fires and operational maneuver. This paper is a partial review of the Coordinating Draft of the Army's 1998 version of FM 100-5, Operations. It focuses on the operational level of war and how air power interacts with ground maneuver at that level. It is in five sections. In the first section, the paper will examine the Army's doctrinal relationship with the Air Force. Next it will define air power through the Air Force lens. Finally, it will examine the Army and Air Force roles at the operational level of war. The second section is a review of the current joint, Air Force, and Army doctrine in support of joint operations. The third section looks at two historical cases where air power played an important role in a campaign: Operation Diadem in Italy in 1944 and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. The fourth section analyzes the 1998 draft FM 100-5 explanation of air power. The last section is devoted to some implications of the proposed doctrine and recommendations.