Myths and Military Realities

The Army of the United States is the nation’s instrument for the conduct of land warfare. To remain highly professional, it must stay abreast of changes in the mechanics of war. Myths themselves easily perpetuate when knowledge is lacking. Sometimes they remain steadfast even when knowledge exists. Such appears to be the situation in the case of nuclear weapons. Soviet strategists approach the problem of war in the nuclear age from a fundamentally different perspective than do most United States military theoreticians, commentators, and government officials. Army ground forces that may one day be tasked with executing tactical operations in a nuclear environment are denied doctrine on how to fight on the nuclear battlefield. United States military policy reflects a far greater emphasis on pre-war deterrence than on the basic preparations and planning necessary to assure national survival and victory in the event of war with the Soviet Union.