The U.S. Army Defeats Itself More Often Than All Its Enemies Combined

Dan Goure

U.S. Army, United States

Unfortunately, the Army has shown itself to be all too lethal when it comes to starting and then killing major acquisition programs.  

The U.S. Army is one of the most lethal fighting forces in the modern world. In 1991, it demolished the Iraqi Army in 100 hours. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S. Army marched to Baghdad in 18 days. The ratio of enemy combat vehicles destroyed to losses suffered by U.S. and coalition forces in both Iraqi wars was stunningly lopsided.  Both in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army has shown a remarkable capacity to dominate across a large part of the conflict spectrum. Even the much-feared improvised explosive device (IED) threat was reduced to a manageable level through the amazing efforts of Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (now Joint Improvised-threat Defeat Agency) and a host of government laboratories and, most important, private contractors.

Unfortunately, the Army has shown itself to be equally lethal when it comes to starting and then killing major acquisition programs.  Over the past thirty years, the U.S. Army has cancelled some 20 major acquisition programs including armored fighting vehicles, helicopters, artillery pieces, communications systems, infantry weapons and munitions. If you count designs that never got out of the research and development (R&D) process that number more than doubles.  

Most people are familiar with the more recent debacles: the Ground Combat Vehicle, Future Combat System, Comanche helicopter, Crusader self-propelled artillery, armed reconnaissance helicopter and the Land Warrior communications system. But there are others; many others. The Army has been trying to find a replacement for the M551 Sheridan, its last light tank, that retired in 1997.  By some counts there have been more than a half dozen attempts over the past twenty odd years to resurrect the capability, all dismal failures. Now we are back at it again with the idea for Mobile Protected Firepower platform for the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.