Are Large Scale (Brigade Combat Team or Regimental Level and Above) United States Army Airborne Operations Effective in the Context of 21st Century Wa

FM 90-26, Airborne Operations, states, "The strategic mobility of airborne forces permits rapid employment to meet contingencies across the operational continuum anywhere in the world." Arguably, the strategic mobility of the United States Army airborne forces has influenced conflicts from Panama, Grenada, to, most recently, Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In 2002, the United States Army developed a major transformational effort named the Modular Force Initiative. This initiative involves the total redesign of the operational Army into a larger, more powerful, more flexible and more rapidly deployable force while moving the Army from a division-centric structure to one built around a brigade combat team (BCT). Key concepts involved in the modular force initiative involve a total redesign of the operational Army. The modular force initiative seeks to optimize the BCT design so that the unit can operate throughout the depth of the battlefield. The challenge to airborne forces is to continue to maintain operational significance in this environment. Initial research leads me to believe that there is merit in studying the effectiveness of large scale airborne forces in 21st century warfare. Historical case studies of large scale airborne operations could provide the foundation and the principles for which these operations were conducted.

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