Modern Conv Mil Ops

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Most of the world’s military establishments spend the majority of their time and resources preparing for combat against the armed forces of another nation-state. Even with the obvious strategic implications of the post-September 11, 2001 “Global War on Terrorism”, the overwhelming majority of the U.S. military’s modernization program is still devoted to enhancing the conventional combat capability of this nation’s armed forces. This course will cover the evolution of conventional air, land, and naval operations from the early 20th Century to roughly 2030. The course format will consist of a mixture of roughly 50 percent military history and 50 percent description of how modern military forces are organized, equipped, and trained for conventional combat operations. Students will develop an understanding of how military forces have evolved during this period as well as how military technology has changed in the past century and how those changes influenced the way operations are conducted. While the majority of the course will focus on conventional combat, there will be some reference to so-called “low intensity” and “irregular warfare” operations such as counter-insurgency, in so far as those types of operations have had a bearing on how conventional forces prepare for and conduct operations.