Breaking the Phalanx: A New Design for Landpower in the 21st Century

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This work proposes the reorganization of America's ground forces on the strategic, operational and tactical levels. Central to the proposal is the simple thesis that the U.S. Army must take control of its future by exploiting the emerging revolution in military affairs. The analysis argues that a new Army warfighting organization will not only be more deployable and effective in Joint operations; reorganized information age ground forces will be significantly less expensive to operate, maintain, and modernize than the Army's current Cold War division-based organizations. And while ground forces must be equipped with the newest Institute weapons, new technology will not fulfill its promise of shaping the battlefield to American advantage if new devices are merely grafted on to old organizations that are not specifically designed to exploit them. It is not enough to rely on the infusion of new, expensive technology into the American defense establishment to preserve America's strategic dominance in the next century. The work makes it clear that planes, ships, and missiles cannot do the job of defending America's global security issues alone. The United States must opt for reform and reorganization of the nation's ground forces and avoid repeating Britain's historic mistake of always fielding an effective army just in time to avoid defeat, but too late to deter an aggressor.

Reviews

"By any standard, this is a landmark contribution to the debate on the future of our military forces."-Dr. Raymond M. Macedonia scientist and co-author of Getting it Right
"Thank God someone is thinking about the dangerous future we are lurching toward, and how the United States military must change and adapt to deal with the untidy realities of the new century....Macgregor, in Breaking the Phalanx, offers us cutting-edge analysis of what's wrong, suggestions of how to fix it, and a great place to begin the debate."-Joseph L. Galloway, Senior Writer, U.S. News and World Report co-author of Triumph Without Victory
"Very provocative. This is exactly the kind of thing that should be preoccupying us all."-Brent Scowcroft, LTG, USAF (ret) former National Security Advisor under President Bush
.,."many of the ideas put forth six years ago in Breaking the Phalanx, have become central to the Army's thinking as it moves toward lighter, more-mobile units."-The Washington Post
"Douglas A. Macgregor has hit the nail directly on the head in Breaking the Phalanx....This analysis is at times brilliant and most definitely needed by America's armed forces....[A] groudbreaking work that defines the direction that the America military must take in the near future if it is to prevail against the world's "lean and mean" professional warriors of the 21st Century."-Military and Naval History Journal
"This is an important but odd book, somewhat schizophrenic but eminently worthwhile. It has become widely acclaimed, extensively reviewed in publications as diverse as U.S. News & World Report (a full page), Army Times (three pages), and Joint Forces Quarterly (two pages)....But senior military leaders are reading it as well. Army times got four four-star generals to comment knowledgeably on the book....[B]reaking the Phalanx is a stimulating prod for a creative, bold reassessment of force designs being debated within all the military services."-Strategic Review
...many of the ideas put forth six years ago in Breaking the Phalanx, have become central to the Army's thinking as it moves toward lighter, more-mobile units.-The Washington Post
Breaking the Phalanx by Douglas A. Macgregor is essential reading for any serious student of the current militray modernization debate embodied in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), National Defense Panel and Joint Vision 2010 processes....Senior leaders would do well to consider its recommendations and analysis.-Military Review
Breaking the Phalanx is a remarkably readable and impressively insightful exploration of the American Armed Forces' journey toward the 21st century. Macgregor provides an extraordinarily comprehensive study of the political, interservice, economic and interbranch influences which direct that journey. Macgregor's appeal to history provides compelling support to his call for reorganization of America's warfighting organizations, particularly the Army.-The Army Chaplaincy
Breaking the Phalanx is an interesting read, and many of its chapters stand on their own....Breaking the Phalanx is a thought-provoking book. Macgregor's ideas for modernizing the Army are truly revolutionary. The author may not fully appreciate the strategic effects of airpower, but his book is worth reading by military officers.-Net Assessment
Douglas A. Macgregor has hit the nail directly on the head in Breaking the Phalanx....This analysis is at times brilliant and most definitely needed by America's armed forces....[A] groudbreaking work that defines the direction that the America military must take in the near future if it is to prevail against the world's "lean and mean" professional warriors of the 21st Century.-Military and Naval History Journal
Future historians of American military doctrine may well identify this book as the fulcrum point for American military thought and force structure at the trun of the 21st century.-ARMOR
If you want a glimpse of the Army's likely shape in a few year's time, there's a book you should be reading....The book is Breaking the Phalanx...and it is flying off bookstore shelves at the installations where the future of the service is being decided....It has sparked debate and discussion not only among the field-grade officers...but also among the Army's most senior leaders. Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer, for example, has said Breaking the Phalanx will have an impact on the Army's future, and he has recommended that his general officers read it....(It) is controversial because it reflects the views of many field-grade officers, as well as those of some generals, that the Army is not adapting quickly enough to the warfighting demands of the 21st century.-Army Times
This is an important but odd book, somewhat schizophrenic but eminently worthwhile. It has become widely acclaimed, extensively reviewed in publications as diverse as U.S. News & World Report (a full page), Army Times (three pages), and Joint Forces Quarterly (two pages)....But senior military leaders are reading it as well. Army times got four four-star generals to comment knowledgeably on the book....[B]reaking the Phalanx is a stimulating prod for a creative, bold reassessment of force designs being debated within all the military services.-Strategic Review
With Breaking the Phalanx, Colonel Douglas Macgregor has accomplished what all military authors aspire to but few achieve...Macgregor has captured the attention of his service's leadership and inspired a genuine debate. An accomplished scholar and writer, as well as a distinguished combat soldier in his own right, Macgregor begin's with a strong defense of the continuing revelance and utility of landpower. Breaking the Phalanx is an important book that may well endure. Highly readable, always interesting, his thrusting logic grapples resolutely with the possibilities. His book deserves careful reflection by all professionals concerned with the common defense.-U.S. Army
..."many of the ideas put forth six years ago in Breaking the Phalanx, have become central to the Army's thinking as it moves toward lighter, more-mobile units."-The Washington Post
"Breaking the Phalanx by Douglas A. Macgregor is essential reading for any serious student of the current militray modernization debate embodied in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), National Defense Panel and Joint Vision 2010 processes....Senior leaders would do well to consider its recommendations and analysis."-Military Review
"Breaking the Phalanx is a remarkably readable and impressively insightful exploration of the American Armed Forces' journey toward the 21st century. Macgregor provides an extraordinarily comprehensive study of the political, interservice, economic and interbranch influences which direct that journey. Macgregor's appeal to history provides compelling support to his call for reorganization of America's warfighting organizations, particularly the Army."-The Army Chaplaincy
"Breaking the Phalanx is an interesting read, and many of its chapters stand on their own....Breaking the Phalanx is a thought-provoking book. Macgregor's ideas for modernizing the Army are truly revolutionary. The author may not fully appreciate the strategic effects of airpower, but his book is worth reading by military officers."-Net Assessment
"Future historians of American military doctrine may well identify this book as the fulcrum point for American military thought and force structure at the trun of the 21st century."-ARMOR
"With Breaking the Phalanx, Colonel Douglas Macgregor has accomplished what all military authors aspire to but few achieve...Macgregor has captured the attention of his service's leadership and inspired a genuine debate. An accomplished scholar and writer, as well as a distinguished combat soldier in his own right, Macgregor begin's with a strong defense of the continuing revelance and utility of landpower. Breaking the Phalanx is an important book that may well endure. Highly readable, always interesting, his thrusting logic grapples resolutely with the possibilities. His book deserves careful reflection by all professionals concerned with the common defense."-U.S. Army
"If you want a glimpse of the Army's likely shape in a few year's time, there's a book you should be reading....The book is Breaking the Phalanx...and it is flying off bookstore shelves at the installations where the future of the service is being decided....It has sparked debate and discussion not only among the field-grade officers...but also among the Army's most senior leaders. Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer, for example, has said Breaking the Phalanx will have an impact on the Army's future, and he has recommended that his general officers read it....(It) is controversial because it reflects the views of many field-grade officers, as well as those of some generals, that the Army is not adapting quickly enough to the warfighting demands of the 21st century."-Army Times

Author Bio

DOUGLAS A. MACGREGOR is a Colonel with the Center for Technology and National Security, National Defense University, Washington, DC. After completing airborne and ranger training, Macgregor served in a variety of command and staff assignments including command of a Division Cavalry Squadron. During Desert Storm, Colonel Macgregor was awarded the bronze star with V device for valor, leading attacking combat troops in the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. His other works include a book, The Soviet-East German Military Alliance, published in 1989. He wrote Breaking the Phalanx while serving as the U.S. Army Fellow at CSIS in Washington, D.C. Colonel Macgregor is currently assigned to the U.S. Army combined Army Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.