ART OF WAR STUDIES MILITARY ISSUES PAPER TODAY’S AIR OFFICER, A PIONEER AT A MILITARY CRAFT MARINE CORPS UNIVERSITY MARINE AIR-GROUND TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTER MARINE CORPS COMBAT DEVELOPMENT COMMAND QUANTICO, VIRGINIA 22134-5050 SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE MILITARY ISSUES RESEARCH PROJECT BY J. F. GOODMAN LTCOL USMC 1 Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 3. DATES COVERED 2008 2. REPORT TYPE 00-00-2008 to 00-00-2008 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Today’s Air Officer, A Pioneer at a Military Craft 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION United States Marine Corps, Command and Staff College,Marine Corps REPORT NUMBER University,2076 South Street, Marine Corps Combat Dev Command,Quantico,VA,22134-5068 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES RESPONSIBLE PERSON a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE Same as 23 unclassified unclassified unclassified Report (SAR) Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TITLE: Today’s Air Officer, A Pioneer at a Military Craft THEME: The development of the Forward Air Control and the Air Officer within the Marine Corps grew from the basic staff liaison officer systems. As the Marine Corps grew and evolved since World War II, the Marine Corps’ FAC and AO program grew away from the liaison officer concept. It is time to make the education of these officers commiserate with the liaison officer concept. THESIS: The Forward Air Controller and Air Officer training/education process was designed to prepare a liaison Officer to serve with a Marine Ground Combat Unit. As the Marine Corps has evolved and grown, the education/training of these officers has not kept pace. Additionally, the current education process is focused on what duties are to accomplished rather than how to accomplish those duties. DISCUSSION: When the Marine Corps foresaw a use for an aviation unit to operate with Marine ground troops as part of an advance base force, the initial aviators began looking for ways to use aviation in support of ground troops. Throughout World War II the use of air support in close proximity to ground troops necessitated the growth and development of an Air Liaison system to promote the use of aviation, assist the ground commander in requesting air support, and assist in command and control of aviation. Following the close of World War II, the Marine Corps combined two systems of air control that had evolved during the war (one was a formal system which featured centralized control, and the other was a less formal system which featured decentralized control) into a formal centralized command/decentralized control air support system. Forward Air Controllers or Air Liaison Officers were placed at each echelon of command to coordinate or control air support operations. The education/training of these FAC’s/AO’s was developed, and the program was proven during three years of combat in Korea. Since the mid 1950s, the education/training of the Corps' FAC's/AO’s has changed very little as the Marine Corps has grown and evolved. Now in the early 1990s, our FAC’s/AO’s are working in a joint/combined environment using the same staffing concept and training/education process which was used in the early 1950s. The Marine Corps should evaluate the FAC/AO’s staffing and the assignment sourcing policy of those same FAC’s/AO’s to ensure the best possible system of support is being provided to a Marine Air Ground Task Force. CONCLUSION: The training/education of the Marine Corps FAC’s/AO’s has not kept pace with the Corps growth and development over the past few decades. There is a need to adapt, update, and where appropriate develop a FAC/AO) education/training process for today’s MAGTF. 2 Introduction The black of night had just enquired the unique compound when an eerie torch-like light drenched the night. The unusual light unveiled a flat, barren land seemingly void of vegetation and human life. It was land long distant from the forested hills of 1918 France, from the tropical hills of 1927 Haiti. From the volcanic islands of 1942-1945, and from the mountainous wastes of the Chosin Reservoir in 1951. Yet, the Air Officers (AO’s) at I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters (MEF HQ) seemed to be reliving the same trial and error, on-the-job-training experiences as their forerunners had during the development of Marine Close Air Support procedures/AO and Forward Air Controller (FAC) duties during previous campaigns. But, why would theses AO’s, who were tolling in a 1991 MEF HQ lit by that 150 foot tall flaming torch from the nearby oil field, feel like pioneers in a military craft that essentially had not changed for the past forty years? The Marine Air and Ground Team was working together just as it had for the past four decades. Had these Air Officers attended FAC School? Had these AO’s been in the FMF for ten years or longer? Were these AO’s MOS qualified in their respective type model series aircraft? Had these AO’s completed TBS, AWS, and the field grade CSC? The answer to all of these questions for all of the assigned AO’s was “yes”. As the flame died and the oily, black night again settled over MARCENT/I MEF HQ the puzzle remained. Had that glaring torch in the dark, desolate desert revealed and enigma in the education system that prepared these Marine Air Officers? HISTORICAL BACKGROUND To begin understanding what might have been illuminated in that desolate Arabian desert, one must grasp how the Marine Corps developed a need for Air Officers. The AO role began as a simple 1914 recommendation for an aviation unit to operate with Marine ground troops as part of an advance base force.1 Early use of aircraft by Marines in exercises included reconnoitering of terrain as well as the enemy. But, it was during those early exercises that two Marine flyers "gathered valuable data on spotting possibilities and on the ease with which a force attempting to land in small boats might be bombed from the air".2 Some of the first attempts at bombing from a naval plane were conducted by Marine flyers. Following the outbreak of World War I, the "1st Marine Aviation Force” was ordered to France and assigned as the day wing of the Northern Bombing Group. The Marine squadrons of the 1st Marine Aviation Force participated in raids that attacked such targets as railway junctions, etc. However, on October 5, 1918, Marine aviators flying nine DeHaviland 4's and 9's dropped ten and twenty-five pound bombs on two German gun positions and strafed the supporting infantry. These planes bombed and strafed as close as four hundred feet in front of U.S. Marine ground forces. The need and desire to control and coordinate air support operations were present even in those early days as this bombing and strafing was controlled from the air by a tenth DeHaviland.3 Although the October 1918 attack was but a single event and probably did not foreshadow the integrated Marine Air Ground team, the Marine Corps' interest and desire to provide close support for its ground troops remained evident. The interwar years found Marine Aviation supporting ground troops in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua.4 Marine Aviators performed reconnaissance medical evacuation, resupply, bombing and strafing missions. Several firsts were recorded during these "Banana Wars." In 1919 the Marines found they could hit a target more often by pointing the plane 2 toward the target and releasing the bomb from a makeshift rack after diving to a low level (about 250 feet) at about a 450 angle. In 1927 a five plane formation briefed and attacked the enemy from a booming column using the dive bombing technique. This has been dubbed the first organized dive bombing attack.5 Again, in 1927 ground troops laid out panels indicating the direction and range of the enemy and asked for an air attack. Because of the subsequent correction of this bombing and strafing attack, it has become known as the first instance of an air attack being directed by ground troops. The techniques of controlling and coordinating were refined slowly. The slow but sure systems of passing messages via cloth panels laid on the ground or via a pilot snatching a message suspended between two poles became more difficult and often impossible as higher performance, closed cockpit aircraft were introduced. The control techniques needed to achieve the desired precision of close air support lay in reliable communication that would permit quick liaison and a complete understanding between the pilot and the front line commander. Since the air-ground radio was not yet reliable in me 1930's, an aviator was assigned as an air liaison officer to the 1st Marine Brigade staff to help promote coordination, understanding, and standardization of communications. Later, that air liaison officer would ride in the back seat of a plane and direct pilots onto targets by means of an air-to-air radio.6 As the Germans drove around the Maginot Line, Marines with their special air-ground team were working on the idea of placing radio equipped 'observers" on the front lines to control air support. But, the first standardized Navy-Marine Corps instructions had not appeared when the Corps found itself on Guadalcanal participating in Operation Watchtower (Shoestring) in order to aid in the containment of Japanese advances toward Australia. 3 The Marines deployed on Guadalcanal received air support by sending air support request messages from the front line Ground Force Commander to the Division CP (Air Liaison Officer) then to Henderson Field. The pilots were briefed prior to the flight on front line markings, target type and location, and the best attack direction. Later, when time permitted, pilots would walk up to the front and look at the targets to be attacked. After a time, these pilot visits to the front became Known as Air Liaison visits and the groups of pilots became known as Air Liaison Parties while the air officer assigned to the Division was known as the Air Liaison Officer.7 The specific choice of the term "liaison' speaks to the duties or the officer as well as to why he was sent and whom he represented. The command and staff liaison system has existed throughout military history. Commanders at every level nave used aides-de-camp in early times or liaison officers in more modern times. These highly qualified and trusted officers act as special agents or observers for commanders. These agents were and still are used to obtain or pass information, communicate critical orders, and assist in command and control of widely separate units. Napoleon's aides need to possess savoir taire and an ability to get along with and be trusted by commanders and start officers or higher ranks. The aides also had to master the operational philosophy or the emperor, understand his intent, and provide answers to any questions asked them by commanders. 8 In the late 1930's and throughout the early Pacific campaigns, close support of ground troops by aircraft had drawbacks; and, in some cases, the new tactic was thought to be impractical or too dangerous.9 Marine Aviation was attempting to promote the acceptance and use of Marine Aviation and its close support capability. The Air Wing Commander needed trusted agents to 4 keep him informed, communicate his intent, promote the use or aviation, and assist in command and control. The Air Liaison Officer and Air Liaison Parties who were sent to teach and exploit the capabilities or close air support were Marine Aviations trusted agents. Although the New Georgia campaign saw the first use of dedicated air liaison parties who were issued command cars and supplies with radios and other equipment, the first significant progress made in close air support occurred during the Bougainville campaign.10 Pilots and radiomen reported to the division three months prior to L-Day for air liaison party duty. The Division Air Liaison Officer organized an air liaison party school to teach the capabilities and limitations of CAS, procedures for requesting such support, and details of air-ground communications. An officer from the -3 section of each battalion and regiment was ordered to attend the school. Other improvements included use of colored smoke, a dedicated air command to coordinate requests for close air support with commands which could deliver such support, and authorization for the ALP to control the attacking aircraft, if necessary. The results were such that during the Bougainville campaign for perhaps the first time in World War II, the pilots were credited with a close support mission beyond the scope of artillery.11 Admiral Kelly Turner left the Soloman Campaign and took command of the Central Pacific trust. Turner, who had observed the progress of close air support in the Solomans, developed an elaborate organization of ship-based air support control units who worked with trained air-liaison parties that were attached to the Marine Divisions for the Tarawa landings.12 In the Marshalls the Navy introduced the command ship with an excellent communications network. At Kwajalein a Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO) was introduced. The JASCO was comprised of an Air Liaison Officer and 5 enlisted technicians who were assigned to each battalion, regiment, and division. All ALO's were schooled in intelligence and aviation procedures. Their duties were to relay requests for air support missions back to the Command Air Support Control Unit aboard ship and to keep the unit commander informed. In relaying air missions back, they were to specify the nature of the target, its location, the time for air to be on station, and the location of friendly troops.13 By late 1944 there were two distinct systems being developed to request and control close air support. The Southwestern Pacific system, which provided ALP's to forward units, utilized direct communications between the ALP's and the Support Aircraft Commander which was monitored by the Division Air Liaison Officer, and then utilized the ALP's to talk planes onto a target by direct communications. Marine Aviators in the Southwest Pacific adopted a principle which both the Army and the Navy had been reluctant to concede: "close support aviation is only an additional weapon to be employed at the discretion of the ground commander.14 It was this system that was used so effectively by Marine Aviation in the Philippine Campaign. The commander of the 1st Cavalry Division exclaimed that “the Marine live bombers of the First Air Wing have kept the enemy on the run. They have kept him underground and enabled troops to move up with fewer casualties and with greater speed. I cannot say enough in praise of these men of the dive bombers…for the job they have done in giving my troops close ground support in this operation."15 The Central Pacific system was more complex. There were ALP's at each echelon of command from front in companies to the Division CP. The Navy had developed a complex organization or ship-based air support control. In addition to the more complex system, the philosophy of air control was more 6 centralized. ALP's did not communicate nor control the air support they requested. The Iwo Jima landings saw the introduction of a Landing Force Air Support Control Unit (LFASCU) which would take over all air support control when the amphibious phase ended. Its function was to receive air support requests, request aircraft from the Support Aircraft Commander, and then direct the air strikes. Also introduced on Iwo was a Supporting Arms Center within the 3d Marine Division G-3. The Air, Naval Gunfire, and Artillery Officers worked, planned, and coordinated within this section. Targets were freely interchanged according to the method of attack best suited. As the Philippine Campaign was reaching its final phases, Operation Iceburg, a landing on Okinawa, commenced on 1 April 1945. For Marine Aviation, Okinawa was the culmination of all that had been learned. The Target Information Center (TIC) replaced the Supporting Arms Center. The TIC was a centralized fire support coordination agency that placed all supporting arms under artillery control. Aircraft control during the attack phase was to remain under LFASCU vice adopting the more flexible system used in the Philippines. The Central Pacific's system of ALP's at each echelon of command was selected to aid in relaying air support requests and in keeping the ground commanders informed. The Okinawa/Central Pacific system of close air support and fire support coordination was selected for Operation Olympic, the landing on Kyushu, with one exception. The V Marine Amphibious Corps took exception to that portion of the TIC organization which made all supporting fires the possession of the artillery officers. The V Phib Corps believed through hard-won amphibious experience, particularly on Iwo, that the G-3 must, somehow, coordinate supporting fires.16 The Pacific war ended with two systems of controlling close air support 7