COMBAT POWER: AN ONTOLOGICAL APPROACH
PREFACE
In the spring of 1978, as a US Army Major attending the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, I researched and wrote the paper "Combat Power: An Ontological Approach." Looking back over it now, I think, though many things have changed since then, it still has much value in defining the essence of combat power - the very nature of it. I am pleased that I am able to make it available here. I hope you find it interesting and worth your time to read. In Chapter V of the paper, I used the battle of Kontum to illustrate some of the points I was trying to make. The work I did then formed the basis of the later, more comprehensive piece "The Battle of Kontum" now available on the web.
Chapter VI, Relative Mobility, was published in the August 1981 issue of Military Review as "Mobility: Key to Success on the Extended Battlefield," pp. 57 - 63. At the time it was published in Military Review, I was serving as the Aviation Officer for Headquarters, US Army Western Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii. The brief introductory piece to that article follows:
"Today, we are experiencing change at an accelerating rate as new weapons systems alter traditional views toward land combat. History teaches that new technology can outpace the tactics on which plans and expectations are based. The author suggests we may be on such a threshold now and should re-examine the respective roles of armored vehicles and helicopters in light of those changes."
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this paper, you can use the "Discussion Board" found here on the site.
Thank you for your continued interest in "The Battle of Kontum" web site.
Jack Heslin