Coralling the Trojan Horse: A Proposal for Improving U.S. Urban Operations Preparedness in the Period 2000-2025 (Documented briefing)

This study presents an alternative to continued reliance on close combat urban operations paradigms that require a commitment of large numbers of soldiers to urban actions. It has six mutually reinforcing, largely simultaneous components: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance enhancements; denial of access; nodal operations; noncombatant control; selective dominance; and post-conflict sustainment. Although the analysis largely focuses on combat operations, these elements are also applicable to serving objectives inherent during stability and support missions, whether these are part of a larger combat contingency or themselves dominate actions in the theater of operations. The period considered is 2000-2025. There is continuity inherent in the analysis. It is recognized that reaching the desired end state of a much improved way of conducting urban operations demands somewhat consistent fiscal policies, technological development, and leader support over that span of years.