Michael L Combest

Building the Will to Fight: Prerequisite to Winning the Airland Battle Michael L Combest

Publisher Marketing: This monograph discusses the relationship between the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine and the individual's will to fight. The monograph contends that AirLand Battle doctrine relies heavily on individual and sub-unit success. It further contends that tactical success will not be achieved unless individual soldiers and primary groups have internalized a will to fight. The monograph finally discusses several methods of instilling the will to fight at the individual and primary group level. The monograph first examines the dispersing effects of modern battle and the concomitant development of decentralized command and control systems. Next, the monograph establishes the need for a strong will to fight in a system of decentralized execution. In describing methods of building a will to fight, this paper first establishes the fact that cohesion alone is insufficient. The monograph then establishes the importance of four elements required in building an aggressive will to fight--a masculine challenge, a combat creed, patriotism, and ties to a heroic past. Lastly, this monograph describes the minimum requirements for using these elements in instilling a will to seek the defeat of the enemy. The paper demonstrates the need for the integration of the will-to-fight program into routine training. It shows the importance of wording; and finally it shows that different types of units need different orientations in fostering the will to fight.