TACTICAL EMPLOYMENT
The tactical employment of an air assault task force is different from those of light and other dismounted infantry. An air assault task force is employed judiciously and only on missions that require:
- Massing or shifting combat power rapidly. – Using surprise. – Using flexibility, mobility, and speed. – Gaining and maintaining the initiative. – Extending the depth, width, or breadth of the battlefield.
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES
An air assault task force is normally a highly tailored force specifically designed to hit fast and hard. They are best employed in situations that provide the air assault task force a calculated advantage due to surprise, terrain, threat, or mobility. The principles of employment are basic guidelines that govern the planning and execution of air assault operations. They are:
The air assault task force should be assigned only missions that take advantage of their superior mobility and should not be employed in roles requiring deliberate operations over an extended period of time.
Air assault forces always fight as a combined arms team.
The availability of critical aviation assets must be accounted for as a major factor in any operation.
Planning must be centralized and precise while execution must be aggressive and decentralized.
Air assault operations may be conducted at night or during adverse weather, but require more planning and preparation time in those cases.
Unit tactical integrity must be maintained throughout an air assault. When planning loads, squads are normally loaded intact on the same helicopter, with platoons located in the same serial. This ensures fighting unit integrity upon landing.
Fire support planning must provide for suppressive fires along flight routes and in the vicinity of landing zones. Priority for fires must be to the suppression of enemy air defense systems (SEAD).
Infantry operations are not fundamentally changed by the integration of aviation—tempo and distance are dramatically changed, however.
Although mechanized infantry units are not frequently employed in air assault operations, they can conduct such operations on a limited scale. Since it would be unexpected, such operations may be the decisive.
Typical air assault operations conducted by mechanized forces are river-crossing operations, seizure of key terrain, raids, and rear area combat operations. An air assault task force is most effectively employed in environments where limited lines of communication are available to the enemy, where he lacks air superiority and effective air defense systems.
SUMMARY
The versatility of Air Assault spans all three levels of war; tactical, operational, and strategic. Air Assault can be used day or night and can move almost any size unit from squad to Brigade. Even larger movements are possible given detailed planning by experienced units. Tactical air assault can be used to augment ongoing operations within a battle or engagement. Air assault troops can perform maneuvers that no other force can and that can provide opportunities for follow on forces to exploit. They can also have operational impact by picking up and moving formations from one battle to another where their unexpected arrival may have decisive results. On the strategic level, air assault capabilities can deliver Special Forces to remote locations in order to engage strategic targets. Commanders at all levels should consider how, when, where, and for what purpose t use such forces when they are available. When employed properly, they can be decisive. When misused, the results can be disastrous.
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