ARRC Journal 2018 | Page 62

ARRC JOURNAL POSITIONING AIR DEFENCE FOR RE-INTRODUCTION OF M-SHORAD Maj Trey Guy (USA-A) There is insufficient air defence to furnish what our senior leaders aspire to deliver within the current, let alone the future, operating environment. This is consistently highlighted with the strategic deployment of Patriot missile assets to the US Central Command area of responsibility; counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan; new and emerging deployments throughout US Pacific Command, reinvigorated adversaries to NATO, and a multitude of other requests. to man division air defence airspace management (ADAM) cells and CADEs in the US Army, FADCs in the UK, and similar cells within NATO. Once these cells are sufficiently manned, the next step would be to provide them the training and tools to apply the division or corps commander’s intent and assist subordinate formations. The training aspect of this development is on track with programs like the ‘Re-Reading Week’ prior to US ADA officers attending US Army’s Command and General Staff College. Avenger Live Fire As divisions and corps refocus on tactical warfighting, one of the more frequent requests is for short-range air defence (SHORAD) units/leaders to support exercises where the potential adversary presents a near- peer air threat. Whilst the US Army’s Air Defense Artillery (ADA) branch, Fires Centre of Excellence leaders and others around the US Army initiate action to shape the future, there is activity that we can execute now to forge a stronger relationship with manoeuvre commanders both in the present and in the future. Within the UK military framework, the corps headquarters would normally include a formation air defence cell (FADC), similar to US Army, which would retain a Corps Air Defence Element (CADE) at the corps level. Both of these elements are intended to provide the subject matter expertise to a corps commander; divisional elements should deliver the same advice for their formations. One of the challenges with the re-introduction of Manoeuvre- SHORAD to ADA after many years of “mothballing” capability in both systems and personnel is that we cannot instantaneously regenerate the expertise or capability. The shortfall is the manning of these cells, or personnel capacity, for permanent establishments and on exercises. Anecdotally, a field artillery colleague recently asked for any air defence information I could provide as he wou